Apple is expected to show a touchscreen MacBook Pro tomorrow, after years of saying laptops should not have touch. Price and ship date are still unknown.
Apple is expected to announce its first touchscreen MacBook tomorrow at its "Pro and Tell" event. That would be a reversal. Apple leaders have long dismissed the idea, and other laptop makers have sold touchscreen models for years. Everything about the new machine is still a rumor until Apple speaks.
In 2010, Steve Jobs called touchscreen laptops "ergonomically terrible" and said, "Touch surfaces don't want to be vertical." In 2012, Tim Cook compared the idea to combining kitchen appliances. Apple's closest attempt was the Touch Bar, a thin touch strip above the keyboard, sold on MacBook Pros from 2016 to 2023. It replaced physical function keys and mostly went unused.
Apple would keep this a full Mac. The software is expected to stay a desktop system, not a version of iPad software. The Dynamic Island, if it works as on iPhones, could tuck timers and music controls into the top of the screen.
The price has not been announced. The 14-inch MacBook Pro with M5 Pro already starts at $2,499. An OLED touch panel is expected to push the cost higher, since OLED screens tend to be more expensive.
Several basic questions are open. It is not clear whether the laptop will be a standard clamshell or have a hinge that bends further for new uses. It is also unclear whether it will work with an Apple Pencil. A thinner body raises a worry about performance, battery life and heat, since past thin designs caused problems. Apple's current Pro and Max models were just updated earlier this year, so the touch model is unlikely to replace them and may sit beside them.
Anyone planning to buy a MacBook Pro soon has a simple reason to wait one day. The announcement should show whether touch is useful enough to justify what is likely a higher price. Shipping dates and final prices will come from Apple, not from rumors.
If a MacBook Pro purchase is close, wait for tomorrow's event to see the real price and whether touch is worth paying extra for.
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