Apple Executives Explain Why the MacBook Pro Finally Has a Touch Screen

Apple CEO John Ternus explained Apple’s thinking on the MacBook Pro ‘s new touch capabilities in an interview with Wired. Despite the addition of a touch display, Apple still sees the ‌MacBook Pro‌ as an indirect input device. From Ternus: The Mac is first and foremost an indirect input device, built around the trackpad and keyboard.

But I think there’s times when it’s comfortable and handy to have touch. We needed to get to a point where adding touch didn’t make the product lesser in any way. It didn’t make it heavier.

That came together with the OLED screen, the best display we’ve ever put into a Mac. All of these things, and, oh yeah, it has touch as well. Apple has in the past said it would not converge its iPad and Mac lines because they served two different functions.

If you’re a designer who relies on Apple’s official design resources, the company has already added the new MacBook Pro with PROLED XDR Display to its collection of product bezels. Here are the details.

It’s thinner, lighter and has a better screen – but it’s still a MacBook Pro. Apple’s first touchscreen MacBook Pro feels both familiar and radically improved.

Apple updates Design Resources portal with assets for the new touchscreen MacBook Pro. Apple announces all-new MacBook Pro with PROLED XDR display, its first touchscreen Mac Zac Hall Oct 28 2026.

I’ve gotten a chance to quickly check it out the "MacBook Pro with PROLED XDR Display" and — it feels like a MacBook Pro. Apple didn’t reinvent the wheel with this redesign, even though there are a ton of significant changes.

The company kept the standard 14- and 16-inch screens, though the display has obviously been massively improved. Despite the reduction in weight (the 14-inch is three pounds, while the 16-inch is four), Apple kept the same set of ports on these new models, and the keyboard and trackpad appear to be the same reliable and comfortable options that have been on the MacBook Pro since its big 2021 redesign.

It’s funny how shaving half a pound makes a huge difference, but it absolutely does in this case. This isn’t the first time that Apple has dramatically reduced the weight of the MacBook Pro — the infamous 2016 Touch Bar models were also about the same weight.

But they also ran Intel chips and had notorious difficulty staying cool and performant under heavy work loads.

Hardware chief Johny Srouji and marketing chief Greg Joswiak were also interviewed. Srouji told Wired that display technology, Apple silicon chips, and software have evolved enough to meet Apple’s "bar" for touch integration.

Joswiak said pro users were waiting for touch, and that a generation of "young creators" expect touch capabilities. Apple’s version of a touchscreen laptop has a redesigned thermal architecture to keep the display from feeling hot, an anti-reflective display coating that’s Apple says won’t need more cleaning than a standard display, and a reinforced hinge that keeps the screen stable when touch pressure is applied.

The new OLED ‌MacBook Pro‌ models are available for pre-order today and will launch on November 6. Pricing starts at $2,899.

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