While Apple may have finally added a touch display to the MacBook Pro, the company still sees it as an indirect input device, says Apple CEO John Ternus. His comments came during an interview with Wired.
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. It didn’t make it thicker. 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 had long maintained that its iPad and Mac lineups would remain separate, as they served two different functions. Apple’s former CEO, the late Steve Jobs once said, “Touch surfaces don’t want to be vertical. It gives great demo but after a short period of time, you start to fatigue and after an extended period of time, your arm wants to fall off. It doesn’t work, it’s ergonomically terrible.”
However, the time has apparently come for Apple to take a different view of Mac touchscreens.
Hardware chief Johny Srouji and marketing chief Greg Joswiak were also interviewed by Wired. Srouji told the publication that display technology, Apple silicon chips, and software have evolved enough to meet Apple’s “bar” for touch integration.
Meanwhile, 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.
Customers can pre-order the new MacBook Pro with PROLED XDR Display on apple.com/store and in the Apple Store app in 30 countries and regions, including the U.S. It will begin arriving to customers, and in Apple Store locations and Apple Authorized Resellers, starting Friday, November 6.
The 14-inch MacBook Pro with PROLED XDR Display featuring M5 Pro starts at $2,899 (U.S.), and the 16-inch MacBook Pro with PROLED XDR Display featuring M5 Pro starts at $3,399 (U.S.). A bit less for education customers.
The 14-inch MacBook Pro with PROLED XDR Display featuring M5 Max starts at $4,499 (U.S.), and the 16-inch MacBook Pro with PROLED XDR Display featuring M5 Max starts at $4,799 (U.S.). Also a bit less for education customers.