Apple has finally brought touchscreen support to the MacBook Pro, introducing an all-new 14-inch and 16-inch lineup with a tandem OLED display, Dynamic Island and a thinner, lighter design.
The biggest addition is touchscreen functionality, something Apple has resisted bringing to its Mac laptops for years. Users can now scroll through webpages, pinch to zoom into photos, drag files between windows and arrange apps directly on the display, without giving up the familiar keyboard and trackpad controls.
Apple has also designed the touchscreen with creative professionals in mind. Photographers can make adjustments directly in Lightroom, video editors can move clips around in Final Cut Pro, and musicians can play virtual instruments in Logic Pro. Existing Mac apps will support basic touch interactions automatically, while developers can add more advanced gestures through new APIs.
To make the experience more comfortable, Apple has reinforced the hinge to reduce screen movement when touched. The touch sensor is also integrated directly into the display panel to minimise latency.
Alongside touch support, Apple is replacing the MacBook Pro’s previous display technology with a new tandem OLED PROLED XDR panel, which uses two self-illuminating pixel layers to deliver deeper blacks, improved contrast and greater brightness.
The display reaches up to 2,000 nits of peak HDR and SDR brightness, with a claimed 10,000,000:1 contrast ratio and an adaptive refresh rate ranging from 10Hz to 120Hz. It also supports both P3 and Adobe RGB colour spaces, making it particularly useful for photographers, designers and video editors working with colour-sensitive content.
Apple has included an anti-reflective coating, with an optional nano-texture finish for reducing glare further. The screens measure 14.2 inches and 16.3 inches, with slimmer borders helping accommodate the larger display on the 16-inch model.
Another noticeable change is the arrival of Dynamic Island, bringing a familiar iPhone feature to the MacBook Pro for the first time.
Rather than simply housing the camera, Dynamic Island provides quick access to Spotlight, Live Activities and Apple’s upgraded Siri AI assistant. Users can check notifications, control music, accept AirDrop requests and interact with ongoing activities without switching between apps.
The new MacBook Pro also runs macOS 27 Golden Gate, which introduces more advanced Apple Intelligence features, including a conversational Siri that can use personal context to find information across emails, messages and photos.
Underneath, the new MacBook Pro is powered by Apple’s M5 Pro and M5 Max chips, designed to handle demanding workloads such as 8K video editing, 3D rendering and on-device AI processing. Memory can be configured up to 128GB, while storage now reaches a substantial 16TB.
Despite the hardware upgrades, Apple has managed to make both models thinner and lighter. The 14-inch MacBook Pro now weighs just 3 pounds (approximately 1.36kg), while the 16-inch model comes in at 4 pounds (approximately 1.81kg). That’s half a pound and 0.7 pounds lighter than their respective predecessors.
Battery life remains a major selling point, with Apple promising up to 24 hours of use and fast charging capable of restoring 50% battery in around 30 minutes.
Connectivity includes three Thunderbolt 5 ports, HDMI, an SDXC card slot, MagSafe and a headphone jack, alongside Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6. Apple has also upgraded the six-speaker audio system with a claimed 50% improvement in bass depth, while retaining the 12MP Center Stage camera and studio-quality microphones.
Price and availability
The new MacBook Pro is available to pre-order now, with deliveries and in-store availability beginning Friday, 6 November.
The 14-inch model starts at £/$2,899 with M5 Pro, rising to £/$4,499 with M5 Max. Meanwhile, the 16-inch version starts at £/$3,399 with M5 Pro or £/$4,799 with M5 Max. Education discounts are also available across the lineup.
It’s a considerable investment, particularly compared with Apple’s more affordable MacBooks. However, the combination of a touchscreen OLED display, substantially lighter design and upgraded performance makes this a more significant refresh than the usual annual processor upgrade.