AIAR

For as long as Macs have existed, poking the screen did nothing. That changed on October 28, when Apple announced a new MacBook Pro with a touchscreen, the first Mac ever to have one, Apple said in its announcement. You can now tap, swipe and draw right on the display.

Apple calls the new screen “PROLED XDR.” It uses OLED, a kind of screen where every tiny dot makes its own light, so black parts look truly black. It is a “tandem” OLED, which means two light layers are stacked for extra brightness. The screen notch at the top is gone, replaced by a pill-shaped cutout Apple calls the Dynamic Island, like on the iPhone. Apple also changed the hinge so the screen does not wobble when you tap it, TechCrunch reported.

It is not cheap. The 14-inch model starts at $2,899 and the 16-inch at $3,399, and models with the faster M5 Max chip start at $4,499 and $4,799, according to Apple. The regular MacBook Pros without touch stay on sale, starting at $2,499 and $2,999 for similar models, so touch costs roughly $400 extra, DPReview noted.

Pre-orders are open now, and the laptops reach stores on November 6, GSMArena reported. Apple has shared few details about how the Mac’s software will handle fingers. For most apps, a tap will simply act like a mouse click, DPReview said. Windows laptops, by contrast, have had touchscreens for years.

Here is the fun part to argue about. Back in 2010, Steve Jobs called touchscreen laptops “ergonomically terrible,” Gizmodo recalled. Gizmodo’s James Pero also asks who this is really for, since the Mac trackpad already does most of the same gestures, and the price is steep. Apple says touch will help with things like drawing and music apps. So who is right: Jobs, who said your arm would get tired, or today’s Apple, which says touch belongs everywhere?

If your current laptop works fine, there is no rush. Try one in a store after November 6 and let your own arm decide.

Sources:
Apple Newsroom – Apple unveils groundbreaking MacBook Pro with PROLED XDR display
TechCrunch – Apple launches its new touchscreen MacBook Pro
DPReview – The MacBook Pro finally gets a touchscreen
Gizmodo – Who Is the Touchscreen MacBook for, Exactly?
GSMArena – Apple announces new MacBook Pro models with OLED and touchscreen