Touchscreen MacBook Pro hands-on: early testers praise the OLED, call touch a nice extra

A day after Apple’s event in Los Angeles, the first hands-on impressions of the new MacBook Pro with PROLED XDR display are in. Apple’s first touchscreen Mac is real, but early testers say the bigger story may be the screen itself, and the price.

Reporters from Ars Technica, CNBC and The Verge each got brief time with the 14-inch and 16-inch models on a crowded showroom floor. Here’s what they found.

How does the touchscreen work?

Mostly the way you’d expect. The Verge said you can swipe to scroll websites, pinch to zoom and double-tap to maximize a window in Apple’s own apps. Ars Technica’s Samuel Axon swiped between desktop spaces with three fingers, dragged files between apps, resized windows and drew with a finger in an illustration app.

Apps that haven’t been updated still respond, because macOS translates every tap into a click, CNBC reported. Apple also enlarges small controls when you touch them, such as the red, yellow and green window buttons and drop-down menus.

The catch, according to Ars, is that there isn’t much you can do with touch that you couldn’t already do with trackpad gestures, at least at the system level. Creative apps like finger painting offered a bit more.

Is touch required?

No. CNBC’s headline verdict was that “touch is totally optional.” The keyboard and trackpad are unchanged, and macOS looks largely the same. CNBC suggested touch could be handy for scrolling while lounging and for iPhone app developers testing their apps on a Mac.

Does it work with Apple Pencil?

No. Ars Technica said it was told the laptop does not support Apple Pencil, and it does not fold into a tablet. The Verge called the lack of Pencil support “a huge missed opportunity.”

What about the hinge? Reports differ

Apple says a redesigned hinge keeps the screen steady when you touch it. CNBC said the hinge felt largely the same as before. The Verge said you can make the screen wobble “pretty easily” with firm taps near the top. Fuller reviews should settle how much it matters.

The OLED display is the standout

All three outlets praised the new tandem OLED panel. Axon, who called himself a display snob, said the brightness, deep blacks, color and dynamic range were “genuinely remarkable” and “an enormous upgrade” over the previous mini-LED screen. The Verge called it “punchy, bright, contrasty, and saturated,” but said it was hard to judge the size of the improvement without side-by-side testing. CNBC said it was “not a night-and-day difference” for everyday viewing, with many gains aimed at creators who need accurate color.

Other first impressions

• Lighter: The Verge said the 14-inch weighs 3 pounds and the 16-inch 4 pounds, versus 4.7 pounds for the non-touch 16-inch M5 Pro model. Ars and The Verge both said the weight difference is noticeable in hand.
• Dynamic Island: The notch is replaced by a cutout that expands for live activities, music controls and volume or brightness sliders. Ars wondered how it will handle full-screen games.
• Glowing logo: The Apple logo on the lid lights up again, for the first time since the 2017 MacBook Air, according to CNBC. It drew cheers at the event.
• Fingerprints: CNBC said Apple’s oleophobic coating appeared to work, with no obvious smudges after use.

How much does the touchscreen MacBook Pro cost?

Prices start at $2,899 for the 14-inch and $3,399 for the 16-inch, CNBC reported. The Verge said that’s $400 more than a similarly specced non-touch M5 Pro model. Ars priced a 16-inch with M5 Max, 64GB of memory and 2TB of storage at $5,799, and said going from 64GB to 128GB of memory adds $1,600. Preorders are open now, and Apple says the laptops arrive Nov. 6.

FAQ

Earlier coverage: Apple unveils its first touchscreen MacBook Pro with an OLED display (Oct 28)