Apple unveils first touchscreen MacBook Pro starting at $2,899

Apple launched its first MacBook Pro with a touchscreen on Wednesday, marking a major hardware shift for the company. The device, unveiled during an event dubbed "Pro and Tell," allows users to perform gestures such as scrolling, swiping, and pinching directly on the screen. Apple CEO John Ternus presented the new lineup, which includes several other hardware updates and software features.

The new MacBook Pro features a tandem OLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate and 2,000 nits of brightness. Apple states that the touch sensor is built directly into the display panel rather than sitting on top of it, a design choice intended to reduce latency. The 14-inch model weighs three pounds, making it lighter than previous generations. This device is also the first to include a Dynamic Island for real-time updates and Siri AI access, and it brings back the illuminated Apple logo on the lid.

Pricing for the touchscreen MacBook Pro begins at $2,899 for the 14-inch model equipped with an M5 Pro chip. The 16-inch version starts at $3,399, also with an M5 Pro chip. Configurations with the M5 Max chip are also available. Preorders opened on Wednesday, and the devices are scheduled to start shipping on November 6.

Alongside the laptop, Apple released a new iPad Mini with an 8.5-inch OLED display. The device is 5.4mm thick and features bezels that are 24 percent slimmer than the previous generation. It includes a new "Acoustic Display" system with woofers paired through the screen for improved bass. The iPad Mini is powered by the A20 Pro chip, includes a 12-megapixel camera, and carries an IP67 rating for water and dust protection. It starts at $699 for the Wi-Fi only model with 128GB of storage.

Apple also upgraded its desktop and laptop lines with the new M6 chip. The 14-inch MacBook Pro without the touchscreen starts at $1,999 and includes 16GB of memory and 1TB of storage. The new iMac, which starts at $1,499, features the M6 chip and offers up to five times faster on-device AI performance compared to the previous M4 model. Both devices include Apple's N1 networking chip for Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6 support.

Software updates accompany the new hardware. Apple is adding an AI chatbot to Keynote, Numbers, and Pages that uses models from Apple and OpenAI. This tool can design slides, restructure drafts, and visualize data based on document context. Additionally, Pixelmator Pro is receiving an AI-powered fill feature, and Logic Pro is getting a new AI assistant.

The M6-equipped MacBook Pro and iMac models also begin shipping on November 6, following the same preorder schedule as the touchscreen laptop. The M6 iMac maintains the same design and color options as its predecessor, while the MacBook Pro includes three Thunderbolt 4 USB-C ports, MagSafe 3, and HDMI.