Apple’s Touchscreen MacBook Pro Starts at $2,899 and Brings OLED to the Mac
Apple's first touchscreen MacBook Pro uses a tandem OLED display and starts at $2,899. Early impressions call the touch feature modest, and pre-orders are open now.
Apple has announced a MacBook Pro with a touchscreen and an OLED display, ending years of the company saying it would not make a touch-enabled laptop. The 14-inch model starts at $2,899 and the 16-inch model at $3,399. Pre-orders are open, and the laptops launch on Friday, November 6, according to MacRumors.
What is new on this MacBook Pro
The headline change is the screen. The laptop uses what 9to5Mac describes as tandem OLED, the same technology Apple first used in the M4 iPad Pro in 2024. Two OLED layers are stacked on top of each other, which allows higher brightness than a single-layer OLED panel while keeping the deep blacks and strong contrast OLED is known for.
The Verge, which tried the laptop at Apple’s event, called it one of the nicest laptop screens it had seen. It said the blacks are even deeper than on the current Mini LED MacBook Pros. Apple calls the display “reference-caliber” and, according to The Verge, it is the first laptop display to support Apple CMF 2026 color modes. MacRumors puts the pixel density at 254 PPI.
Other changes mentioned in the reports include a thinner and lighter body, a Dynamic Island in place of the notch, and the return of an illuminated Apple logo on the lid.
How the touchscreen works
This is where the reviewer was less impressed. The Verge writes that the touchscreen feels like an afterthought. You can tap, poke and swipe, and some interface elements in macOS 27 Golden Gate and certain apps grow or expand slightly when touched. But most touch gestures simply mirror things you can already do with the trackpad, according to the touchscreen settings menu the reviewer looked at.
The Verge also spoke with professionals who had recently started using the machine. They still mostly relied on the keyboard and trackpad, and the touchscreen was a bonus rather than a change to their workflow. Apple Pencil support and a hinge that folds back 360 degrees are not part of this model, and the reviewer does not expect them to arrive soon.
Why it matters
For buyers, the question is whether the OLED panel and lighter design justify the price. Apple is selling the new OLED models alongside its existing Mini LED MacBook Pro lineup, so there is a cheaper option for people who do not need the new screen. Research firm TrendForce says the premium starting price could slow near-term upgrades from existing owners.
For the wider laptop market, TrendForce expects Apple’s move to speed up OLED adoption, which until now has been led by Windows makers such as Lenovo, HP and ASUS. It forecasts that OLED laptop shipments will grow nearly 40 percent year over year in 2026 and by more than 40 percent again in 2027, even though the overall laptop market has shrunk for two years in a row.
Sales forecast and supply
- TrendForce expects Apple to ship between 1.2 million and 1.5 million of the new MacBook Pros in 2027.
- Samsung Display is currently the exclusive panel supplier. It has dedicated the first phase of a production line at its Asan campus in South Korea to Apple, and the MacBook Pro is the first product to enter mass production on that line.
- TrendForce says the tandem design and the pixel density make production demanding, especially for material costs and manufacturing yields.
- Rivals LG Display, BOE and TCL CSOT are reported to be aiming at the supply chain for an OLED MacBook Air instead.
Note that the sources differ on the timing of that MacBook Air. MacRumors says it is not expected before at least 2028, while 9to5Mac, citing TrendForce, says it is now expected in 2029.
What to do next
If you want the new model, pre-orders are available now. If you mainly want a faster laptop and do not care about touch, the existing Mini LED MacBook Pro remains on sale for less. If you are waiting for a cheaper way into OLED, the sources suggest that is still a few years away, and The Verge’s reviewer says touch could reach more affordable Macs later.
What is still unknown
Apple has not shown major new touch features beyond small interface changes, and it is unclear whether future macOS updates will change that. Shipment figures are forecasts by TrendForce, not Apple numbers. TrendForce also projects global OLED laptop shipments reaching 46.6 million units by 2030, with growth slowing to 30.8 percent that year after a peak of 42.8 percent in 2028.
