Apple’s first touchscreen MacBook Pro is finally here, and after years of debate it turns out the feature is exactly as useful — and as limited — as you’d expect on a laptop. In a hands-on with the new 14- and 16-inch models, Ars Technica’s Samuel Axon finds that the touchscreen mostly duplicates what the trackpad already does well, with no tablet mode, no Apple Pencil support, and few unique OS-level tricks. What actually steals the show is the long-awaited OLED (PROLED XDR) display: peak brightness, absolute blacks, and dynamic range that mark a genuine leap over the previous Mini-LED panel. Pair that with a noticeably lighter chassis and the familiar MacBook Pro form factor, and the real reason to upgrade is staring you in the face—literally. Just don’t buy it expecting the touchscreen to change how you work.
Samuel Axon for Ars Technica:
When the credible reports emerged that the MacBook Pro would get a touchscreen, I imagined a convertible with Apple Pencil support—something you could use as a large iPad or drawing tablet, essentially. That’s not what this is; it only takes the usual laptop shape, and I was told it does not support the Apple Pencil. It’s just a MacBook Pro, in its normal form factor, but you can use your fingers on the screen to do things like drag files around, swipe between desktop spaces, or pinch-to-zoom on maps or images.
But while it’s not about the touchscreen capability for me, I was impressed by the OLED screen itself—and I’m quite the display snob, if I’m being honest. The peak brightness, absolute blacks, well-balanced color, and dynamic range were genuinely remarkable. It’s an enormous upgrade over the MiniLED screen in the previous MacBook Pro…
Based on my time with the device and today’s announcement, the screen seems to be the main draw (though it’s nice that it noticeably weighs less, too)… I’m looking forward to spending more time with the new MacBook Pro, but for right now, it seems to follow in the lineup’s existing tradition: impressively high-end components like an outstanding OLED panel, but a very steep price to match. No surprises here!
MacDailyNews Take: It’s a MacBook Pro. You get what you pay for. This is the world’s best laptop computer. It’ll last for half a decade or longer and, as usual, the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) end up being less expensive and far less frustrating than running through a parade of shitty PC laptops over that time frame.
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