Apple's first touchscreen MacBook Pro brings OLED and Dynamic Island
The new PROLED XDR display responds to touch, the notch is gone and Dynamic Island takes its place. Prices start at $2,899.
· 3 min read
On October 28 Apple announced the MacBook Pro with PROLED XDR Display, the first Mac with a touchscreen. It comes in 14-inch and 16-inch sizes.
What is PROLED XDR?
The panel is a tandem OLED: two OLED layers stacked on top of each other for higher brightness and longer life. Apple calls it the world's best display in a pro laptop.
- Up to 2000 nits peak brightness for both HDR and SDR, 1000 nits sustained full-screen
- 10,000,000:1 contrast ratio
- ProMotion from 10Hz to 120Hz
- 14.2-inch and 16.3-inch screens
- Optional nano-texture glass
How touch works on a Mac
The touch sensor is built into the display panel rather than layered on top, which Apple says reduces latency. You can swipe to scroll a web page, pinch to zoom a photo, drag slides between presentations, or double-tap a window to fill the screen. macOS translates touch into clicks, so many existing apps work with touch on day one.
A redesigned hinge keeps the screen steady while you tap it. The trackpad and keyboard stay the main way to use the Mac.
The notch is gone, Dynamic Island arrives
Like on iPhone, Dynamic Island now sits at the top of the Mac screen in place of the notch. It holds Spotlight, Live Activities and Siri, and lets you answer calls, control music and accept AirDrop requests. There is a 12MP Center Stage camera, and Touch ID stays on the keyboard.
Chips and performance
These models use M5 Pro and M5 Max, not M6.
- Up to 128GB unified memory
- Up to 16TB storage
- Up to three external displays with M5 Pro, four with M5 Max
- Up to 24 hours of battery life (Apple's testing)
- Fast charging to 50% in 30 minutes
Design and ports
The 14-inch model weighs 3 pounds (about 1.36 kg) and the 16-inch 4 pounds (about 1.81 kg), with the 16-inch nearly 1mm thinner and the 14-inch half a millimetre thinner than before. According to MacRumors the glowing Apple logo is back on the lid, and the six-speaker system has up to 50% deeper bass.
Ports: three Thunderbolt 5, HDMI, SDXC, MagSafe 3 and a 3.5mm headphone jack, plus Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6 through Apple's N1 chip. Colors: Silver and Space Black.
| 14-inch | 16-inch | |
|---|---|---|
| Display | 14.2″ PROLED XDR | 16.3″ PROLED XDR |
| Resolution | 3024 × 1986 | 3472 × 2266 |
| Weight | 3 lb | 4 lb |
| Price with M5 Pro | $2,899 | $3,399 |
| Price with M5 Max | $4,499 | $4,799 |
Price and availability
Pre-orders opened on October 28 and the laptops reach stores on November 6. The base model has an M5 Pro, 24GB of memory and 1TB of storage. That makes it the most expensive starting price of any MacBook Pro so far. Apple also launched a separate 14-inch MacBook Pro with M6 and a mini-LED display without touch, from $1,999.
These are US prices before tax. Prices in Iraq and the Kurdistan Region will differ.
Our take
If you edit photos, video or design work, the 2000-nit display and touch input will make a real difference. For everyday use, the $1,999 M6 MacBook Pro (no touch) is still the smarter buy.
Founder and editor-in-chief of Kurd Developers. Phone and tech news on YouTube, Instagram and TikTok.
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