Apple is finally tackling the challenge of ‘ergonomically terrible’ touchscreen laptops.Oct 28, 2026, 5:16 PM UTCThe difference in thickness is small compared to the non-touch MacBook Pro models.Steve Jobs famously called touchscreen laptops “ergonomically terrible,” and for over a decade, Apple stridently refused to make one. Today that all changes with the MacBook Pro — the company’s first laptop to embrace a touch interface. While it’s unlikely that Apple can fix all the “terrible” ergonomics of having to lift your arm up and touch a laptop screen, the company has put some effort into making macOS more touch-friendly.The new 14-inch MacBook Pro with PROLED XDR display weighs just 3 pounds, which is noticeably lighter than the current generation of non-touch MacBook Pros, which start at 3.4 pounds for the newly introduced M6 models. The difference is even bigger when you jump to the 16-inch model, which clocks in at 4 pounds, while the M5 Pro version without a touchscreen is 4.7.1/3The screen is incredibly bright and saturated.Also exciting is the return of the glowing Apple logo. It’s a seemingly minor feature, but one that definitely got the audience excited during the introduction, and marks the return of a bit of flair to the MacBook lineup which, let’s be fair, has grown a bit utilitarian-looking over the years.Touch works almost exactly like you’d expect it to with Apple’s first-party apps. You can swipe directly on the screen to scroll through websites, pinch to zoom, and double-tap to maximize a window. Some third-party apps might need to be updated to take advantage, but they shouldn’t be completely useless since macOS simply translates taps to clicks as a fallback. That said, anyone who has tried to “click” a tiny button in an app with their finger knows it’s a pretty fiddly experience at best, and infuriating at worst.Unsurprisingly, there is a price premium for the new MacBook Pro PROLED XDR. The touchscreen OLED model starts at $2,899, $400 more than the otherwise similarly-specced M5 Pro MacBook Pro.Developing…Follow topics and authors from this story to see more like this in your personalized homepage feed and to receive email updates.Terrence O’BrienAntonio G. Di BenedettoThe Verge DailyA free daily digest of the news that matters most.Email (required)By providing your information, you agree to our Terms of Use and our Privacy Policy. We use vendors that may also process your information to help provide our services. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
Hands-on with Apple’s touchscreen MacBook Pro
