The key facts

  • First MacBook Pro with a touchscreen: base price $2,899, maximum $14,549 for the 16-inch model
  • Top configurations on the M5 Max chip (18-core CPU, 40-core GPU); the 16 TB SSD option costs an extra $7,000
  • Pre-orders from October 30, on sale from November 6

Apple has moved to touchscreen displays in the MacBook Pro

Apple has officially unveiled a MacBook Pro with a touchscreen — an event that the publication TechCrunch calls a significant shift nearly ten years after the Touch Bar experiment, which the company later abandoned. The base price of the new model is $2,899. Pre-orders open on October 30, with sales beginning on November 6.

The maximum configuration — $14,549

According to MacRumors, which TechCrunch cites, Apple's configurator prices the fully equipped 14-inch model at $14,249, and the 16-inch one at $14,549. Both are built on the top-end M5 Max chip with an 18-core CPU and a 40-core GPU.

What you have to pay extra for

Option surcharges drive the price up considerably: upgrading to a 4 TB SSD costs an extra $1,000, 8 TB — $3,000, and the new 16 TB option — another $7,000. Expanding memory to 128 GB will cost $2,000, and the nano-texture glass coating — $150. TechCrunch links the price pressure to the ongoing memory shortage and high demand for hardware from the AI industry. For comparison: the previous 16-inch model cost no more than $10,149, meaning the new price ceiling is $4,400 higher than before.

From the Touch Bar to a full touchscreen

The move to a touchscreen completes a long evolution: Apple's first experiment with an interactive panel — the Touch Bar — began in 2016, and in 2023 the company discontinued it. Now, nearly a decade later, touch input is returning to the MacBook Pro in the form of a full touchscreen.