Apple hosted content creators from around the world today at an event space in Los Angeles to reveal the fourth and most remarkable product of the week – a touchscreen MacBook.

Remarkable not because it’s a new idea, Windows laptops have had touchscreens going back to Windows 8 – well over a decade ago, but for Apple – this was long touted as a no-go zone.

Steve Jobs himself is quoted as saying

“We’ve done tons of user testing on this, and it turns out it doesn’t work. Touch surfaces don’t want to be vertical. It gives a great demo, but after a short period of time you start to fatigue, and after an extended period of time, your arm wants to fall off. It doesn’t work. It’s ergonomically terrible. Touch surfaces want to be horizontal.” [1]

Longtime head of product marketing Phil Schiller said in 2016 that the company had explored the idea, but that they “did not make sense”, while now CEO John Ternus has said (before he was CEO) that Apple already had a touchscreen computer experience with the Apple iPad.

So what changed?

Well Apple didn’t say – they just hyped up this PROLED XDR display and used a fan favourite feature to set this MacBook apart from others – a glowing Apple logo. Something we haven’t seen for a decade is back, but just in this new device.

In their demonstrations, they showed people making movies, interacting with 3D models and much more, but didn’t make an overtly compelling case for touch – it appears at this stage to just be a great new option in the lineup.

MacBook Pro with PROLED XDR doesn’t come cheap.

The 14-inch MacBook Pro with M5 Pro starts at $4,599, the 16-inch variant at $5,499.

Jump up to the M5 Max processor and you’ll pay $6,999 for the 14 inch and $7,699 for the 16-inch model.

The new touchscreen MacBook comes at the end of a busy week for Apple, with a new iPad mini, new iMac and new 14 inch MacBook Pro also announced via press-release in the past few days.

It’s likely thats a wrap for Apple for 2026 with these products all coming to market in November, but we’re expecting an early start to the year with rumours suggesting Apple will reveal the iPhone 18, iPhone 18e and a second generation iPhone Air in the first quarter of 2027 – we shall wait and see!

Trevor Long travelled to Los Angeles as a guest of Apple