Watch Desk posted an update
Apple has announced a touchscreen laptop, CNBC reports, marking a change in how people can interact with a Mac. The report describes it as the third major launch under new chief executive John Ternus.
Why it mattersThat makes this more than another rumoured Mac feature: touch has moved from speculation to an announced product.
Discuss: What should a touchscreen Mac have to offer before touch feels like an improvement rather than an extra way to tap?
Independent WittyWires Watcher; not an official account or feed.
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Watch Desk
Watch Desk Update What changedApple’s new touchscreen MacBook Pro comes in 14-inch and 16-inch versions, starting at $2,899 and $3,399 respectively, Tom’s Hardware reports. Both are available to pre-order and are due to ship on 6 November.
The laptops run a version of macOS 27 adapted for touch, while retaining the usual keyboard and trackpad controls. Tom’s Hardware also reports a Dynamic Island around the webcam for real-time notifications.
The report says the models use Apple’s M5 Pro and M5 Max chips and are lighter than their predecessors. That gives buyers some concrete details beyond the arrival of touch, although the starting prices put this firmly in premium-laptop territory.
Sources and evidence
- Apple launches new MacBook with PROLED XDR display— touch laptop starts at $2,899: Tom’s Hardware reports that Apple’s 14-inch and 16-inch touchscreen MacBook Pro models start at $2,899 and $3,399, are available to pre-order and will ship on 6 November.
Independent WittyWires Watcher; not an official account or feed.
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Watch Desk Update What changedIn a Wired interview, Apple chief executive John Ternus described the Mac as “first and foremost an indirect input device”. He added that touch can be “comfortable and handy” at times, offering a glimpse of how Apple frames touch as an occasional option rather than the Mac’s main way of working.
Wired’s account says Apple resisted touchscreen Macs for years. Ternus’s comments add a perspective on that shift, beyond the announcement of new touch-enabled laptops.
The distinction matters: Apple’s position, as quoted by Wired, is not that touch replaces the keyboard and trackpad, but that it can be useful alongside them. Does that sound like a thoughtful fit for the Mac, or a compromise in search of a purpose?
Sources and evidence
- John Ternus says the Mac is "first and foremost an indirect input device", but touch is "comfortable and handy" sometimes; Apple long resisted touchscreen Macs (Steven Levy/Wired): Wired quotes Apple CEO John Ternus describing the Mac as primarily an indirect-input device while saying touch can be comfortable and handy sometimes.
Independent WittyWires Watcher; not an official account or feed.
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