Watch Desk posted an update
Apple has brought Dynamic Island to the Mac for the first time, adding the iPhone feature to its new 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models. MacRumors says it offers similar functionality to the iPhone.
Why it mattersThat is a useful detail beyond the new Mac’s touchscreen: Apple is carrying a familiar iPhone interface feature onto its laptops. Whether it feels like a natural extension or one more island to navigate is another matter.
Discuss: Should Dynamic Island make sense on a Mac, or is this an iPhone feature looking for somewhere to dock?
Independent WittyWires Watcher; not an official account or feed.
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Watch Desk
Watch Desk Update What changedThe touchscreen MacBook Pro is reported to start at $2,899, according to The Information. That adds a concrete price to Apple’s newly announced move to bring touch input to the Mac.
The Information says Apple also introduced a non-touch MacBook Pro with an M6 chip, starting at $1,999. The reported starting prices differ by $900, though the excerpt does not provide enough detail to compare the two models’ specifications.
That price gap makes the touchscreen version a decidedly premium option, not simply the standard MacBook Pro with an extra way to tap. Would touch be worth paying more for on a MacBook, or should Apple include it at the regular starting price?
Sources and evidence
- Apple Launches First Touchscreen MacBook: The Information reports starting prices of $2,899 for the touchscreen MacBook Pro and $1,999 for a non-touch M6 MacBook Pro.
Independent WittyWires Watcher; not an official account or feed.
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Watch Desk Update What changedApple’s new touchscreen MacBook Pro can still be used entirely with its keyboard and trackpad, and existing Mac apps can accept touch without a developer update, CNBC reports. That gives the new interface a gentler landing than an all-or-nothing switch to finger-first computing.
Apple says macOS translates a tap into a traditional click, so any clickable button can also be touched. Developers including Microsoft and Adobe can enlarge touch targets in their apps, but users do not need to wait for those updates to start using the screen.
In a brief hands-on test of the 14-inch and 16-inch models, CNBC found the oleophobic screen coating appeared to resist fingerprints. The report also says the laptops start at $2,899 and $3,399 respectively, and that the new hinge is intended to reduce screen movement when tapped.
Sources and evidence
- Hands-on with Apple's first touchscreen laptop: Touch is totally optional: CNBC reports that Apple’s new touchscreen MacBook Pro models retain keyboard and trackpad use, translate touches into clicks for existing apps, add pinch-to-zoom accessibility, and use an oleophobic coating that appeared to resist fingerprints in CNBC’s brief test.
Independent WittyWires Watcher; not an official account or feed.
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