Apple’s first touchscreen MacBook Pro starts at $2,899, and it lands in stores and on doorsteps Friday, Nov. 6. The company announced the new MacBook Pro with PROLED XDR Display on Oct. 28, one day after a cheaper, non-touch 14-inch MacBook Pro with the new M6 chip, and both opened for preorder that same Wednesday.
The launch ends years of Apple resisting touch on the Mac. Here is what the new machines cost, what changed and how to choose between them.
What the touchscreen MacBook Pro offers
The new MacBook Pro comes in 14-inch and 16-inch sizes and uses a tandem OLED panel that Apple calls the PROLED XDR Display. Apple says it reaches up to 2,000 nits of peak brightness for both HDR and SDR content, with a 10,000,000:1 contrast ratio, a 120Hz variable refresh rate and a color range covering both P3 and Adobe RGB.
Apple says the touch sensor is built directly into the display panel rather than layered on top of it, which reduces latency. Users can swipe to scroll a webpage, pinch to zoom a photo and drag and drop slides from one presentation to another. The iPhone’s Dynamic Island also comes to the Mac, as the home for Spotlight search, Live Activities and Siri AI.
The laptops run on Apple’s M5 Pro or M5 Max chips with up to 128GB of unified memory and up to 16TB of storage. Apple says battery life reaches up to 24 hours and that the new designs weigh about 3 and 4 pounds, thinner and much lighter than before. A reworked six-speaker system delivers 50% deeper bass, according to the company, and the machines keep Thunderbolt 5 and a 12MP Center Stage camera.
The Dynamic Island on the Mac works much as it does on iPhone, Apple says: users can ask a question, pick up a phone call or control music, and Live Activities deliver timely updates. Apple also notes that the display reaches its peak brightness for SDR content, not just HDR video, which should help outdoors and in bright offices.
Price breakdown: touch costs at least $900 more
Apple lists these U.S. starting prices: $2,899 for the 14-inch PROLED model with M5 Pro, $3,399 for the 16-inch with M5 Pro, $4,499 for the 14-inch with M5 Max, and $4,799 for the 16-inch with M5 Max. Education pricing knocks $150 to $300 off each.
The non-touch 14-inch MacBook Pro with M6 starts at $1,999 with 16GB of unified memory standard, configurable up to 32GB. By The Boston Report’s math, the cheapest touchscreen model costs $900, or 45%, more than that entry machine. Moving from M5 Pro to M5 Max on the 14-inch adds $1,600, a 55% jump, and stepping up from 14 to 16 inches adds $500 with M5 Pro and $300 with M5 Max. The full range now spans from $1,999 to $4,799 before upgrades, a $2,800 spread.
The M6 MacBook Pro: newer chip, no touch
The confusing part of this year’s lineup is that the cheapest MacBook Pro has the newest chip. The 14-inch MacBook Pro with M6 uses Apple’s new M6 chip with a 12-core CPU and 12-core GPU. Apple says it delivers up to 30% faster graphics and up to 25% faster AI workloads than M5. It adds Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6, keeps the Liquid Retina XDR screen with an optional nano-texture finish, and also claims up to 24 hours of battery life. It does not have a touchscreen or the Dynamic Island.
That leaves buyers with a simple trade-off. Students, office users and people upgrading from an older M1 or M2 laptop get most of the speed for $1,999. Video editors, 3D artists and photographers who want the brighter OLED panel, the Max chip’s graphics headroom or the new touch controls will pay at least $2,899.
How to order and when it ships
Both machines can be preordered on Apple’s online store and in the Apple Store app. The PROLED models are sold in 30 countries and regions at launch and the M6 model in 35. Both begin arriving to customers and in Apple Store locations starting Nov. 6, according to Apple. The new laptops ship with macOS 27, Apple Intelligence and Siri AI.
The launch follows weeks of reports about the design. Our preview of the touchscreen MacBook Pro laid out what was expected before the event. For more on this fall’s gadget season, see Amazon’s new Echo Show 16 and Alexa devices and our earlier report on Apple’s iMac G4-style smart home hub.
Sources
- Apple Newsroom: Apple unveils MacBook Pro with PROLED XDR Display and Touch (Oct. 28, 2026)
- Apple Newsroom: Apple introduces the new 14-inch MacBook Pro with M6 (Oct. 27, 2026)
- MacRumors: Apple announces new 14-inch MacBook Pro with M6 chip
- The Mac Observer: Touchscreen MacBook Pro prices
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