Apple unveils first touchscreen MacBook Pro with PROLED XDR OLED display; India price starts at Rs 3,49,900

Apple has put a touchscreen on the Mac for the first time. At its “Pro and Tell” showcase on Wednesday, 28 October (10:30 pm IST), the company introduced a new MacBook Pro in 14-inch and 16-inch sizes built around what it calls the PROLED XDR display, a tandem OLED panel with the touch sensor built into the screen itself.

Readers should not confuse this machine with the 14-inch MacBook Pro with the M6 chip that Apple announced a day earlier, on Tuesday, 27 October, and which The Daily Rostrum reported on 28 October at Rs 2,39,900. At that point an OLED model was only a rumour. The new OLED models are a separate, higher-priced line, and they run on M5 Pro and M5 Max chips rather than M6.

Display, chips and design

Apple’s press release lists peak brightness of 2,000 nits for both HDR and SDR content, a contrast ratio of 10,000,000:1 and ProMotion refresh rates from 10Hz to 120Hz. Colour coverage spans P3 and Adobe RGB, with more than 80% of Rec. 2020, and a nano-texture finish is offered to cut glare. The Free Press Journal, citing Apple’s specifications, puts the panels at 14.2 inches (3024 x 1986) and 16.3 inches (3472 x 2266), both at 254 pixels per inch, with up to 1,000 nits sustained full-screen brightness.

A Dynamic Island now sits at the top of the screen, replacing the notch, and serves as a home for Spotlight, Live Activities and Siri. TechCrunch notes Apple also re-engineered the hinge so the screen stays steady under a finger. The touch feature arrives almost ten years after the Touch Bar, Apple’s earlier attempt at touch input on a MacBook Pro.

Buyers can choose M5 Pro or M5 Max chips with up to 128GB of unified memory and up to 16TB of storage. Apple claims up to 24 hours of battery life and a 50% charge in 30 minutes. Ports include three Thunderbolt 5, HDMI, an SDXC slot, MagSafe and a headphone jack, while Apple’s N1 chip handles Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6. The 14-inch model weighs about 3 lb, half a pound less than before, and the 16-inch about 4 lb. Both ship with macOS 27. Apple says apps including Final Cut Pro, Logic Pro, Microsoft Office, Canva, Zoom and DaVinci Resolve support touch, some arriving later this year.

Johny Srouji, Apple’s chief hardware officer, called the laptop “a monumental step forward for the Mac”.

Prices in the US and India

• 14-inch, M5 Pro: $2,899 / Rs 3,49,900 (education Rs 3,31,900)
• 16-inch, M5 Pro: $3,399 / Rs 4,09,900 (education Rs 3,85,900)
• 14-inch, M5 Max: $4,499 / Rs 5,49,900 (education Rs 5,12,900)
• 16-inch, M5 Max: $4,799 / Rs 5,89,900 (education Rs 5,52,900)

Indian prices are taken from Apple’s India Newsroom and, according to the Free Press Journal, are maximum retail prices inclusive of taxes.

Availability

Pre-orders opened on 28 October. Apple’s US release says the laptop becomes available on Friday, 6 November, but the pricing section on Apple’s India Newsroom page says customer deliveries and store availability begin on Monday, 9 November. The Free Press Journal also reports 9 November for India.

The rest of Apple’s week

The launch caps a busy week. On Monday, 26 October, Apple announced an iPad mini with an 8.5-inch OLED screen and the A20 Pro chip, MacRumors reported, while an iMac with M6 and the M6 14-inch MacBook Pro followed on 27 October. TechCrunch reported the M6 MacBook Pro starts at $1,999 in the US.

Sources

• Apple Newsroom: Apple unveils groundbreaking MacBook Pro with PROLED XDR display
• Apple Newsroom (India): Apple unveils groundbreaking MacBook Pro with PROLED XDR display
• TechCrunch: Apple launches its new touchscreen MacBook Pro
• Free Press Journal: Apple unveils touchscreen MacBook Pro with M5 Pro, M5 Max chips; price in India starts at Rs 3,49,900
• MacRumors: Apple teases ‘exciting week’ ahead after announcing new iPad mini