We’ve had touchscreen laptops for years. Can Apple make them better?
Apple is expected to announce its first touchscreen MacBook at its “Pro and Tell” event, marking a reversal of the company’s long-standing opposition to touchscreens on laptops. The article considers whether Apple can make the feature feel useful, given that touchscreen laptops are already established and Apple’s earlier Touch Bar failed to become a convincing substitute for physical controls.
Rumours point to a 14- or 16-inch MacBook Pro with an OLED display, M5 Pro or M5 Max chips, a Dynamic Island webcam cutout and a thinner, lighter design. The current 14-inch M5 Pro model starts at $2,499, so a more expensive OLED panel could push the price higher. Questions remain over whether the laptop will support Apple Pencil, offer a flexible hinge, or stay a conventional clamshell, and whether a slimmer design could affect performance, battery life or usability.
In short
- Apple is expected to unveil its first touchscreen MacBook.
- Rumours include OLED displays and a thinner design.
- Price, Pencil support and performance trade-offs remain unclear.
Steelman: both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
A touchscreen could make a MacBook more useful for people who want to manipulate images, mark up documents or navigate directly on screen, while keeping the keyboard and trackpad for tasks that suit them better. Apple’s control over hardware and software may let it integrate touch more coherently than earlier laptop designs, and a flexible hinge or Pencil support could add practical uses if included.
The case against
Touchscreens are already common on laptops, so Apple would need to show that touch improves everyday work rather than simply raising the price. On a conventional clamshell, reaching up to tap the display may be less comfortable than using a trackpad, and a thinner design or pricier OLED screen could bring trade-offs in battery life, performance or value; the failed Touch Bar also gives reason to ask whether Apple can make the feature genuinely useful.