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Apple launched its first touch screen MacBook Pro, which adopts OLED and dynamic island and improves the thin and light design. It hopes to boost sales of Macs with high-end functions, but high prices and weak demand are still challenges.
Apple released its first touch-screen MacBook Pro on Wednesday, reversing its nearly 20-year stance of rejecting the use of touch in laptops. The new phone is thinner and lighter, and is equipped with an OLED screen and “dynamic island” for the first time. It will go on sale on November 6, with the price of the 14-inch version starting at US$2,899. Apple hopes to boost Mac sales with new features, but rising prices and weak computer market demand mean purchasing sentiment remains to be tested.
The new product is called “MacBook Pro with ProLED XDR Display” and is available in 14-inch and 16-inch sizes, equipped with M5 Pro or M5 Max chips. The price of the 16-inch version starts at US$3,399; The top-spec version with 16TB of storage space and 128GB of memory is priced at US$14,549. Starting prices for both sizes are significantly higher than existing models.
Mac supports touch for the first time and still uses macOS
The new machine is still equipped with macOS, but the interface has been redesigned to facilitate touch operation. In Apple’s demonstration video, users were demonstrated to slide directly across the screen to operate videos and images. OLED screens can provide higher brightness, better colors and wider viewing angles, and includeiPhone A dynamic island familiar to users.
The weight of the 14-inch version decreased from approximately 1.59 kg to approximately 1.36 kg for the non-touch model; The weight of the 16-inch version reduced from approximately 2.13 kg to approximately 1.81 kg. The illuminated Apple logo on the top cover also returns.
New CEO Turner told media and analysts in Los Angeles: “Yes, we are bringing touch to the Mac for the first time.” Apple hardware chief Johnny Sruzzi described it as “a huge leap forward for the Mac”.
Apple keeps changing its position over the years, from opposition to adoption
Some Windows laptops already support touch, but Apple has rejected them for years. Co-founder Steve Jobs criticized the touch Mac in his later years as “very non-ergonomic”. Cook, who took over, also said that the combination of laptop and tablet is similar to the combination of refrigerator and toaster.
However, Bloomberg previously reported that about four years ago, Cook and Tenas began advocating for changing the existing approach and allowing the MacBook Pro to adopt a touch screen. Apple hopes to increase the pace of development in the Mac through higher-end features and increased revenue at higher prices.
This is Apple’s third major product announcement since Turner became CEO last month. In the past two months, Apple has successively launched its first foldable phone iPhone Duo, as well as HomeView, a smart speaker equipped with a screen and using a new version of Siri. Also announced this week were an entry-level 14-inch MacBook Pro with the M6 chip, an updated iMac, and an iPad mini with an OLED screen.
Apple has raised Mac prices almost completely this year. The price of the Mac Mini, which was launched in August, has increased by US $ 300. The iPad mini released this week starts at $699, $100 more than the previous generation.
Mac revenue last quarter was US$10.35 billion, less than 10% of Apple’s total revenue. However, it is still preferred by software developers and is the only supported platform for iPhone app development.
Apple has recently continued to emphasize its own chip and memory architecture, arguing that the Mac is suitable for performing AI directly on the device. Meta’s AI model development team purchased hundreds of Mac Minis this year to test AI agents.
Apple also announced with Meta this month that connecting multiple Macs via high-speed cable will enable them to execute large-scale AI models at close to the most advanced levels, allowing developers to run AI agents on their own devices without paying Anthropic or OpenAI for it.
Summary FAQ
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The biggest change is that the Mac adds a touch screen for the first time and still maintains the macOS operating system. The interface has also been redesigned for touch, allowing users to swipe directly on the screen to operate videos and images.
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The new machine is available in 14-inch and 16-inch sizes, equipped with M5 Pro or M5 Max chips. The 14-inch model starts at US$2,899, the 16-inch model starts at US$3,399, and the top-spec 16TB and 128GB version costs more than US$14,549.
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Apple hopes to boost Mac sales through high-end touch, OLED, and dynamic island functions as well as increase revenue by raising prices; However, demand in the computer market is still weak, and the actual pace of purchasing is still to be seen.
