The touchscreen isn’t the killer feature of the new MacBook Pro
Macworld ·
Macworld Apple has finally brought a touch interface to the Mac, 43 years after the first commercial PC with a touchscreen, the HP 150 . It’s a momentous event in Apple history, one that longtime Mac users never thought would come. The new laptop is going to be mainly referred to as the “touchscreen MacBook Pro,” and there’s a lot of talk about the feature. But if you think of the new laptop only in terms of its touchscreen, you’re missing the point. There’s a reason why Apple calls it the MacBook Pro with PROLED XDR Display. It’s clumsy and lengthy, but notice how “Touch” isn’t one of the words. “Touch” isn’t in the name because it’s not the most important new feature of the new MacBook Pro. In fact, I think it’s the least important feature, and there are other aspects of the laptop that are more important and have implications for other MacBooks down the line. OLED takes the lead The display is the most important feature, but not because of touch, but because it’s a tandem OLED display that can “deliver the kind of visual fidelity pros have been dreaming of,” according to Apple. Considering Apple’s long history of producing the best quality laptop displays, I’m inclined to believe that statement. Apple Look at these specs. This is on a laptop? Damn. 10,000,000:1 contrast ratio XDR brightness: Up to 1000 nits sustained full-screen; 2000 nits peak (HDR content only) SDR brightness: Up to 1000 nits sustained full-screen; 2000 nits peak (outdoor) P3 + Adobe RGB wide color gamuts ProMotion adaptive refresh rates That’s easily one of the best, if not the best display ever put in a laptop. Can a display on a laptop be so good-looking that you’ll never want to take your eyes off it? If it can, count on Apple to make it. What’s even more exciting is what it means for the rest of the MacBook lineup in the future. Several reports have said OLED is coming to the MacBook Air, possibly in 2028 , and though it probably won’t be on the same level as the MacBook Pro with PROLED Display—consider the difference between the iPad mini and the iPad Pro—it’ll still be a major upgrade from the current LED-backlit IPS panel. Lighter design A few days ago, I was in the office with my 16-inch MacBook Pro in my backpack. I put my backpack on my desk, and it landed with a loud thud. My co-worker (a PC fanboy) was shocked. “What’s with the rocks in your bag?” he exclaimed The new MacBook Pro is nearly a pound lighter. That might not sound like much, but it makes a difference if you’re moving around often, or if you’re like me and you have an hour-long commute on public transportation. Hopefully, that thud won’t be as resonant with the new laptop. It’ll be interesting to see if the advances Apple made to achieve the smaller and lighter MacBook Pro will carry over to the other MacBooks. Imagine if the MacBook Neo and the 13-inch MacBook Air, Apple’s lightest laptops at 2.7 pounds, were closer to 2 pounds. Dynamic Island The notch on the MacBooks is there because the bezel is too thin to fit the FaceTime camera, but it’s also just sort of… there. It’s not really obtrusive, because it sits above the usable screen space in the status bar, but it still feels like a vestigial part of the laptop with no real purpose. Apple The Dynamic Island replaces the notch, and it’s now a functional anchor of the Mac. It works as it does on the iPhone, so you know it’ll be a useful home for Spotlight search and Lite Activities. I’ve come to appreciate how it’s used on the iPhone, so I’m excited to see it become a natural extension of macOS. Will the Dynamic Island make it to other MacBooks? It would be a shame if Apple decided it was a premium feature for only the MacBook Pro with PROLED XDR Display, but I can see that happening. Apple won’t switch from the notch to the Dynamic Island until the other MacBooks upgrade their display tech, so we won’t know for some time. Glowing Apple logo It’s just a logo, but as Mac users and Apple fans, that Apple logo has meaning. When the glowing Apple was introduced in the 1999 PowerBook G3, it made a statement (even though it was upside down for the first couple of years). It told people we were proud Mac users. We mourned the loss of the logo in 2015. But the glowing logo and the statement it brings are back. But this time it comes as a flex, the way that Cosmic Orange was for the iPhone 17 Pro . People who know Macs will see it and know you’ve got the new MacBook Pro. As for the people who don’t know Macs, well, they’ll see it and be envious. Best of all, the glowing Apple icon won’t be upside down when the lid is open . And now that it’s a little screen of its own, you can even turn it off iift you want. Apple