.png "Global Insight")
Apple has spent more than a decade arguing that touchscreens and laptops do not mix. Tonight, at its "Pro and Tell" event in Los Angeles (10:30 p.m. IST), it is expected to prove itself wrong — and the last leak before the event is about the price of changing its mind. According to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, Apple has discussed charging as much as $2,899 for the new 14-inch touchscreen MacBook Pro with an M5 Pro chip, and at least $3,399 for the 16-inch model — roughly a $400 premium over the current non-touch models, which will stay on sale alongside them. Nothing here is confirmed by Apple yet: these are discussed prices, not announced ones. But if they hold, touch on a Mac will arrive as a premium tier, not a change for every buyer. Our event preview set out what was expected; this is the pricing leak that landed hours before the event.
What the new MacBook Pro is reported to change
The touchscreen is the headline, but the leak describes a broader redesign. The new 14- and 16-inch models, code-named K114 and K116, are expected to carry an OLED XDR touch display — replacing the Mini-LED panel — with thinner bezels and a Dynamic Island in place of the notch, a first for a Mac. They are reported to be slightly thinner and noticeably lighter than today's models, with a redesigned hinge that keeps the screen steady when tapped — the problem that has always made touch on a laptop feel wrong — and a reworked cooling system that moves air through the hinge. The chips are expected to be M5 Pro and M5 Max, not the newer M6 generation: the most affordable 14-inch MacBook Pro received an M6 upgrade on October 27 at $1,999 and keeps the current design, so the touch models sit above it as a separate, more expensive line. On software, a new version of macOS, code-named Golden Gate, is reported to include dial-like menus that appear around a user's finger — but Apple will market touch as an option, not a replacement for the keyboard and trackpad, according to Macworld's account of Gurman's reporting.
Who should wait, and what to watch tonight
The pricing logic is the story. At $2,899 for 14 inches against $2,499 for the current M5 Pro model, and $3,399 or more for 16 inches against $2,999, Apple is asking buyers to pay about $400 for touch, OLED and the redesign — while keeping the cheaper non-touch models available for everyone else. Preorders are expected to open on October 28, with in-store availability possibly as early as November 6, according to Notebookcheck's summary of the Bloomberg reporting. Three things to watch tonight: whether the announced prices match the leak, whether the touch models really ship with M5 Pro and Max rather than M6, and how Apple demonstrates touch without undermining the trackpad it has spent years perfecting. The project was reportedly approved by Tim Cook about four years ago, after touch became one of the features customers asked for most. Tonight we find out what Apple thinks that request is worth — in dollars, and in design compromises. As with our iPhone Duo cracking report, the real test will not be the announcement but what buyers discover in the first weeks of use.