John Ternus says the Mac is “first and foremost” a device “built around the trackpad and keyboard”, but sometimes “it's comfortable and handy to have touch”
An exclusive early look at Apple's new touchscreen MacBook Pro—the computer Apple said would never happen.
WiredSteven Levy
Context & Ripple Effects
Apple’s Mac input strategy has emphasized keeping hands on the keyboard: in 2021, a Mac executive argued that Touch ID suited laptops because users’ hands were already there. Earlier hardware work such as the haptic trackpad expanded tactile interaction without moving the primary interface to the display.
Reports in 2023 pointed to a touchscreen MacBook Pro, and Apple has now made that direction explicit. Ternus’s keyboard-and-trackpad-first framing positions touch as an additional input mode rather than a replacement for established Mac workflows.
First-order effects
MacBook Pro buyers gain a direct-touch input option, while Apple retains the keyboard and trackpad as the machine’s primary controls.
Apple’s Mac hardware and software teams must make touch useful for occasional interactions without requiring it for established keyboard-and-trackpad workflows.
Second-order effects
Mac app designers face a modality constraint: interfaces need to accommodate taps while preserving the precision and efficiency expected from trackpad and keyboard use.
Apple’s product messaging must distinguish an optional touchscreen MacBook Pro from a wholesale redesign of how the Mac is operated.
Third-order effects
If Apple extends this approach, the Mac’s interface model shifts toward conditional convergence: one device supports multiple input modes, selected by task rather than by product category.
A touch layer that remains supplementary would preserve Apple’s existing Mac workflow while giving future hardware revisions a path to add more direct manipulation.
The trend: Apple is moving toward modality-aware Macs, adding touch as a situational complement to rather than a substitute for keyboard-and-trackpad computing.
Putting touch on the Mac is a classic 180. I go deep on this w John Ternus and other Apple execs. And get a first look at the MacBook Pro. https://www.wired.com/...
Steve Jobs in 2010, talking up iPad: No one wants to use a touch screen on a MacBook because after a while “your arm wants to fall off.” Apple in 2026: let's see if the way people interact with their devices has changed enough so that's no longer true. Very curious!
Finally a touch screen MacBook and the glowing Apple logo is back! The only thing I'm unsure of is the Dynamic Island. Feels like there are 3 different areas to look at now: Modals, Notifications, and Live Activities. And why
NEW: Apple announces the touch screen Macbook Pros going on sale Nov 6th starting at $2,899 for 14 in and $3,339 for 16 in. It has a “PROLED XDR” display with an M5 Pro/Max chip. WHO ASKED FOR THIS? WHO IS THIS FOR? JOBS IS ROLLING IN HIS GRAVE
No one can convince me this is a good experience. Mac shouldn't have touch, and definitely not for things Apple's marketing implies it should be used for, like playing the piano. Steve Jobs is proven right again.
Less than I think we maybe all thought, but still seems like a good “upgrade.” I bet this the only time we ever see Pro/Max SKUs in both form factors. They'll keep M7 in the old chassis and then move M7 Pro/Max (assuming they skip M6 as rumored) to this as the only option.