I just went hands on with the touchscreen MacBook Pro OLED — and it’s jaw-dropping

I’ll be honest. I’m not a fan of the name. “MacBook Pro with PROLED XDR Display” is a mouthful. But this laptop, starting at $2,899, definitely made my jaw drop.

MacBook Pro with PROLED XDR Display: Specs

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Price	$2,399	$2,899
Display	14.2-inch PROLED XDR (3024 x 1986 pixels), 120Hz, multi-touch	16.3-inch PROLED XDR (3472 x 2266 pixels), 120Hz, multi-touch
Display finish	Standard glass, nano-texture glass	Standard glass, nano-texture glass
Colors	Silver, Space Black	Silver, Space Black
Chip	M5 Pro (15 CPU cores, 16 GPU cores), M5 Pro (18 CPU cores, 20 GPU cores), M5 Max (18 CPU cores, 32 GPU cores), M5 Max (18 CPU cores, 40 GPU cores)	M5 Pro (18 CPU cores, 20 GPU cores), M5 Max (18 CPU cores, 32 GPU cores), M5 Max (18 CPU cores, 40 GPU cores)
Memory	24GB or 48GB (M5 Pro with 16-core GPU), 24GB, 48GB or 64GB (M5 Pro with 20-core GPU), 36GB (M5 Max with 32-core GPU), 48GB, 64GB or 128GB (M5 Max with 40-core GPU)	24GB, 48GB or 64GB (M5 Pro with 20-core GPU), 36GB (M5 Max with 32-core GPU), 48GB, 64GB or 128GB (M5 Max with 40-core GPU)
Storage	1TB, 2TB or 4TB (M5 Pro with 16-core or 20-core GPU), 2TB, 4TB, 8TB or 16TB (M5 Max with 32-core or 40-core GPU)	1TB, 2TB or 4TB (M5 Pro with 20-core GPU), 2TB, 4TB, 8TB or 16TB (M5 Max with 32-core or 40-core GPU)
Ports	3 x Thunderbolt 5, 1 x HDMI, 1 x 3.5mm headphone jack, 1 x SD card reader, 1 x MagSafe 3	3 x Thunderbolt 5, 1 x HDMI, 1 x 3.5mm headphone jack, 1 x SD card reader, 1 x MagSafe 3
OS	macOS 27 Golden Gate	macOS 27 Golden Gate
Connectivity	Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6, Thread (Apple N1)	Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6, Thread (Apple N1)
Camera	12MP Center Stage webcam	12MP Center Stage webcam
Size	12.24 x 8.52 x 0.59 inches	14 x 9.62 x 0.63 inches
Weight	3 pounds (M5 Pro), 3.1 pounds (M5 Max)	4 pounds (M5 Pro), 4.1 pounds (M5 Max)

All about that panel

The first thing I noticed was the colorful tandem OLED panel. At 2,000 nits, this screen is so bright we had to turn down our camera to record it. The colors really pop off the display. The screen offers a 120Hz refresh rate and a 10 million to 1 contrast ratio, which Apple says is industry leading — and I believe it.

Finally notchless

Pro and Tell. 10.28.26 — (Image credit: Tom’s Guide)

The second thing that hit me is that the notch is gone, replaced by a smaller Dynamic Island. When playing music, for example, the music player will shrink in a little window at the top of the display, and you bring it back with a tap.

And that brings me to perhaps the biggest upgrade overall, as it’s a first for MacBooks: touch.

A MacBook you can reach out and touch

I found the touchscreen support to be pretty smooth as I navigated between apps. I could draw using my finger with ease, though there’s no Apple Pencil support to speak of.

As you would expect, pinch-to-zoom works well, and I could easily drag and drop video clips in a timeline. I also played a virtual keyboard (complete with chords) and interacted with a 3D model by spinning it around.

We’ll have to see how well touch works with third-party apps, but Apple already promises support for Notion, Canva, Zoom, Microsoft Office, Adobe Lightroom and more.

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All of this is wrapped up in a design that’s only 3 pounds, which is less than the MacBook Pro with M6 at 3.4 pounds. I could easily see myself carrying this as my everyday laptop — if I had the budget.

Another design highlight is that Apple has brought back the glowing Apple logo, so everyone will know from across the room that you have the touchscreen Mac.

A true mobile studio

Powering the MacBook Pro with PROLED is the M5 Pro and M5 Max chip, which should offer swift performance for creative pros and coders.

And this new MacBook Pro will hopefully sound as good as it looks, thanks to a new woofer design with 50% more bass.

The port selection is robust, with three Thunderbolt 5 ports, HDMI, SDXC card, MagSafe and a headphone jack. And you get both Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6 support.

An unmatched display

Starting at $2,899 for the 14-inch version and $3,399 for the 16-inch, this is one pricey laptop. But if you want the very best display quality it could be worth the premium. Anyone who works with photos and video on a daily basis I think will love this panel.

I would say the touch interface is more of a bonus, and I’d like to see Apple offer it across the lineup just to give people more options.

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Mark Spoonauer is the global editor in chief of Tom’s Guide and has covered technology for over 20 years. In addition to overseeing the direction of Tom’s Guide, Mark specializes in covering all things mobile, having reviewed dozens of smartphones and other gadgets. He has spoken at key industry events and appears regularly on TV to discuss the latest trends, including Cheddar, Fox Business and other outlets. Mark was previously editor in chief of Laptop Mag, and his work has appeared in Wired, Popular Science and Inc. Follow him on Twitter at @mspoonauer.