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# Touchscreen MacBook Pro reviews: the OLED screen and lighter body impress more than touch
- URL: https://www.skimwire.com/touchscreen-macbook-pro-proled-reviews-oled-touch/
- Published: 2026-11-05T20:41:11.000Z
- Updated: 2026-11-05T20:41:11.000Z
- Description: Reviewers love the PROLED XDR display and 3-pound 14-inch body but say touch is a minor extra. It launches Friday from $2,899.
- Author: Jeremy Moon
- Tags: Gadgets

## The skim

- The first reviews of Apple's MacBook Pro with PROLED XDR Display are out, a day before it goes on sale Friday, Nov. 6\. The verdict: the tandem OLED screen and lighter body are the real upgrades, and the touchscreen is a nice extra.
- The Verge gave it a 9 and called it "a winner." Engadget gave it 8.8, praising the screens and slimmer design but listing "Touchscreen doesn't add much" and "So damn expensive" as cons.
- It starts at $2,899 (14-inch) and $3,399 (16-inch) and uses the same M5 Pro and M5 Max chips as the standard MacBook Pro, so you're paying for the screen and the design, not more speed.

## What reviewers found

Apple [announced the PROLED models](https://www.skimwire.com/apple-touchscreen-macbook-pro-proled-oled-price-release-date/) on Oct. 28 as its first Macs with touch. After about a week of testing, reviewers mostly agree that touch is the least important part.

"I keep forgetting the MacBook Pro with PROLED XDR Display has a touchscreen," wrote The Verge's David Pierce, who still called it "one of the most impressive" laptops Apple has made. He found touch handy for pinch-zooming photos, tapping to pause a movie and showing someone something on screen. That "adds up to maybe a half-dozen taps on the touchscreen a day." There's no onscreen keyboard, no tap-to-copy menu, and the Apple Pencil doesn't work.

Engadget's Devindra Hardawar put it more bluntly: "The least interesting thing about Apple's new touchscreen MacBook Pro is the touchscreen." Touches register as mouse clicks, so they work almost everywhere in macOS. Both reviewers still hit games where a button or move wouldn't respond to touch.

## The screen and the weight are the story

- **Display:** Apple rates the tandem OLED panel at up to 2,000 nits peak brightness with a 10,000,000:1 contrast ratio, plus P3 and Adobe RGB color. Pierce called it "gorgeous." Engadget found it hard to tell apart from the old Mini LED screens in everyday use, but said dark movie scenes with bright bursts looked more realistic.
- **Weight:** per Engadget, the 14-inch model drops from 3.7 to 3 pounds and the 16-inch from 4.7 to 4 pounds. Pierce said the 14-inch is "closer in weight to the 15-inch MacBook Air than the 14-inch MacBook Pro."
- **Dynamic Island:** the notch is replaced by a Dynamic Island for Spotlight, Siri AI and Live Activities.
- **Speakers are split:** Apple says the six speakers have 50% deeper bass. Engadget liked them. Pierce found them "a bit bass-heavy," and Bloomberg's Chris Welch said the sound is "often too boomy" for music and podcasts, [MacRumors reports](https://www.macrumors.com/2026/11/05/macbook-pro-proled-xdr-reviews/?ref=skimwire.com).
- **Unchanged:** the same ports (three Thunderbolt 5, HDMI, SD card slot, headphone jack, MagSafe), keyboard and trackpad. Engadget's 14-inch unit lasted about 12.5 hours in its workday test.

## Why it matters

The price gap is steep. The 14-inch PROLED model costs $900 more than the $1,999 M6 14-inch MacBook Pro, and the 16-inch costs $400 more than the standard 16-inch, per Engadget. Pierce estimates about a $400 premium over a similarly specced standard Pro and thinks it's worth it. Engadget says none of the upgrades are reason enough to replace a recent M-series MacBook Pro.

If you want the best laptop screen Apple makes and care about weight, this is it. If you mostly want speed, the cheaper models use the same or newer chips. If you specifically want to draw or use a Mac like a tablet, reviewers say this isn't that, and an iPad is still the answer.

## What's next

All five of Apple's new products, including the [M6 MacBook Pro and iMac](https://www.skimwire.com/apple-m6-macbook-pro-14-imac-prices-preorders/), launch Friday. MacRumors says most configurations show launch-day delivery, but the base 14-inch PROLED model in Space Black was listed at 3-4 weeks. Getting a new Mac? Here's [how to move everything over with Migration Assistant](https://www.skimwire.com/how-to-transfer-data-new-mac-migration-assistant/).

*Sources:* [*The Verge*](https://www.theverge.com/tech/1026570/apple-macbook-pro-proled-xdr-display-review?ref=skimwire.com)*,* [*Engadget*](https://www.engadget.com/2307215/apple-macbook-pro-with-proled-xdr-display-review/?ref=skimwire.com)*,* [*MacRumors review roundup*](https://www.macrumors.com/2026/11/05/macbook-pro-proled-xdr-reviews/?ref=skimwire.com)*,* [*MacRumors launch details*](https://www.macrumors.com/2026/11/05/apple-launching-five-new-products-tomorrow/?ref=skimwire.com)*,* [*Apple Newsroom*](https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2026/10/apple-unveils-groundbreaking-macbook-pro-with-proled-xdr-display/?ref=skimwire.com)*.*