The Inside Story of Why Apple Finally Brought a Touch Display to the Mac

They show me how the touch tech can handle precision tasks, like color grading in the video editing software DaVinci Resolve, or tweaking a soundtrack on Logic Pro, Apple’s high-end audio workstation. One innovation, not just for pros, is a new gesture to pull down the “Dynamic Island,” that black oval hosting ongoing tasks that has made its way to Mac from iPhone. An expanded version floats on the screen like a widget, enabling easy access to Siri responses and Spotlight search.

But what about greasy fingers messing up the screen? I was told that the new display has an anti-reflective outer coating that will require no more cleaning than your normal non-interactive screen.

Apple clearly hopes that the MacBook Pro launch puts an exclamation point on the burst of product announcements that Apple customers are still absorbing. For the foldable Duo, some customers are impatiently waiting for delivery dates that stretch into January. (Lines were long at Apple stores last Friday, when the device went on sale, and Joswiak personally greeted those who queued up at Apple’s Fifth Avenue store in New York City.)

I ask Srouji whether Apple is making a statement with its armada of new products, maybe as a way to say that in a year dominated by AI obsession, Apple is still here. He responds much as his new boss did, contending that Apple is simply sticking to its game plan. “We’re here to build the most amazing products in the world, and we want to ship them when we believe it’s ready and complete,” says Srouji. “That’s the statement we’re making. I think everyone knows we’re here.”

While longtime users will be happy to hear that a Macintosh now has a touchscreen, those with limited budgets will be disappointed. Apple’s current stance—that touch-on-a-Mac display is most appropriate to the “pro” crowd—rationalizes an astronomical price tag: The new MacBook Pro starts at $2,899 for the 14-inch version and $3,399 for the 16-inch model. Financial analyst Neil Cybart, who got an early MacBook Pro briefing, thinks that serious professionals will pay up. “People are in search of value, and that means going for products that leverage technology to improve what they’re doing,” he says.

When I ask Ternus about the timeline, or even the possibility, of seeing touch displays on less exorbitantly priced MacBook Airs and iMacs, he shakes his head. “You’ve been doing this a long time,” he says. “You know I will never tell you anything about our future.”

I don’t know why I bothered to ask. If Ternus said that touch would never happen on a MacBook Air, who would believe him? I’d be back at The Ring a year later, hearing that Apple had finally figured out a way to do it right.

Let us know what you think about this article. Submit a letter to the editor at [email protected].