After the foldable iPhone, Apple Inc. (AAPL.US) Tries Another High-Priced New Product: Touchscreen MacBook Pro Set to Debut, with a Starting Price of US$2,899, a Record High

According to well-known tipster Mark Gurman, Apple Inc. (AAPL.US) just successfully verified this month that consumers are willing to pay US$2,000 or more for a foldable iPhone; now it is preparing to test the waters again, gauging the market's acceptance of another high-priced new product: a touchscreen laptop. Apple Inc. plans to unveil new high-end 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models at its Pro and Tell event at 1 a.m. Beijing time on October 29, adding higher-priced versions above its existing product line. These new machines feature the Mac lineup's first OLED XDR touchscreen display and Dynamic Island, and their starting prices will also hit a new high. According to people familiar with the matter, the new 14-inch version with the M5 Pro chip is priced at US$2,899, US$400 more than the current M5 Pro model released in March this year and raised in price once in June. The existing 16-inch MacBook Pro without a touchscreen starts at US$2,999; by that calculation, the new touchscreen version would start at at least US$3,399, and the premium for the larger model would in theory be even higher than for the 14-inch version. Apple Inc. will keep the non-touch versions on sale alongside the new machines. A spokesperson for Cupertino, California-based Apple Inc. declined to comment. At this Los Angeles event, Apple Inc. will focus on content creators, self-media bloggers and editing professionals, whom Apple Inc. regards as the core target customers for this new machine. The US$2,899 price means this 14-inch model will become the highest-starting-price MacBook Pro in history, surpassing the 17-inch version launched in 2006 (priced at US$2,799 at the time). The pricing also puts Apple Inc. in the first tier of high-end touchscreen laptops, benchmarked against Dell Technologies, Inc. Class C high-end OLED laptops with comparable specifications. Apple Inc. finally decided to add a touchscreen to the Mac, a decision settled about four years ago. Then-CEO Tim Cook approved the project, partly because a touchscreen was one of the features users demanded most. "He said at the time that we should build this product," people familiar with the matter said. Cook's successor, former hardware chief John Ternus, took over as CEO and led the development of these new computers, working closely with the software team. Ternus believes Apple Inc. has fallen behind in this arena and said internally that touchscreens have become standard on laptops and it is time for Apple Inc. to embrace the technology. This is a major strategic pivot for Apple Inc. For nearly two decades, Apple Inc. executives had rejected the idea of touchscreen laptops, arguing that touch input did not match the design and ergonomic logic of the Mac. As early as January 2023, reports said Apple Inc. planned to add a touchscreen to the MacBook Pro, with details of the new display, software interaction, chips and design changes disclosed gradually afterward. Apple Inc. plans to open pre-orders for the new machines on Wednesday local time, alongside pre-orders for the new iPad mini, the M6-chip 14-inch MacBook Pro and the iMac updated earlier this week. The touchscreen MacBook Pro is expected to go on official sale as early as November 6, launching alongside the other new products. Beyond the display upgrade, the new MacBook Pro largely continues the current design, with narrower bezels, a slightly thinner body and noticeably lighter weight. Apple Inc. has also redesigned the hinge structure to prevent the screen from wobbling when users tap it. The internal structure has also been optimized, with the cooling system retuned to reduce weight while improving airflow through the hinge area. Apple Inc. has not fully resolved the ergonomic pain points raised when executives opposed touchscreen laptops years ago; instead, it has adapted the macOS Golden Gate system. The new system pops up knob-style menu interactions around the finger, while still keeping the keyboard and trackpad as the Mac's core interaction methods. The first batch of touchscreen MacBook Pros carries chips released earlier this year; reports say Apple Inc. is already developing the next generation, to feature M7 Pro and M7 Max chips, expected in fall next year. Apple Inc. also plans an entry-level M7 MacBook Pro using this new design next year. In addition, Apple Inc. plans to launch a new MacBook Air and MacBook Neo in 2027, and a Mac Studio with the M7 Ultra chip in 2028. This series of products is part of a multi-year major refresh of the Mac lineup, aimed at capturing the demand dividend from the AI wave and leveraging the advantages of its in-house chips to seize market share. These new Mac products are not Apple Inc.'s last launch plans for this year. The all-new HomeView smart home device and an updated Apple TV set-top box will go on sale on November 13.