From WIRED · Luke Larsen · · 4m
MacBook Pro's OLED screen is stunning, but the touchscreen feels half-baked
Apple's new OLED MacBook Pro has the brightest laptop display ever made and ditches the notch, but the touchscreen implementation leaves questions unanswered.
In brief
Apple's new OLED MacBook Pro has the brightest laptop display ever made and ditches the notch, but the touchscreen implementation leaves questions unanswered. Apple's OLED MacBook Pro offers the brightest laptop display ever and removes the notch, but costs nearly one thousand dollars more than last year's model with…
Apple breaks its own rules
Apple has long resisted touchscreen laptops, but the new MacBook Pro now has one. The company has never made this kind of design change before.
The display is exceptional
The PROLED XDR screen is the brightest laptop display ever tested, reaching up to one thousand nits in everyday use and two thousand nits in specific circumstances.
Brightness adapts to your environment
An ambient light sensor in the webcam module detects bright outdoor conditions and boosts the display beyond one thousand nits. The optional nano-texture screen makes outdoor work even better.
HDR content looks incredible
The OLED screen reaches one thousand eight hundred forty-nine nits in HDR testing, delivering depth and color never before seen on a laptop. It rivals the brightest OLED TVs.
The notch finally disappears
The OLED MacBook Pro replaces the large notch with a punch-hole camera, like newer iPhones. The MacBook Pro also gains Dynamic Island, which shows interactive Live Activities.
It's noticeably lighter
The sixteen-inch OLED model weighs just four pounds, over half a pound lighter than the non-OLED equivalent. OLED's thinner, lighter layers account for most of the weight savings.
The glowing logo returns
The OLED MacBook Pro brings back the light-up Apple logo on the lid, a feature only available on this expensive model. It matches the display's brightness and doesn't distract in dark rooms.
Speakers get deeper bass
The six-speaker sound system has fifty percent deeper bass than the previous generation. The improvement is noticeable when comparing side-by-side with the earlier model.
The touchscreen feels half-baked
The touchscreen is occasionally useful for swiping notifications or scrolling on a couch, but it has no place in typical work workflows. The interface doesn't draw users to touch it.
Apple optimized macOS for touch
Apple tweaked macOS to optimize for touch, more than Microsoft did with Windows eleven. Window controls pop out for precise selection, and menu bar drop-downs are more spaced out.
Third-party apps need work
Click-to-touch works in all apps, but not all developers will optimize for touch. Apps translated through Rosetta don't support some features like the zoom-in window controls.
Creative tools show promise
Apple markets touch to creative pros, with features like drawing in Pixelmator Pro or applying brush textures in ZBrush. But these feel more like gimmicks than essential features.
Touch is a catch-up feature
Apple watched Microsoft fumble Windows eight's touch implementation for years. Adding touch to MacBook feels like catching up rather than leading, but Apple hasn't committed fully to it.
Same chips as last year
The two thousand twenty-six OLED MacBook Pro uses the same M five Pro and M five Max chips as the previous generation.
Performance is identical
Apple redesigned the OLED MacBook Pro internals to support the PROLED XDR display, but performance matches the non-OLED M five Pro and M five Max models exactly.
Pricing is steep
The fourteen-inch OLED MacBook Pro starts at two thousand eight hundred ninety-nine dollars, while the sixteen-inch starts at three thousand three hundred ninety-nine dollars. That's four hundred dollars more than the non-OLED model.
Upgrading is hard to justify
If you own an M five Pro or M five Max MacBook Pro, upgrading to the OLED version is difficult to justify without a specific use case for the display.
Both models remain available
Apple continues selling both the OLED and non-OLED MacBook Pro models in its lineup. Buyers upgrading from M one Max or M two Max face a tricky choice between the two versions.
What matters most
Apple's OLED MacBook Pro offers the brightest laptop display ever and removes the notch, but costs nearly one thousand dollars more than last year's model with identical processors.
