Hands-on with Apple’s first touchscreen laptop

Apple announced its first touchscreen laptop models on Wednesday at an event in Los Angeles.

These new MacBooks, called MacBook Pro with ProLED XDR Display, are still Apple MacBooks. They run MacOS, not iPadOS or iOS, the iPhone’s operating system.

Here’s the good news for anyone who is worried about the new user interface: You don’t have to use it. Touch is entirely optional.

CNBC briefly tested both the 14-inch and 16-inch touchscreen MacBooks at the event.

Users can still primarily or entirely use the device’s trackpad and keyboard, and there are few visual updates. MacOS still looks largely the same as it used to.

There have been a few user interface updates. For example, the red button on the top left of a window expands when you touch it to make it easier to click. Apple says that third-party developers like Microsoft and Adobe can and will update their apps to expand buttons and other touch targets to be larger. I think that touch will be particularly useful to scroll through websites or documents while lying down.

But even software that hasn’t been explicitly updated for the new computer will support touch. Apple says that behind the scenes, its software converts every touch tap into a traditional click. So any button that can be clicked can also be touched.

Using the laptop with your finger feels good, but it won’t change the way most people use their laptops. It could be useful for iPhone app developers, who can now test the way their apps work on their Mac. An accessibility feature allows users to pinch to zoom on any part of the user interface.

Apple said on Wednesday that it had used an oleophobic coating on its screens to resist fingerprints. It appears to work. I didn’t notice marks on the screen when I used the touch features.

Apple is also, in addition to the touch feature, marketing these laptops as having a superior display, thanks to its new tandem OLED technology that offers deeper blacks and higher contrast.

While photos and other art looked great on the screen, it’s not a night-and-day difference from past Apple laptops. A lot of the improvements are aimed at creators who need accurate colors for photo and video editing.

Instead of the notch at the top of previous MacBooks, where Apple hides its cameras, the new MacBooks have a hole-punch cutout in the display, like recent iPhones. Apple’s Dynamic Island feature — new to the MacBook — expands to show live activities and Siri.

Apple made a big deal about the laptop’s new hinge, which is meant to keep the screen from shaking when you touch it. For example, if you tap the screen on a video call, your camera won’t shake as much. But the hinge feels largely the same as Apple’s previous MacBook Pros.

There is one new feature that is immediately noticeable and tells people you bought the latest, greatest, and most expensive Apple laptop. (The smaller 14-inch model starts at $2,899 and the bigger one costs at least $3,399.) The Apple logo on the lid now lights up when the computer is on. It’s the first Apple laptop that supports it since the 2017 MacBook Air.

The light-up logo drew a cheer from analysts and influencers in attendance when it was announced on Wednesday.