Apple has unveiled its first touchscreen MacBook Pro — and the fully loaded 16-inch model comes with a jaw-dropping price tag of $14,549.
The Cupertino, Calif.-based tech giant introduced the redesigned laptop Wednesday, touting a new OLED display, touchscreen controls and a thinner, lighter design.
But getting all the bells and whistles on the widest model will cost customers more than four times its $3,399 starting price, as tech news site MacRumors pointed out.
The top-end configuration packs Apple’s M5 Max chip with an 18-core CPU and 40-core GPU, 128GB of unified memory, a 16TB solid-state drive and optional nano-texture glass designed to reduce glare.
The biggest expense comes from boosting storage from 2TB to 16TB — a whopping $7,000 upgrade. Maxing out the memory at 128GB adds another $2,000 over the 48GB configuration.
Customers who want the nano-texture glass must shell out an additional $150.
Even the smaller 14-inch version can reach an eye-watering $14,249 when equipped with the most expensive upgrades.
The entry-level 14-inch touchscreen MacBook Pro starts at $2,899, while the cheapest 16-inch model costs $3,399 — both $400 more than comparable non-touchscreen models equipped with M5 Pro chips.
The sticker shock sparked an outcry among some Apple fans on Reddit.
“$3,399 for the 16 inch. That’s crazy,” one user wrote on the r/apple forum.
Another commenter, who said he works in 3D rendering, complained that the price was steep even for customers who need high-end equipment.
“I mean I’m a professional. It’s still overpriced,” the user wrote.
“This exact machine was made for me, I need accurate color and also work in higher education. It’s overpriced. It starts at 2,899. Professional devices can still be too expensive for professionals.”
Not everyone was outraged.
Some Reddit users pointed out that the touchscreen models cost just $400 more than comparable non-touchscreen MacBook Pros, while the astronomical $14,549 price applies only to the most heavily upgraded version.
The new laptop marks a major shift for Apple, which has long resisted adding touchscreens to its Mac computers, instead relying on keyboards and trackpads while embracing touch controls on its iPhones and iPads.
The redesigned MacBook Pro lets users move and resize windows with their fingers, drag files between apps, scroll through webpages and pinch to zoom in on photos.
Its new PROLED XDR screen uses tandem OLED technology that Apple says delivers improved brightness, contrast and color accuracy, particularly for professional photographers, video editors and designers.
The new laptops run on Apple’s M5 Pro and M5 Max chips, which are also available in the company’s existing non-touchscreen MacBook Pros.
Apple claims the redesigned machines can deliver up to 24 hours of battery life, depending on the configuration.
The expensive laptop rollout comes less than a week after Apple launched its first foldable smartphone, the iPhone Duo, which starts at $1,999.
The Oct. 23 debut sparked a buying frenzy, with customers camping outside Apple stores for hours and some locations running out of walk-in inventory shortly after opening.
But the highly anticipated phone also faced early complaints from customers who reported cracked inner screens and bright lines appearing near the hinge.
Apple acknowledged Monday that a “small number” of Duo devices were affected and directed owners experiencing problems to AppleCare for replacements.
The new touchscreen MacBook Pros are available for preorder now, with deliveries and in-store sales scheduled to begin Nov. 6. The Post has sought comment from Apple.
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