PROLED touchscreen MacBook Pro review roundup: fantastic screen, touch is secondary

The first reviews of the new MacBook Pro PROLED with touch display are out. All of them rave about the screen, just about all of wince at the price, and most shrug about touch.

Apple says these are the best MacBooks it's ever made, but it always says that. It says these have touch screens, and it's always rejected saying that.

Now that the 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro with PROLED XDR models are in reviewers' hands, there is much talk of how Steve Jobs hated touch screens. Some like iJustine say he had a point, but all say what John Ternus has about this being the right time to add touch.

Then all of the reviews so far are incredible raves with barely any criticism. Except none of them give more than passing attention to the touch screen.

Mashable

"It's brilliant in every way," says Mashable in its review. "It also has a touch screen, which is fine."

Calling it "the first slam dunk of the Ternus era," the review insists that "what's really exciting about this new Apple machine is the incredible tandem OLED display." It even says that Apple "wasn't exaggerating" with its claims of having an industry-leading display.

"This laptop absolutely slaps, and the incredible PROLED XDR display is the headline," concludes the reviewer. "It's stunning."

Tom's Guide

On YouTube, Tom's Guide says that touch "is the flashy headline this year," but that it's the screen that matters.

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"I'm just going to say it upfront, this is the best laptop display I have ever tested," continues the review.

PC Magazine

Out of reviews so glowing that they could've been written by Apple, PC Magazine's tiny criticism seems loud. It says that this "is a slightly more powerful laptop" than the most recent update.

It comes with "some quirks: loud cooling fans under load," says the review, "and an easy-to-smudge screen (unless you pony up for Apple's nano-texture panel upgrade."

But then the review summarizes the new MacBook Pro by saying that "'premium doesn't begin to cover it." And that this is the "new bar for laptop touch screens."

Even that is less about touch, though, and more because the screen is "one of the first (if not the first) reference grade" display in a laptop. PC Magazine gives the new MacBook Pro 4.5 stars and an Editor's Choice award.

Trusted Reviews

It might be a lesser-known source for Apple users, but Trusted Reviews is as enthused as everyone else. It's also enthused in exactly the same way, saying that there's now touch, but that it's the display "that I am more ecstatic about."

"OLED displays aren't new on laptops — they're pretty common on Windows machines, even more affordable ones — but this is the first time there has been one on a Mac," it continues. "And it's fantastic."

Gizmodo

The Gizmodo review cuts straight to the point with its headline: "Screw touchscreens, it's still the best Mac." While it does praise the touch feature, it concludes that "you're not going to end up using a touch display all too often."

Unlike most reviews that concentrate on display or touch, Gizmodo also wants to enthuse about audio. "The audio setup includes the same six speakers with four force-cancelling woofers," it says, "but the upgraded drivers on the models offer a sound quality that is much cleaner than before."

"[This] may become my favorite device for all sorts of content," it concludes.

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