Apple has officially launched a MacBook Pro with a touchscreen, raising the top-spec price to $14,549, or about 19.45 million won. With a starting price set at $2,899, or about 3.87 million won, adding the top-tier chip and high-capacity memory and storage options makes it $4,400, or about 5.9 million won, more expensive than the previous highest-priced MacBook Pro.

TechCrunch reported on Oct. 28 that the new MacBook Pro introduces a function that lets users operate it by touching the screen directly. This is the first time Apple has released a MacBook Pro with touch input on the laptop's display.

The highest prices in the lineup are $14,249, or about 19.05 million won, for the 14-inch model and $14,549, or about 19.45 million won, for the 16-inch model. Both models use the higher-end M5 Max chip, which consists of an 18-core CPU and a 40-core GPU.

Memory and storage options are the main drivers of the price increase. Expanding the SSD to 4TB adds $1,000, or about 1.33 million won, while upgrading to 8TB adds $3,000, or about 4 million won. The newly offered 16TB option costs an additional $7,000, or about 9.35 million won. Expanding memory to 128GB costs $2,000, or about 2.67 million won, and the nano-texture glass option is offered for $150, or about 200,000 won.

The jump in the top-spec price is also pronounced. The previous top price for the 16-inch MacBook Pro was $10,149, or about 13.56 million won, but the new model is $14,549, up $4,400. The addition of a touchscreen, a high-performance chip and extra-large memory and storage choices has pushed the top end of MacBook Pro pricing higher.

The change is also drawing attention because it shows Apple has shifted its past strategy around touchscreens. Apple previously introduced the Touch Bar, a touch-based auxiliary input device on the top of the keyboard, but later discontinued it. This time, instead of the Touch Bar, it applied touch input to the display itself, expanding how the laptop can be operated.

Memory supply shortages and rising demand for artificial intelligence hardware are also being cited as factors behind the price increase. With the burden of pricing for high-capacity memory and storage growing, additional costs rise quickly when choosing the top specifications. In particular, selecting a 16TB SSD and 128GB memory significantly raises the price compared with the base configuration.

Apple's launch is being interpreted as a move to adjust product strategy in the professional laptop market beyond simply adding a feature. It targets demand from users who want a touchscreen while also aiming at a consumer segment that chooses premium specifications needed for high-performance work.

Apple will begin taking pre-orders on Oct. 30 and start sales on Nov. 6. The market is watching whether the adoption of a touchscreen can expand demand for the MacBook Pro and how well consumers will accept the ultra-high-priced option strategy.