Apple has unveiled a MacBook with a touch screen for the first time, but questions have been raised about its choice of the high-priced, professional MacBook Pro as the first model to get the feature. Critics said Apple introduced the new technology first on a more expensive model than mass-market products where touch controls are more useful, limiting consumer access.

On Oct. 29 local time, IT outlet TechRadar reported that Apple's touch-screen MacBook Pro comes in two versions, 14 inches and 16 inches. The starting prices in the United States are $2,899 (4.79 million won in South Korea) and $3,399 (5.59 million won in South Korea), respectively, and the models will be officially released on Nov. 6.

Both models use either the M5 Pro or M5 Max chip and a tandem OLED-based PROLED XDR display. A non-touch 14-inch MacBook Pro unveiled a day earlier uses the latest M6 chip.

The price gap is also significant. A non-touch 16-inch MacBook Pro with the M5 Pro starts at $2,999 (4.99 million won in South Korea), but the touch-screen model costs $400 more (600,000 won more in South Korea). That includes not only touch support but also image-quality improvements such as contrast ratio and brightness from the OLED screen. The outlet said the pricing could hinder the wider adoption of touch screens.

Touch controls are convenient for tasks such as scrolling through web pages with a finger, reading e-books and selecting menus. For precise work such as professional video and music editing, a keyboard, trackpad and mouse may be more suitable, it said.

Against that backdrop, it said the touch screen would have had a broader range of uses if Apple had applied it first to mass-market products such as the MacBook Air or MacBook Neo.

The strengths of a touch screen are maximised on 2-in-1 devices that fold the keyboard back or detach it for tablet-style use, it said. Apple's iPad Pro offers a similar usage environment, but it uses iPadOS instead of macOS.

Apple, however, stresses that touch screens are also highly useful for professional tasks such as graphics work, playing software instruments and manipulating 3D models.

Ultimately, analysts said the success of Apple's first touch-screen MacBook will depend on whether consumers feel the improved display and touch features are worth the extra cost.