However, macOS with Touch isn’t the same interface that you can just reach out to control with your fingers. Apple has enhanced and optimized macOS to accommodate Touch, making the overall experience satisfying. Here are my observations after spending a few days with it.
No lag or delay
Apple did not simply take a Touch input sensor, slap it on top of the OLED, pack it all up, and ship it. For the optimal experience, the Touch sensor is incorporated into the OLED panel, just as it is with the iPad Pro. That makes it perform more like a tablet than a usual touchscreen laptop.
Touch is very responsive, with no noticeable delay between a gesture and response.
Roman Loyola/Foundry
It also means there’s no lag when touching the screen. Tap the screen, and you’ll get an instant reaction from macOS: buttons, menus, sliders, icons, the Dock, you name it. Everything reacts the instant you touch it.
UI clarity
My major concern about the touchscreen MacBook Pro was whether Apple would do enough (or anything) to adjust macOS’s longstanding UI elements for Touch input. Some elements in macOS need to be larger to make them easier to touch; others need to be shifted to create more space; and still others need a complete rethink. A touch UI that demands cursor-style precision means you have to concentrate to do the most mundane of tasks. That’s tiring.
Foundry
In macOS 27.2 on the new MacBook Pro, Apple has enhanced macOS to accommodate Touch. Throughout the OS, elements appear when using Touch and return to the normal view when using a mouse or trackpad. The first thing you’ll notice is the set of traffic lights that appear in the upper right corner of windows to close, minimize, or expand windows full-screen, respectively. When tapped, the red, yellow, and green buttons magnify to make the target easier to hit.
Even menu items adjust by expanding a bit to add space between the items so they’re easier to tap with your finger. Another example is checkboxes, which let you tap on the accompanying text to select as well as the box itself.
