Apple’s new touchscreen MacBook Pro has pushed laptop pricing to a new extreme, with the highest-end 16-inch model costing around ₹12 lakh after storage and memory upgrades. The company announced the release of the laptop in the US on 28 October, adding touchscreen capabilities to the MacBook Pro line for the first time.
According to MacRumors, Apple’s online configurator lists the fully upgraded 14-inch model at $14,249 (approximately ₹13.58 lakh) and the 16-inch version at $14,549 (approximately ₹13.87 lakh). The most significant increase is in the optional 16TB SSD, which adds $7,000 (approximately ₹6.67 lakh) to the variant’s price. Apple has not publicly disclosed the price of this upgrade, but it follows rising demand for memory and storage, which is growing at least in part due to the development of AI infrastructure.
For those needing to store large files, such as high-resolution video footage, 3D projects, and AI models, is now offering up to 16TB of storage with its new MacBook Pro. However, the upgrade comes at a substantial premium.
According to the pricing details reported by MacRumors on 28 October, moving to a 4TB SSD costs an additional $1,000 (around ₹95,300), while the 8TB option adds $3,000 (approximately ₹2.86 lakh). The price of the maximum capacity of 16 TB will increase the bill by $7,000 (around ₹6.67 lakh).
The laptop also has an upgradeable unified memory of 128GB, which comes with an extra $2000 (around ₹1.91 lakh). Customers who choose nano-texture glass must pay an additional $150 (roughly ₹14,295).
The ongoing memory shortage and increasing demand for hardware to support AI workloads could be contributing to the pricing pressure. However, Apple hasn’t confirmed that those are the reasons for the $7,000 storage upgrade.
Apple’s M5 Max chipset powers the new MacBook Pro, while the highest configuration has an 18-core CPU and a 40-core GPU. It offers high memory capacity, large SSD options, and processing power, optimised for professional workloads.
The new PROLED XDR display on Apple also features tandem OLED display technology and touchscreen controls, and the laptop can also be used for AI work and intensive creative projects.
MacRumors reported that the previous 16-inch MacBook Pro was at $10,149. The new model’s maximum configured price of $14,549 represents an increase of $4,400, or roughly ₹4.19 lakh.
The new Pro opened for pre-orders on 28 October, with availability initially announced for November. As per the company’s official pricing list, the 14-inch M5 Pro starts at ₹3,49,900, while the 16-inch M5 Pro in the same model is priced at ₹4,09,900 in India. The M5 Max variants start at ₹5,49,900 and ₹5,89,900, respectively.
