MacBook Pro

Apple executives talk Touch Bar, MacBook Pro price increase, and more in new interview

Chance Miller | Oct 27 2016 - 5:10 pm PT

Prior to unveiling the new lineup of MacBooks to the public, Apple executives Phill Schiller, Craig Federighi, and Jony Ive sat down with CNET for an in-depth interview discussing the company’s new products. The executives talked about the decision behind the new Touch Bar, what the future holds, and the price increase that occurred with today’s refresh…

Jony Ive explained that the idea of the Touch Bar was one that has always been compelling to the company, noting that it marks the beginning of a “very interesting direction” for the laptop. Ive wouldn’t, however, elaborate as to what exactly that means.

“We unanimously were very compelled by [the Touch Bar] as a direction, based on, one, using it, and also having the sense this is the beginning of a very interesting direction,” Ive said. “But [it] still just marks a beginning.

It’s difficult to talk without going into a lot of details… about things that we are working on. I don’t really want to talk much more about it.”

For his part, Phil Schiller explained that in many ways, the Touch Bar is bringing some aspects of the iPhone to the Mac. Apple has long been against making macOS touch compatible, but the Touch Bar allows the company to take what makes sense from the iPhone and bring it to the Mac, without fundamentally changing either product.

“We did spend a great deal of time looking at this a number of years ago and came to the conclusion that to make the best personal computer, you can’t try to turn MacOS into an iPhone,” Schiller says. “Conversely, you can’t turn iOS into a Mac…. So each one is best at what they’re meant to be — and we take what makes sense to add from each, but without fundamentally changing them so they’re compromised.”

One aspect of the new MacBook Pros, however, that took some people by surprise was the price. The new models are more expensive than the previous generation, but Schiller says that they didn’t start out with the intention of hiking prices. Instead, Schiller explained that Apple doesn’t design for price, but rather it designs for “the experience.” Conversely, Schiller also noted that affordability is “absolutely something we care about.”

“But we don’t design for price, we design for the experience and the quality people expect from Mac. Sometimes that means we end up at the higher end of the range, but not on purpose, just because that’s what it costs.”

You can read our full rundown of everything Apple announced in our news hub. Also be sure to let us know what you decided to purchase and read our comparison of Apple’s entirely new Mac lineup here.

MKBHD also got to chat with Federighi about the new MacBook Pro: