Apple showcases touchscreen MacBook Pro in a four-hour music-making session with Labrinth
Apple has taken an unusual approach to showing off its new touchscreen MacBook Pro. Rather than relying on a standard product demo packed with benchmarks and polished talking points, the company invited British musician Labrinth to use the laptop in a real creative session and build a song from the ground up.
The livestream, titled Labrinth Live on Mac, ran for nearly four hours from Apple Tower Theatre in Los Angeles. It began at 8 p.m. Pacific Time on November 4, or 4 a.m. GMT on November 5, giving viewers an extended look at how the new MacBook Pro’s touchscreen could fit into professional music production.
During the session, Labrinth worked inside Logic Pro while fans watched the track take shape in real time. He adjusted mixer levels directly on the MacBook Pro display, navigated a multitrack arrangement, and explored touch-based controls designed for music creators. Viewers were also able to submit questions as the production process unfolded.
The demonstration offered a more practical look at Apple’s first touchscreen MacBook Pro than a typical launch video. Instead of simply showing quick feature highlights, the event placed the device in the hands of a working artist for an extended creative workflow.
Apple officially introduced the touchscreen MacBook Pro on October 28. The new lineup includes 14-inch and 16-inch models featuring tandem OLED displays, along with M5 Pro and M5 Max chip options. These upgrades position the laptops as high-end machines for creators, musicians, video editors, designers, and other demanding users.
Logic Pro has also been updated to make better use of the touchscreen. New touch-friendly features include an onscreen polyphonic keyboard, chord pads, and drum pads, allowing musicians to play virtual instruments directly on the display. At the same time, Apple has kept traditional keyboard shortcuts, trackpad gestures, and mouse support, meaning touch is designed to enhance the Mac experience rather than replace existing controls.
For music producers, the biggest question is whether a touchscreen MacBook Pro can genuinely improve the creative process. Labrinth’s session showed that touch controls can feel natural for certain tasks, such as adjusting faders, triggering pads, or interacting with instruments. However, it remains to be seen whether touch will be faster, more precise, or more comfortable than a traditional keyboard and trackpad during long production sessions.
The livestream does give potential buyers something valuable: a real-world preview of how the touchscreen MacBook Pro performs in a creative environment. For musicians and producers considering Apple’s latest laptop, watching an artist build a track in Logic Pro offers a clearer sense of how the new interface might fit into their own workflow.
The song Labrinth created during the session is expected to be released on Apple Music next week.
Apple’s touchscreen MacBook Pro is scheduled to launch on November 6. Pricing in the United States starts at $2,899 for the 14-inch model and $3,399 for the 16-inch version.
