Apple has quietly released a small but pivotal change to its 15-inch MacBook Pro With Retina Display — the Force Touch Trackpad. The Force Touch is the same trackpad found on the new MacBook laptops, the 13-inch Retina MacBook Pro and the Apple Watch. The trackpad can distinguish between a light tap and a deep press. This pressure sensitivity can trigger additional input commands via secondary, deeper clicks. Force Touch is also expected to be included in the next version of the iPhone, which is expected to be released later this year.
Although sales of Apple products have been strong, analysts say the addition of Force Touch might boost sales, especially the MacBook lineup. It opens up a ton of new functionality for users and it wouldn’t be surprising to see developers incorporating it into their own apps.
The updated 15-inch MacBook Pro With Retina Display starts at $1,999, the same price as its predecessor. In addition to Force Touch, it also has new flash storage that provides more than twice the performance of its predecessor and a battery that offers an extra hour of usage.
