Apple adds touch to MacBook Pro as personal AI agents spread

Apple launched a touchscreen MacBook Pro yesterday. The machine is lightly redesigned and about half a pound lighter and comes with your choice of M5 Pro or M5 Max chips with up to 128GB of RAM and as much as 16TB of storage. They will come in both 14-inch and 16-inch sizes with up to 24 hours of battery life.

The commentariat seems pleased, if not overwhelmingly excited: MacStories’ Federico Vittici called it the “Mac for the iPad generation” while Six Colors’ Jason Snell cheered the crispness of the panel and the fact that the Apple logo on the lid once again lights up.

You can check out the “MacBook Pro with PROLED XDR Display” (we kid you not — that’s the name) here.

Anthropic’s answer to Dots and Muse is out, but good luck getting one as your very own personal agent if you’re in MENA+. Claude Duet checks connected apps, prepares work, and carries on while you’re away from your machine, asking before it sends, spends, signs, or deletes. It’s a US-only research preview for folks on Pro or Max plans, with a waitlist.

Muse is also “gated” (as the LLMs like to say), though it has expanded beyond the US to Canada and Japan. Dots are more widely available, and OpenAI’s Tibo Sottiaux said on 18 October that the company was working to keep Dots created elsewhere running while their users travel in the EU. The fanbois on X are speculating that Dots should start rolling out in Europe in the coming weeks.

FINALLY- Claude Code engineers Thariq Shihipar and Anthony Morris left Anthropic last weekend. Shihipar was among the product’s most visible builders, and Morris created its desktop version. Neither has said where they’re heading next.

That’s it for today! Like what you’re reading? Feel free to invite some friends. Or drop us a line at [email protected]. We’ll be back in your inbox on Tuesday.