The new MacBook Pro PROLED XDR has the best display our design editor has seen on a laptop. It also introduces touch input to an Apple laptop for the first time, and that could change how creatives interact with their software.
Maxon sees a world of potential, announcing that Cinema 4D and ZBrush, long-time features in our guides to best 3D modelling software and the best animation software, will get touch support for the new MacBook in late November. And that's not all. Cinema 4D is also getting a new capability that allows artists to preview 3D creations with Apple Vision Pro.
Maxon believes the new MacBook Pro will introduce an "entirely new dimension to professional creative workflows" with its tandem OLED display, intuitive touch capabilities, and powerful M5 Pro and M5 Max chips. The touch display means artists will have new ways to explore interact directly with their 3D creations.
Whether building and animating complex 3D worlds in Cinema 4D or developing intricate digital sculptures in ZBrush, touch support is intended to bring the responsiveness of hands-on interaction to professional desktop workflows, complementing traditional mouse, keyboard, and trackpad workflows.
Maxon already has ZBrush for iPad, which made digital sculpting in the app more mobile and allowed artists to shape and refine their work with their fingers or Apple Pencil. Touch support on MacBook Pro extends that to the more familiar desktop experience.
While touchscreen displays on Windows laptops have been around for many years, Apple's PROLED XDR Display also delivers exceptional brightness, contrast, and color accuracy.
Meanwhile, upcoming Apple Vision Pro support for Cinema 4D will extend the creative process opening up collaborative, real-time three dimensional workflows. Through the new Spatial Preview API, artists using Mac Virtual Display on Apple Vision Pro will be able to explore, preview, and interact with Cinema 4D designs in immersive life-size detail, making it easier to evaluate proportions and composition before moving forward with production.
Rather than judging work based on a 2D image, artists and designers will be able to move through an interior, evaluate a proposed installation, or explore the layout of a space at real-world scale before anything is physically built. This could be particularly valuable for architectural visualisation, retail environments, exhibition spaces and experiential design.
The integration also aims to enable more seamless communication with clients and collaborators, allowing them to inhabit the same space at the same time, immersed in the scene or from a bird’s-eye view using Apple Vision Pro. For reviewers who may not be familiar with navigating 3D software, this could allow them to better understand the space, identify potential changes, and provide more informed feedback earlier in the creative process.
Cinema 4D and ZBrush will be immediately available on Apple's new MacBook Pro with PROLED XDR Display, which begins shipping 6 November, 2026. Touch support for Cinema 4D and ZBrush along with Open in Spatial Preview for Apple Vision Pro running visionOS 27 and Mac running macOS 27 will be available in late November.
A new Cinema 4D iPad app is also slated for release before the end of the year. You can learn more on the Maxon website.
