Apple 15-inch MacBook Pro updated with 'Force Touch' and price of iMac with 5K display slashed

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Andrew Feinberg

White House Correspondent

Apple has added a Force Touch trackpad to its 15-inch MacBook Pro, and dropped the price of its top-end high-resolution iMac.

The MacBook Pro with Retina Display now has faster storage, longer battery life and better graphics, Apple said. It also improved the 27-inch iMac with Retina 5K display, adding a new configuration and slashing the price.

The addition of Force Touch to the MacBook Pro is likely a signal that the company will be rolling out the feature to the rest of its line, after it was recently unveiled on its Apple Watch and MacBook. The feature allows the laptop or screen to know how hard it is being pressed, and allows users to control extra features as a result.

When launching the Force Touch feature, Apple showed how it can be used to add extra control to video playback, for instance — speeding up the fast forwarding depending on how hard a user is pressing. It also adds an extra kind of button, allowing users to press hard to trigger extra events on screen.

The feature also has the same "haptic feedback" as is found on the watch. That means that the touchpad can gently vibrate to let users know about certain events on the computer.

Both features have been built into OS X, the Mac operating system, and so are likely to be rolled out to the rest of the line eventually. The next version of the iPhone, expected later this year, is also expected to feature the technology.

The changes come just before Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference in June, where the company tends to unveil the new versions of its Mac and mobile operating systems.

The iMac with Retina 5K display now sells for £1,599, though Apple still sells the more high-spec £1,849 version. Its biggest feature is the screen, which is even more detailed than the 4K display that is the standard for very high resolution screens.

The new MacBook Pro with Force Touch begins at £1,599m and a more expensive £1,999 version is available.