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Touchscreen MBAs in 2013?

G

guustavooo

macrumors newbie
Mar 29, 2013
7
0
Touchscreen Macbook Air?

With OSX stepping up to look closer to iOS every update, and competition arousing from Windows 8, do you think a Touchscreen Macbook is anywhere on the road?

If so, do you also think the Air would be the perfect machine to introduce this new concept to Macs line?
 
B...

B...

macrumors 68000
Mar 7, 2013
1,949
2
PBG4 Dude said:
Hasn't intel said that Haswell mobile chips require a touch screen? I've read that more than once now.
Click to expand...

Only Windows Ultrabooks.

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guustavooo said:
With OSX stepping up to look closer to iOS every update, and competition arousing from Windows 8, do you think a Touchscreen Macbook is anywhere on the road?

If so, do you also think the Air would be the perfect machine to introduce this new concept to Macs line?
Click to expand...

It would be the best Mac to have a touchscreen, so travelers could use it with more ease. But a laptop is not a tablet, and a tablet is not a laptop. I am sure Apple has experimented with this idea--they have with pretty much any design. But I do not expect that for a while. Apple would not want to ruin their iPad sales by offering a larger screen, keyboard, more power, and a touchscreen for just $300 more. And if they raised the price, their whole "Macs can be affordable" gig goes out the window. Apple really should not take a step backwards in making their computers start at higher than $999. Therefore, no touchscreen until the technology is cheap enough.
 
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Abazigal

Abazigal

Contributor
Jul 18, 2011
19,576
22,045
Singapore
Having handled a tablet laptop at work (one of those swivel-touchscreen laptop models with stylus), I find that the only time I find touching the screen comfortable is when I am standing directly over the laptop, with the screen lowered flat against the table (i.e.: the same position you would be using a tablet in anyways).

Any other position, it just gets tiring to have to raise your hand ever so often. Not to mention that my macbook air screen apparently smudges very easily. Because of this experience, I doubt I would be particularly interested in a touchscreen option anytime soon. :p
 
M

Mrbobb

macrumors 603
Aug 27, 2012
5,009
209
Abazigal said:
Any other position, it just gets tiring to have to raise your hand ever so often.
Click to expand...

That's what Steve Jobs said exactly. But those big screens like in CNN mighty fun, for demo purposes.

Haswell demands TS? Sounds mighty odd. Why would a chipset maker has anything to say about the final UI?
 
B...

B...

macrumors 68000
Mar 7, 2013
1,949
2
Mrbobb said:
That's what Steve Jobs said exactly. But those big screens like in CNN mighty fun, for demo purposes.

Haswell demands TS? Sounds mighty odd. Why would a chipset maker has anything to say about the final UI?
Click to expand...
Strange but true, at least for Ultrabooks.
 
Abazigal

Abazigal

Contributor
Jul 18, 2011
19,576
22,045
Singapore
Mrbobb said:
That's what Steve Jobs said exactly. But those big screens like in CNN mighty fun, for demo purposes.

Haswell demands TS? Sounds mighty odd. Why would a chipset maker has anything to say about the final UI?
Click to expand...

I read somewhere about Microsoft collaborating with Intel to promote windows8. So I guess on Intel's side, what they are doing is to "force" laptop makers to include touchscreens, all the better to take advantage of windows8's new interface.
 
M

Mrbobb

macrumors 603
Aug 27, 2012
5,009
209
If ur vendor for Win8, TS is a given. Why would one do otherwise regardless of chipset use?
 
J

jaugmen

macrumors newbie
Apr 29, 2013
2
0
The problem in keeping separate iOS and OSX does not give us alternatives for supertablets as a table touchscreen +30 in my HT or even on the bathroom wall or mirror, for example. There are many new ways beyond the obvious to use touchscreen with macs.
 
2

2high2aim

macrumors 6502
Apr 19, 2010
255
0
SoCal
Don't be so myopic...

A. The multi-touch track pad could be replaced with a larger touch screen that has dual functions of a track pad/ touch screen.
B. The entire macbook could be touch screen, opened up to have a HUGE touchscreen, or used like a laptop with the bottom half having a touch keyboard and multi touch track pad, etc. (cons: keyboards are faster to type with)

Laser keyboard/ distance touch

These are just my ideas with just a few minutes of imagination. The technology is available just need the demand for the product and the price to become more and more affordable but with the speed at which technology advances prices will soon be more economics for the masses. I guess in due time...
 
D

DisplacedMic

macrumors 65816
May 1, 2009
1,411
1
Mrbobb said:
I held my friend's iPad2 just for a minute, with one hand and I can't believe how heavy just 1.5 LB felt, can't imagine myself doing that for an extended amount of time. They had to have it prop up with something.
Click to expand...

agreed - tons of fun to play with but i find them very heavy.
 
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