Apple Executives Address Lack of Face ID and Touchscreens on Macs

[MacRumors]

In an interview with The Wall Street Journal's Joanna Stern, a pair of Apple executives have addressed what is probably the most contentious and talked about features missing on the Mac - Face ID and touchscreen input.

One of the biggest criticisms of the Mac is the lack of Face ID. Since Face ID's launch on the iPhone X, some have wondered if Apple will ever bring it to the Mac. A report earlier in the year suggested it will happen in the future, but the new 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pros with the notch, and the lack of Face ID, have brought the debate back to the mainstream.

Addressing why the Mac lacks Face ID, Tom Boger, Apple's vice president of iPad and Mac product marketing, told Stern that Touch ID is more convenient on the Mac since users' hands are already on the keyboard.

Touch ID on the upper-right hand corner of the keyboard lets users easily authenticate by just placing their finger on the sensor. Still, Face ID on the Mac would presumably be even easier, as the Mac would unlock once a user looks at the display, similar to Face ID's behavior on the iPhone and iPad.

And Face ID? When I stare at the laptop's giant notch, I wonder why I can't unlock the machine with my face. Mr. Boger said Touch ID is more convenient on a laptop since your hands are already on the keyboard.

Another hot topic of debate surrounding the Mac has been touchscreen capabilities. The notion has been that if Macs were to gain touch input, it would cannibalize iPad sales. John Ternus, Apple's senior vice president of hardware engineering, seemingly agrees and said that it's not something Apple has felt the need to do.

"We make the world's best touch computer on an iPad. It's totally optimized for that. And the Mac is totally optimized for indirect input. We haven't really felt a reason to change that," John Ternus, Apple's senior vice president of hardware engineering, told me.

Ternus and Boger also addressed more specific questions about the newly launched 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pros and Apple silicon in general. Recent MacBooks feature non-user upgradeable RAM, so the amount of RAM can't be upgraded down the line if a user finds they need extra memory than what shipped with the computer.

Both executives say that Apple silicon's "unified memory architecture" enables higher performance on Macs with Apple silicon, suggesting that similar performance levels would not be achievable without UMA.

The new MacBook Pros brought back many features enjoyed by Mac users that were taken away during the laptop's redesign in 2016. Most notably, Apple has brought back additional ports such as HDMI and MagSafe, removed the Touch Bar, improved the displays, and more.

Speaking generally to the reversal of changes this year, Boger told Stern that Apple is always "listening to its customers," which meant it ultimately needed to undo some of its previous Mac design decisions.

“We’re constantly listening to our customers and with this new lineup of MacBook Pros we decided to make some changes as we do a lot on the Mac,” Tom Boger, Apple’s Vice President of Mac and iPad Product Marketing, told me.

Run that through the executive-to-English translator and it comes out pretty clear: We were wrong.

In the full article, Stern also reviews the new MacBook Pros, applauding the return of more ports, full-size function keys, and more.

Article Link: Apple Executives Address Lack of Face ID and Touchscreens on Macs

 

[madmin]

The notch is just a status symbol

 

[ruka.snow]

I am glad they aren't putting stupid touch screens on Mac's, lets leave that to the $300 Walmart special.

 

[Kylo83]

But the Touch ID is not near where your hands are you always have to move it up right to use it, faceid would be better and give us touch screen we want it

 

[MedRed]

I don't use the touchscreen on my work laptop. I don't want one on my Mac. Also, I called it on the faceid. The notch isn't a faceid placeholder. It's simply the required space for the array of sensors and such packaged with the camera.

 

[al256]

I owned a Surface Pro 3 for 30 days. Adding a touch screen would not be useful to me 95% of the time. I don't want it on Macs.

 

[The Mercurian]

FaceID on these machines would for me be a reason not to buy them. Great decision not to include

 

[krspkbl]

does it really need Face ID though? there is a fingerprint reader isn't there? maybe they will add it in the future but they'll do it when they are ready. the touch id is more than enough for now.

as for touch screens. just no. they have their place on phones/tablets. maybe if we ever get a 2 in 1 mac or some kind of macbook/ipad hybrid then yeah but i don't want a touch screen on a laptop/iMac which already has a keyboard/mouse.

 

[winxmac]

Wasn't Steve Jobs against putting touch screens on Macs like how he is against using a stylus during the unveiling of the iPhone in 2007? Or am I remembering it wrong?

 

[miguelcoma]

"more convenient on a laptop since your hands are already on the keyboard"

as if your face is anywhere but in front of the screen when you are using said laptop...

what a dumb excuse - plus if you are right handed your hand is likely on the mouse or trackpad when a Face ID prompt shows up, so it's actually less convenient to lift the hand and use the touch sensor.

 

[WinkleStinkle]

Mr. Boger said Touch ID is more convenient on a laptop since your hands are already on the keyboard.

Okay but TouchID requires you to consciously change your hand placement. The screen is right in-front of your face so FaceID would require no thought to unlock, it would be instant..

I wish Apple was honest about this stuff rather than coming up with BS excuses. Supply chain issues, lack of space with current FaceID hardware, etc..

 

[ScrumpyDaniel]

@TwoH will be disappointed. He's been waiting in hope for a touchscreen iMac for quite sometime now.

 

[antiprotest]

What's going on? Are their minds kind of broken for them to offer these explanations? Are my hands already on the keyboard, but my face is in another room? It would be easier to just say they don't want to do it for undisclosed reasons.

 

[EugW]

Touch ID is more convenient on a laptop since your hands are already on the keyboard.

Makes sense, because we don't hold iPads with our hands. They just float in mid-air on their own in front of our faces.

 

[jazz1]

The notch is just a status symbol

Well at least this one doesn't have a notch, but it has a wave screen 🙃 I think I'd get over the notch, but don't think a touch screen on a Macbook makes a lot of sense, unless (like the competition) the keyboard folded out of the way. I guess in the end I'd rather have a non-touch Macbook and an iPad.

 

[Serban55]

and next generation when the faceID will actual come?
what then? the touchid will no longer be "right there on the keyboard" ?
come on...this is clear a delay way for them to figure out how to make the payments with faceID on the mac..and for them to have some features new in the next gen besides new SoC

 

[antiprotest]

Okay but the screen is right in-front of your face and requires no thought to unlock where TouchID takes a second of thought and requires you to change your hand placement. TouchID on laptops seems like a no brainer.

Apparently Apple designers are not human? Their face is somewhere else? Maybe on their butts? Unbelievable.

 

[Crosscreek]

I'm having a great debate with myself about what laptop I'm going to use in the future. I'm thinking of coming back to an Air but I already own the new iPad Pro so will I gain anything over a Windows computer with touch screen? I run a Windows desktop I built my self and is always on in the background that I use for trading.
I still kind of miss my Apple computer though. I'm going to wait an see what the redesigned MacBook Air has to offer.

 

[sshambles]

That is such a cop-out answer re: FaceID. No way is it more convenient to find a button on a keyboard. What a joke.

 

[chrisdazzo]

Looking forward to FaceID in next year's pro/higher-end iMac line. I've got a feeling it would make more sense to include in a computer that is always open, and can already (like the laptops, I guess) use a Watch to unlock.

So happy there are no plans for a touchscreen Mac. The vocal minority have lusted for and expected it for years, but there's no point with the iPad Pro existing. Imagine trying to control even a 24" iMac with your fingers, your arm would fall off after 20 minutes.

 

[antiprotest]

My fingers are right here, so can they use the improved camera and neutral engine to authenticate me holding up my middle finger please?

 

[velcrovan]

Honestly touch ID is better. Not sure what everyone's whining about.

 

[RocketHopper]

Sounds like the most bull response imaginable, they will 100% walk this back when they add Face ID to the Mac in a few years and say how convenient it is to have it because your face is generally parallel to the screen

 

[Your Royal Highness]

Face ID makes no sense on a laptop when the said laptop is on your lap who needs to bring their face to the display when your hands are already on the keyboard. It would be completely awkward

 

[UltimateSyn]

John Ternus in 2022: “We have now felt a reason to change that.”