Apple Reportedly Working on Touchscreen Macs, Including MacBook Pro

[MacRumors]

Despite years of resistance, Apple is now working on adding touchscreens to Macs, according to a report today from Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. The report claims that a new MacBook Pro with an OLED display could be the first touchscreen Mac in 2025.

Gurman said Apple engineers are "actively engaged in the project," indicating that the company is "seriously considering" producing touchscreen Macs. The first MacBook Pro with a touchscreen would retain a traditional laptop design with a trackpad and a keyboard, but the display would gain support for touch input like an iPhone or iPad.

The first touchscreen Macs are likely to use macOS, as Apple is not actively working to combine iPadOS and macOS, according to the report. iPhone and iPad apps are available on Macs with Apple silicon chips, though, unless a developer opts out.

Apple has repeatedly dismissed the idea of a touchscreen Mac over the years, so this would be a major reversal in philosophy for the company if it moves forward with these plans. In 2010, for example, Steve Jobs said that "touch surfaces don't want to be vertical" due to arm fatigue associated with holding up a finger to the screen. And in 2021, Apple's hardware engineering chief John Ternus said the Mac was "totally optimized for indirect input" and said the company did not feel there was a good reason to change that at the time.

Article Link: Apple Reportedly Working on Touchscreen Macs, Including MacBook Pro

 

[HeavenDynamic]

When you don't know what to do next

 

[MICHAELSD]

If you can’t beat them, join them.

 

[nwcs]

If this comes to pass it smells of desperation and a lack of ideas. I have had touch laptops before and I never use the touch feature except in rare situations.

 

[segfaultdotorg]

Lame. If I wanted a touch screen, I'd get an iPad.

 

[e-coli]

This is a terrible, gimmicky idea. The Windows market is saturated with these, and a tiny percentage of people use the touchscreens for anything productive. And their screens are filthy.

Apple is just making iOS and MacOS one and the same.

 

[MICHAELSD]

If this comes to pass it smells of desperation and a lack of ideas. I have had touch laptops before and I never use the touch feature except in rare situations.

I think it comes down to customer demand. The average Joe customer expects a Mac to have a touchscreen.

Personally I wouldn’t mind if the Mac and iPad crossed lines to become a hybrid product, although I’m not sure we’ll see that anytime soon.

 

[GMShadow]

Absolute mistake to do that.

 

[ELman]

I can't stand fingerprints on my laptop screen.

 

[KPOM]

Gurman is active with the rumors. How much of this is pure speculation?

 

[sharksftw]

Not happening. Touchscreens on computers make exactly zero sense.

 

[kalafalas]

This sounds like one of those fake leaks they do to find out who is responsible

 

[tubular]

LET'S MAKE THE TOUCHBAR THE WHOLE SCREEN

 

[Marswarrior462]

Another thing we thought Apple would never do. What’s next? MacOS on iPads?

 

[Eminemdrdre00]

Why is everyone complaining? It's not like they're going to take away the trackpad. Just don't use the touch screen if you don't want to.

 

[jchurchill]

Don't even think of this as a done deal. It would cannibalize iPad sales (assuming they make it work with the pencil as well as iPad Pro does). I'd be ordering one on day 1 if I could, the iPad OS and workflow is so horrible.

 

[KPOM]

IF they were to do this, what would make sense is the hybrid 13” iPad/MacBook people have been clamoring for years. I’m not sure a traditional MacBook Pro with a touchscreen adds a lot of practical use cases. The ”MacPad” would be useful for drawing or taking notes.

 

[russell_314]

Lame. If I wanted a touch screen, I'd get an iPad.

Same...Not for me but maybe someone will find it useful. I worry that macOS is going to turn into iPad/macOS

 

[rjp1]

No reason not to. Today I was setting up external monitors and reached over and tried to tap on the screen - just because every other screen can be tapped now days.

Lol @ some of the comments. Just don't use it if you don't like it. 😂

 

[BootsWalking]

Paves the way for the eventual merge of iPad OS and Mac OS.

 

[A7ibaba]

Touch screen and cleaning cloth for 20$ is dream come true

 

[antiprotest]

They will have to backtrack hard on previous very definite comments on the disadvantages of a touchscreen laptop, making those previous comments outright lies. They just say whatever is convenient at the moment. And they will get away with it as usual. (I am not saying that this is right or wrong. I am saying that's the way it is.)

 

[asiga]

It would be nice, provided they remove the notch, please.

 

[KPOM]

Why is everyone complaining? It's not like they're going to take away the trackpad. Just don't use the touch screen if you don't want to.

The point is that the macOS user interface is not designed for touchscreens. There would inevitably be more UI changes.

 

[ghanwani]

I don't care for this feature. This is one thing Apple got right.