Apple Reportedly Working on Touchscreen Macs, Including MacBook Pro

[antiprotest]

So is Apple never allowed to change its mind on touchscreen laptops just because they once believed they weren't very good?

Nope like I said I am not saying it's right or wrong, but a business lying when it is convenient is just the way things work. Lying without legal liability is a business and marketing strategy. Apple is absolutely "allowed" to do this. I never said it was right or wrong. I was just commenting on what happened. From a business perspective, if I was in their position, not having a touch screen laptop while so many competitors had one, I would absolutely have done the same thing and said whatever I needed to say regardless of whether it's true or not.

You need to read more carefully and think more deeply instead of making a knee jerk defense of Apple. Don't just agree with Apple marketing no matter what. Don't let them drag your mind around whichever way they want you to go. They want you to "stay foolish," but you need to "think different." You can do it.

They made some comments about touchscreen laptops that would be impossible to backtrack on without contradicting themselves unless they fundamentally change the very design and structure a laptop, such as saying that it is "ergonomically terrible", as well as other comments. If they release a touch screen laptop without fixing the issues that they themselves previously declared, then that makes those previous comments lies. If they change the fundamental design of what it means to be a laptop itself, then those previous comments would not apply. Thus I am correct either way.

 

[Makisupa Policeman]

What a terrible idea, for so many reasons. The one that jumps out at me though is that Mac screens aren’t really meant to be touched frequently. More touching means more cleaning which can wear off the anti-reflective coating.

Please don’t do this Apple.

 

[nwcs]

Linus keeps ranting about this. And he has a big audience.

He is one person advocating a position. If his followers were of like kind there would be a great many more people advocating it.

 

[darngooddesign]

Nope like I said I am not saying it's right or wrong, but a business lying when it is convenient is just the way things work. Lying without legal liability is a business and marketing strategy. Apple is absolutely "allowed" to do this. I never said it was right or wrong. I was just commenting on what happened. From a business perspective, if I was in their position, not having a touch screen laptop while so many competitors had one, I would absolutely have done the same thing and said whatever I needed to say regardless of whether it's true or not.

You need to read more carefully and think more deeply instead of making a knee jerk defense of Apple. Don't just agree with Apple marketing no matter what. Don't let them drag your mind around whichever way they want you to go. They want you to "stay foolish," but you need to "think different." You can do it.

They made some comments about touchscreen laptops that would be impossible to backtrack on without contradicting themselves unless they fundamentally change the very design and structure a laptop, such as saying that it is "ergonomically terrible", as well as other comments. If they release a touch screen laptop without fixing the issues that they themselves previously declared, then that makes those previous comments lies. If they change the fundamental design of what it means to be a laptop itself, then those previous comments would not apply. Thus I am correct either way.

I get it, everyone is a sheep except for you who has seen the machinations the rest of us are blind to. /s

Big screen phones are ergonomically poor for one handed use, just like Apple said they were, but people wanted big screen phones so they made them. For two handed use they are fine.

Fingers are better for operating an OS and apps, just like Apple said, but the Pencils are great for creative things.

A vertical touchscreen is ergonomically terrible for all day use, just like they said, but they are making what people are asking for. Apple said MacOS isn't optimized for touchscreen which is true until it is optimized. However, touchscreen laptops are fine for occasional use; I have a work Thinkpad and I use the touchscreen for some things, but not for all things. The way people use computing devices has changed over time, and Apple is responding to new use cases.

A touchscreen MacOS will be best on a tablet, which is obviously what Apple is going to release. And they will also release it on other Macs because why not. If people want to use a touchscreen iMac or MacBook, despite the ergonomic compromises, then more power to them.

So it's less backtracking, and more giving people what they want despite the compromises.

 

[koelsh]

Am I stupid or wasn't there a touchscreen Mac laptop at some point?

No and no.

There was however a company called Axiotron in the mid 2000's who were trying to make them. They would buy a Macbook or you could ship yours in, they'd rip out the internal guts to put into their own shell called a ModBook with their own screen with a pen. They made a handful of these.

It instantly doubled the price of the laptop and they were always a full generation behind when things were going well. They survived into the Retina Macbook Pro era and announced the Modbook Pro X but never delivered a single end user device.

 

[Quake1028]

Wow, that's super interesting. Never knew that!

 

[MacWiz_007]

I've owned a few Windows laptops with touchscreens, never used them. Not once. I realize there are people who do use touchscreens on laptops, but I would guess the number to be less than 10%.

 

[Quake1028]

I've owned a few Windows laptops with touchscreens, never used them. Not once. I realize there are people who do use touchscreens on laptops, but I would guess the number to be less than 10%.

So what led you to those devices? Price/availability/features vs. a non touchscreen model is what I would have to assume?

 

[Miha_v]

Say what you want, but Macbook pro with a foldable touchscreen (that would work with apple pencil) would be absolutely great for any 2d/3d digital artist, who has to jump between Mac & iPad to create stuff (talking from personal experience).

 

[MacWiz_007]

So what led you to those devices? Price/availability/features vs. a non touchscreen model is what I would have to assume?

Features and form factor. The 2019 Acer Swift 7. I still own this one. Thinnest and lightest 14" laptop on the planet to this day. 92% screen to body ratio. i7 (albeit a weaker model) 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD. I picked it up new for $899. I use it for simple tasks like web browsing, emails, documents, spreadsheets, and some light coding. It came with a touchscreen, which I've never used.

 

[wanha]

Sure, MacBooks never had a camera until 2021. Oh, and, BTW, you know that MacBooks still have a bezel even if they have a notch, don't you? In other words, the notch didn't remove the bezels, yet it created a big usability problem.

So you prefer massive bezels over the notch?

Amazing.

 

[asiga]

So you prefer massive bezels over the notch?

Amazing.

The notch is very poor design. It's not worthy of Apple. It would blend better with Android and Windows, because it's the sort of clumsy design they use to do. Developer-wise, design-wise, functionality-wise, aesthetically-wise, it's anti-Apple no matter the facet you look at. Now you can discuss different solutions to improve the bezels, but certainly not the notch (if you want good design, that is).

 

[TimHalfCooked]

How is this going to better the experience of MacOS? We are just going to get huge tap zones everywhere to account for touch.

 

[7149041]

In principle it does make sense in some limited ways, but the UI compromises you have to make are just too big, or you have to have a complex mode-switching setup to serve both modes of operation, which in practice results in the UI being lacking for one mode if not both.

It works great on iPad with a keyboard + touchpad, can use both input method seamlessly. Apple has been experimenting on us in this regard. Hell, you can even use Universal Control to control a Mac with iPad Magic Keyboard.

They're either making a touch MacBook or putting MacOS on iPad. The hardware is already virtually the same.

 

[twistedpixel8]

I don’t get it. If they’re going to add touch screen to Macs, just put macOS on the iPad, it’s the obviously better choice. It’s already a touch device. It’s already powerful enough with M chips. It’s a much better format for touch than a laptop.

How cool would it be to have macOS on a 27” iPad Pro, then have a magnetic stand it attaches to that houses all the IO and power supply, turning it into an iMac. The ultimate flexibility Mac.

 

[Ecuadorexpat]

The ultimate computer is a a smartphone that docks with a screen and keyboard and the phone screen becomes the trackpad on a horizontal or vertical position as one prefers. This would be especially attractive for the larger folding phone screens. Programmable keys would appear on the phone as needed. Once the phone is docked, there’s would be plenty of power for doing computer tasks. Include graphics processors into the display.

Most data could be stored in the cloud or carried on removable storage.

Ubuntu tried this, but the powers that be shouted it down because it would reduce sales of phones and computers significantly.

Most of the world cannot afford both a computer and a smartphone. I live in a second world country, so don’t bother posting how impractical this would be for you.

Whoever perfects this first will be the next Apple.

Or, if you want to experience a touchscreen on a Mac, go to the Apple Store and test drive the big iPad Pro with a keyboard. Apple is already 90% there. Especially if you learn how to really use dictation and install Alexa on it.

 

[JPack]

I don’t get it. If they’re going to add touch screen to Macs, just put macOS on the iPad, it’s the obviously better choice. It’s already a touch device. It’s already powerful enough with M chips. It’s a much better format for touch than a laptop.

How cool would it be to have macOS on a 27” iPad Pro, then have a magnetic stand it attaches to that houses all the IO and power supply, turning it into an iMac. The ultimate flexibility Mac.

For one, the weight balance is way off on iPad. Nobody wants a screen-heavy device on their lap.

Second problem is performance. It doesn't matter if Apple puts in M1 Ultra in there. If there's no heatsink or fan on iPad Pro, it won't perform.

 

[hagjohn]

Probably due to a cost and supply chain issue.

 

[Wizec]

Excellent, there is another $200 on the price.

I’m guessing $600

 

[Funny Apple Man]

Touchscreen Macs make more sense on a product like the iMac. Imagine you can finally draw with the Apple Pencil on a big 24-inch screen. That would be very nice.

 

[klasma]

It works great on iPad with a keyboard + touchpad, can use both input method seamlessly.

The experience is worlds apart from an OS and apps designed for mouse and keyboard use. You may have to be a long-term power user to really appreciate the difference.

 

[1madman1]

Do not want. Keep that garbage off the Mac.

 

[inscrewtable]

Why stop with the screen, why not go all in and make the keyboard and trackpad a touch operated screen.

 

[benspratling]

"Apple is not actively working to combine iPadOS and macOS, according to the report"

what? Are they looking at the changes in iPadOS recently? It's like rapidly adopting macOS features. They may be looking to add enough macOS features to iPadOS that they can replace mac's with iPads.

 

[strayts]

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.

My current work laptop is a Dell XPS 15 with a touch screen, and every now and then I brush my knuckle on the screen and I'm reminded, oh yeah I guess this is a touch screen. It actually hides fingerprints surprisingly well too. But I never use it.