Apple Says It Has No Plans for Solely ARM-Based or Touchscreen Macs

[Teddy Napoleon]

They're still not listening then.

 

[62tele]

True IF you have a track pad. but most businesses/work places have mice.

Apple is not much of a player in enterprise so this is insignificant to Apple's customer base.

 

[weup togo]

In 2003, SJ stood on stage and waxed eloquent about the bright future and infinite possibilities of the G5. Two years later, he announced the switch to Intel. While he was up on stage talking about the G5, Mac OS X was already up and running on x86 white box hardware.

Apple is switching the Mac to ARM period.

 

[Hastings101]

Surprised on the no ARM macs bit, I always dreamt of an ARM based fanless macbook air with amazing battery life and a cheaper entry price.

It would kind of be nice, especially with a Rosetta-esque solution for at least some x86 compatibility (if that's even possible though). Even if it's not possible, an OS X layout with the default apps would still be way better for productivity than iOS currently is.

 

[tongxinshe]

I always hoped they would do something like this patent they filed in 2010. When engaged into the lower mode, the UI would transform to have larger tap targets to be more touch friendly. It would all be bundled into the same binary for apps. This would be nice for graphic artists and illustrators who could use the Apple Pencil on such a display.

This is exactly what Surface Studio has brought to the public!

 

[the Rebel]

Apple always has such narrow vision.

iMacs are not just for pros.

15" laptops are not just for pros.

Apple could easily have 50%+ marketshare for computers if the decision makers were not such closed minded elitists.

 

[theluggage]

Considering intel already makes a fanless cpu I dont see the point in going ARM besides cost.

The big advantage would be that ARM chips are pick-n-mix: a company with Apples resources can "make their own" system-on-a-chip with exactly the CPU, cache, I/O, GPU configuration they want to match the type of computer they want to make. Many of the problems with Apple's current range exist because they have to wait for Intel to release a chip with just the right CPU power/GPU type configuration (e.g. no Kaby Lake desktop chips with Iris graphics to put in an entry-level iMac).

 

[antonis]

Translation: macOS is not yet suitable for a touch screen like W10 is.

 

[62tele]

Try a touchscreen laptop once. It's a lot easier to reach out and get precise zoom levels when you are messing with the actual thing on the screen like iOS vs a touchpad.

The funny thing about this whole nonsense is Apple sells basically a touchscreen Mac - it's called the iPad. With the smart keybaord it's 75% of a touch Macbook Pro, just missing a real OS. It has the same "limitations" they fight yet they are happy to sell it.

No. Apple sells a Tablet not a Mac. I get plenty of accuracy zooming with the trackpad. Why would I "reach out" when my hand is already at the touch pad? That's wasted motion. No thanks. Oh yeah, I don't need smudges on my screen.

 

[macduke]

This is exactly what Surface Studio has brought to the public!

Yeah but too bad it's not running macOS. That makes all the difference in the world to me.

 

[Chopper9]

I always hoped they would do something like this patent they filed in 2010. When engaged into the lower mode, the UI would transform to have larger tap targets to be more touch friendly. It would all be bundled into the same binary for apps. This would be nice for graphic artists and illustrators who could use the Apple Pencil on such a display.

This too has been my dream since oh, I dunno.... 2000? Wonder how Microsoft got around this patent?

Sad that they got beat to the punch... not a graphic designer on earth who doesn’t long for that new machine from Microsoft. They hit it out of the park in size, design, function. Too bad it’s a PC.

 

[Zaft]

Yeah but too bad it's not running macOS. That makes all the difference in the world to me.

Windows does some things better, one example is split windows. Its easy on windows, just drag but on macOS i have to click and hold on the green button..

 

[CaTOAGU]

I've always thought gesture control might be a better way to go with large screen Macs, at least as a supplementary control system.

 

[HGK87]

Times change. Look at iPad. Blank statements like that are often proven incorrect.

That was a sales tactic to convenience people they didn't need a stylus.. SJ was good at sales / marketing tactics.

 

[macTW]

I don't get why people continue to ask apple for touch screen macs when they continually say they won't. A touch screen Mac would be disgusting, an incredible waste on resources.

 

[SteveJobzniak]

Let's see, let me list what's keeping me on the Mac:

+ Logic Pro X is a beautiful DAW for music production, with lots of high-quality built-in effects and a great GUI. By contrast, Cubase and Pro Tools are more cluttered.
+ The OS is very nice to work with and I don't have to worry about the registry and antivirus.
+ Apps for the Mac are in general much better designed than Windows equivalents.

But uh......... that's it. That's the whole list.

What Windows offers?

+ Incredibly fast, modern 2017 hardware. Allowing much more instruments and effects.
+ Lower prices.
+ Touchscreens for massive productivity enhancements.
+ Far more software.
+ Upgradeable hardware.

So let's break things down further...

What's making me stay on the Mac?

"Logic Pro X is a beautiful DAW for music production, with lots of high-quality built-in effects and a great GUI. By contrast, Cubase and Pro Tools are more cluttered."

Well... the latest Cubase 9 Pro on Windows is no slouch (and you barely notice windows itself when you're in an app). It has FAR better MIDI handling and can do much more advanced routing. And there are far more audio plugins for Windows. I don't think I own any that are Mac-only but plenty are Windows-only.

"The OS is very nice to work with and I don't have to worry about the registry and antivirus."

This is a big concern. Every Windows machine I see is a mess with CCleaner, antivirus, Malwarebytes and tons of other trash just to keep it running. And if I switch to Windows I would lose out on the Unix features of macOS.

"Apps for the Mac are in general much better designed than Windows equivalents."

The apps are often so ugly and head-spinningly cluttered and unintuitive for Windows that I almost want to puke. There is no cohesive design at all to any Windows apps.

But wait... Cubase 9 Pro is available for Mac, so that's no benefit of Windows per se. I could just buy Cubase 9 Pro for macOS. And then I wouldn't have to deal with all of the hassle of Windows itself. And I could keep the Unix platform, the great apps, the easier OS, not needing constant antivirus and maintenance, etc.

But alright, then what do I do for a touchscreen (massive productivity booster), fast hardware (to handle bigger music projects), and upgradeable hardware?

Well... I guess the answer is to hackintosh a touchscreen PC. But then you run into the other issue: A hackintosh is a mess too, with constant risks that the hardware will stop working after some OS update. And the hardware itself is worth less so the resale value is trash 2 months after you've bought the components and built the damn thing. So you can't keep buying and selling new ones every 2 years by selling the old one to finance most of the cost of the new one.

So alright... What would fix most of this?

A fast, new iMac with a touchscreen! That would allow huge music projects, and would allow you to touch the plugins to control the whole studio quickly and intuitively.

Oh wait, sorry I forgot, Phil Schiller is an idiot.

Hmm, I guess the last remaining option is to wait for the new modular Mac Pro next year, and buy a separate touchscreen for that. It won't be multitouch. It will just emulate a cursor and let me tap anywhere to control (which is what the Slate Raven does). I guess there won't be any official, awesome multitouch iMac for a few more years, due to Phil's obtuse short-sightedness.

PS: I know Apple people are reading this forum. It wouldn't surprise me if Phil is reading to check the reactions. So I just want to take these 5 seconds to utter 4 words to you: You. Are. An. Idiot.

 

[dogslobber]

This might be the best news for Macs in many years. Updated Mac Pros are coming. Updated iMacs are coming. The fear factor has been removed in that Schiller has said no ARM Macs and no silly touch screens. Steve is looking down with a smile on his face right now.

 

[NT1440]

They don't care up to a point. Also, don't get too emotional about computer hardware--it's just an object not a political opinion and I'm not talking about your mother either.

Your experiences with people who don't care for their hardware doesn't make all people who use these devices idiots by the way. If you spill goo on a Mac keyboard it will still fry it as well--that doesn't make all Mac users idiots. Also, people who have different work or leisure requirements from their devices are not idiots either.

No, it does make them idiots. I'm an IT guy, so by definition all users are idiots until proven otherwise haha

It's gallows humor on the job, not to be taken too seriously

 

[technopimp]

So an iPad Pro is everything you'd need ("who needs a laptop?!"), but a touch screen MBP/iMac is "absurd"?

Do they even know what they're doing anymore?

 

[drewyboy]

As usual, they are very careful with their words.

The company has no plans for touchscreen Macs, or for machines powered solely by the kind of ARM processors used in the iPhone and iPad.

Of course they wouldn't, that'd be silly. Just because they won't use the Ax proc's doesn't mean there isn't a Mx soc, for instance, that is an 8 core arm.

 

[WatchFromAfar]

Yeah but too bad it's not running macOS. That makes all the difference in the world to me.

I'm not being snarky here and I'm not aiming this at you personally but so many people here dismiss PCs because they run Windows and Android phones because they don't run iOS. Are all these people saying a PC or Android device can NEVER be better than Apples efforts?.

 

[SteveJobzniak]

So an iPad Pro is everything you'd need ("who needs a laptop?!"), but a touch screen MBP/iMac is "absurd"?

Do they even know what they're doing anymore?

Well said. And no, they clearly don't know what they're doing. Being the only computer manufacturer without touchscreens in 2017, in a world where everyone is growing up on touch devices, is completely absurd. It won't last forever, so there will 100% certainly be touch Mac desktops within 5 years, but I don't like seeing Phil's idiocy delaying things. Such obtuse leadership doesn't bode well for where Apple is heading.

It's as if Phil isn't even aware that touch would be an option on certain models for those who need it. And he slammed touch by saying "you would have to constantly hold out your arm to use it vertically". Has he even seen the Surface Pro? He's either too thick to understand or he's willfully withholding the fact that Apple is behind the times, that's for sure.

Hey, Philtard, this is how you use a touch desktop:

I am certain that their "touch is bad, mkay" pride and hubris from a decade ago is preventing them from just sucking it up and getting with the 2017's and adding touch to a few high-end computer models for true pros that need it. Like the rest of the world has done.

Apple's hubris is getting more and more unbearably disgusting. If Windows 11 keeps improving, I'll be switching someday. If Windows and its apps just becomes a tiny bit more cohesive, clean and unified design-wise (and it's rapidly getting there) then it is game over for Apple.

I now know what a battered wife feels like. These days I'm only staying with Apple because of comfort and a few nice aspects under their increasingly crumbling exterior.

 

[shady73]

I think one of the best use cases of a device like the Surface Pro 5 or Surface Book is the ability to use the pen to take notes. Since Apple doesn't like the idea of touchscreen on Mac laptops, why not develop the software to allow magic trackpads to be used with Apple Pencil? The Apple Magic Trackpad provides a wonderful way to interact with Macs - it's as if you are already touching the screen when you use it. All that is missing is Apple Pencil support! With the new MacBook Pro, the Magic Trackpad was made larger - wouldn't it be nice to take notes using the Pencil?

 

[Ds6778]

So an iPad Pro is everything you'd need ("who needs a laptop?!"), but a touch screen MBP/iMac is "absurd"?

Do they even know what they're doing anymore?

The same company that said it took "courage" to move forward and remove the headphone jack, yet, the MacBook Pro still has it. Apple is starting to sound like todays politicians, say anything to get by.

 

[eatrains]

And what research did you gather that from?

Regardless, it's about giving users options. There are no disadvantages of having a touchscreen computer even if you don't use that part of it. They cost no more than non-touch models and will soon be standard.

The addition of a touchscreen on a Mac would require macOS to be redesigned for touch. That means bigger targets, more whitespace, and programs that aren't as precise or productive. So there absolutely are disadvantages to adding touch to the Mac.