Apple Says Touchscreen Macs 'Not a Particularly Useful or Appropriate Application of Multi-Touch'

[niun]

Then you have fallen right into Apple's trap..

I thought so different I bought a Surface Pro 3, 4 and Book..

 

[theluggage]

A petty gripe I have as well is removing the light up Apple logo and startup chime. It doesn't affect my work in any way shape or form, but they're just a pleasant addition that is unnecessary to remove.

Pretty sure the "illuminated" Apple logo was just a window to let the display backlight shine through - so either:
(a) The new display panels have an opaque back so this wouldn't work. Fair do's.
(b) They tried it and it looked tacky on a space-grey Mac. Fair do's.
(c) Someone at Apple hates Apple and removed it out of spite.

Sadly, the removal of the iconic startup chime and the power extension cable point to (c).

 

[costeta]

I personally don't think a touchscreen on a laptop is particularly useful, unless the screen is detachable (like the surface pro) where it can be used as a tablet. Having a physical keyboard permanently attached to a touch screen is not useful. However, that's not the point of most people who are disappointed with the new macbook pros. This disappointment is in outdated and underpowered hardware, lack of useful ports, a gimmicky touchbar, and the ridiculous price for all of this.

 

[Lalov001]

A touch screen on OSX in it's current form, meh.

Touch Bar, meh meh meh.

A fictional MBP with a detachable screen & pen support, a touch screen would be great.

Unfortunately, Apple is sticking to old paradigms until at least 2019.

That Schiller moment of "innovate my ass" is looking increasingly embarrassing now, doubly so given the state of the Mac Pro.

Sad times.

I think what you're looking for is an iPad Pro. I know "But it runs iOS", please tell me a "pro" thing you would do while using your detachable screen, that truly benefits from it and there isn't an app for that.

 

[Naraxus]

"Conceptually make sense but were later rejected"

You mean like not making your devices so asininely thin you have to compromise on features Ive?

 

[zedsdead]

Is anyone going to ask these executives about the Desktop situation?

 

[2457282]

I love my ipad and it has become my goto device. I also have a keyboard on it for when I need to do a lot of typing. Usually I stick to the onscreen keyboard. When I use my desktop (increasingly rare moments) I prefer the magic trackpad and never think about touching the screen. However the laptop is a little different for me. Since I usually have my ipad on my lap, I sometime try to touch the screen on my wife's laptop when she asks me to look at something. All this is to say that I do think you could go either way. It has not been easy for microsoft and I still think that it is questionable. However, if they just simply got the ipad to really be competitive with a laptop, then I think we would be in business.

 

[brianvictor7]

Why not s touchbar AND a touchscreen? That would be even more useful.

As I've said elsewhere, I would love to have that versatility as well, but not if it compromises something else like weight or battery life. I just don't have much use, if any, for a touchscreen on a notebook or desktop. Also, it is ergonomic purgatory. It slows work down besides. For these reasons, I don't have a keyboard for my iPad. Touching the screen to get anything done lifts your hand from its workspace. This is why I wish Apple would add a trackpad/mouse capability to the iPad. THEN it would be a potentially viable replacement for my desktop.

 

[Pilgrim1099]

Remember "light pens" in the 80s? Same problem: you're hand gets tired. Touch is fine on tablet, but for a screen in front of your face you need to rest your hands on something. Personally, I think this will culminate in a few years with a fully touchscreen keyboard/bottom display. Think a pair os iPads sandwiched together to form a single giant tablet or a screen & keyboard.

Apple already LOST out on that one just now. Lenovo's YogaBook just did exactly that.

Seen here: http://shop.lenovo.com/us/en/tablets/lenovo/yoga-book/yoga-book-android/

 

[MacAlex2016]

One word > choice < Who here wants more > choices < ? Anyone?
I have a Galaxy Note 5 and I can > choose < to use the stylus or not.
I have a Surface Pro 3 and I can > choose < to use the stylus or remove the keyboard.

I only need 2 devices, not 3 devices = KISS = Keep it simple stupid.

A year or so ago I purchased 5 devices and tried them out for a week, Ipad, android tablets
chromebook and ended up purchasing the Surface Pro 3.

Apple finally made different size phones, I like using a pen and paper so I kept buying
a larger phone then the Note 4 came out...apple was still with the Iphone 4 < small phone.

I had the original Ipad, I paid $650? for it? Sold it few years later for $150? What a waste of money.
I have Nexus Tablets, sold them.

I have been using the Note 5 for a year now with a Surface Pro 3 and only need 2 devices.
and I have a > choice < Any here for choices? Free to choose?

Then your probably a Democrat if you don't want choices.

 

[brianvictor7]

Then you've never used a Wacom. I do this every day on my iMac.

I'll defer to your experience in this matter. I just don't think I would like to blindly feel my way across a trackpad with a pen to draw a picture. Perhaps I would feel different if I gave it a try. Perhaps it is an easily learned skill like guiding a mouse cursor?

 

[citysnaps]

This is a good interview to watch, at around 2 minutes 50 he talks about the idea of a touchscreen Mac.

That's an excellent interview. People should watch it to get a better understanding of ergonomics and product design and development. It's not done on a whim or vacuum, which sadly many here seem to think occurs.

 

[2457248]

i'm not sold on looking down at the keyboard to perform special tasks.
I keep my eyes at the display level, so any interaction that does not involve a physical button would take more time than before. I can invoke "cmd+" "cmd+alt+" shortcuts faster than how i would tap on a strip on top of the screen.
then, most people who don't know keyboard shortcuts would appreciate the change.
macOS has tons of configurable keyboard shortcuts, you just need to learn and get used to them.

 

[tubeexperience]

That is true, and once again i was stating an opinion NOT a FACT. I find it funny that people complain about Apple and all this supposed lack of innovation and that they are copying and falling behind, but when someone else points out that another company (such as Microsoft) seem to have copied a design from them, it's suddenly got to be all fact based. This is only ever an opinion, which again i thought was clear when i posted. Maybe i should edit the post to relay that.

So, in your opinion, what did Microsoft copied from the iMac to make the Surface Studio?

And remember that all-in-one PCs have existed long before the iMac.

 

[niun]

As I've said elsewhere, I would love to have that versatility as well, but not if it compromises something else like weight or battery life. I just don't have much use, if any, for a touchscreen on a notebook or desktop. Also, it is ergonomic purgatory. It slows work down besides. For these reasons, I don't have a keyboard for my iPad. Touching the screen to get anything done lifts your hand from its workspace. This is why I wish Apple would add a trackpad/mouse capability to the iPad. THEN it would be a potentially viable replacement for my desktop.

So.. Let me get this straight. Adding touch to a laptop is a no..
Adding laptop functionality to a touch device is a Yes?

 

[costeta]

I absolutely agree with Jony Ive that a touchscreen laptop or desktop is not a great or particularly useful idea when you have a big, beautiful trackpad like you do on MacBooks and MacBook Pros. This is simply a question of ergonomics. Do I want to be using a touchscreen with my arm extended in front of me? Not really. Touch input is much more comfortable and useful when the positioning of the input device is more-or-less parallel with the floor.

Honestly I am very impressed by Ive's sentiment with respect to finding a balance between the mechanical and the adaptable and think it is a highly reasonable approach.

Who needs a touch bar when you have "a big, beautiful trackpad"?

 

[Dave245]

It amazes me how excited he seems about the touch bar. During the original presentation, I wondered if the presenters actually were excited about the touch bar or just needed to fill the time. To me, the toucher, while useful in some regards, is way to gimmicky and they were way too excited about it.

In this video, he also commented about how the new MacBook Pro had everything people wanted in an Air, yet was thinner. There's one thing the Air had that better: the price. When the 13" Air starts at $999, and the base Pro (without Touchbar & only 2 TB ports, I might add) is 1.5x the price. With the touchbar and 4 TB ports is $800 more.

I think only time will tell about the Touch Bar, developers and consumers will either take to it and use it or they won't. Personally i like the look of it, had i still of been at university and editing i probably would of brought one, especially after the demo with Final Cut Pro.

i agree on the price of the Air, it's what appeals to a lot of students, it's a cheap and great Mac. I think they are still offering it on the website for the moment, but i do think that it will be discontinued eventually, maybe when the prices of the MacBook Pro's drop?

 

[fhall1]

My wife has had a touchscreen Dell laptop (first running Win 8, now Win10) for three years and I can count the number of times she actually touched the screen on one hand....and half of those touches were mistakes, like she was pointing out a number to me in an Excel spreadsheet and got too close to the screen and touched it by accident.

 

[mollyc]

I'll defer to your experience in this matter. I just don't think I would like to blindly feel my way across a trackpad with a pen to draw a picture. Perhaps I would feel different if I gave it a try. Perhaps it is an easily learned skill like guiding a mouse cursor?

Yes, it is definitely a learned experience, but to say that you are blindly moving a pen across a trackpad is like saying you are blindly moving a mouse across a physical desktop. The cursor goes where your pen (or mouse) go.

 

[clibinarius]

Touching a laptop screen is overrated. I would lose my mind about having to constantly clean it if I did. It's why I haven't used my old iPad since the iPhone 6 came out with a big enough screen. The only thing I struggle with is the cost of the new MBPs with the Touch Bar and wondering how it will be incorporated to do really functional work. The early things seem kind of like a gimmick, and my MBP spends a lot of time glued to an external display anyway with a keyboard and mouse.

I don't believe the point of a touch laptop screen is so you inherently use your fingers. For instance, if you built the right software into the screen, you can use it for note taking.

Lest we forget: Apple Pencil is for drawing, yet, you can't draw on a mac.

 

[maflynn]

I think we need to give the touchbar a little time. It also seems to me that it is a gimmick and excuse not to copy the competition with a touch screen.

Agreed, its too early, but some of the concerns I have may not be resolved with more apps being supported, but to be fair, giving it some time is a sound move.

 

[citysnaps]

i'm not sold on looking down at the keyboard to perform special tasks.
I keep my eyes at the display level, so any interaction that does not involve a physical button would take more time than before. I can invoke "cmd+" "cmd+alt+" shortcuts faster than how i would tap on a strip on top of the screen.
then, most people who don't know keyboard shortcuts would appreciate the change.
macOS has tons of configurable keyboard shortcuts, you just need to learn and get used to them.

But special tasks, being special, do not occur often.

When writing a document, how many times do you reach for the sound level or brightness level keys. Once per sentence, paragraph, or page?

You would still have cmd+, cmd+alt+, etc as physical keys, like you do now.

 

[now i see it]

Gotta remember that Apple wants us to buy BOTH an iPad and a laptop. iPad was never intended to replace a laptop. Never will. TC's comment about the iPad being a PC was a sales pitch to the uninitiated. The newbs.

 

[Jsameds]

If devs made proper "Pro" apps for iPad Pro this whole thing would just go away.

 

[FreshBoy]

Instead Apple wants us to move our eyes from the screen and touch a tiny strip, and move our eyes back to the screen. How's that intuitive? It's a total gimmick.

If Apple decides to remove a perfectly fine keyboard and replace it with the horrible butterfly thingie - which types like **** - why not take the extra step and remove it altogether? There's almost no tactile feedback anyway.
And, the keyboard made sense on MacBook, being ultra portable and ultra light, but for a Pro laptop? Really?

How are you so lucky to have the new MacBook Pro already?