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Macbook Air Getting Touch Screen?

S

saintpako

macrumors newbie
Original poster
May 6, 2010
16
0
Would it be cool to have dual-OS on the Macbook Air with Touch Screen? Apple is withholding any news from their Mac lineup update, I agree with this post about the likelihood of hybrid Macs in the near future. Apple surely wants the iAD readership expand?

Here's the article.

Macbook Air Gets Touch-Sensitive Screen | Oxyjan

What do you think?

Pako :apple:
 
That article is wrong on many levels. Starting with the ludicrous notion that the App Store was invented within Cydia, it classifies the MBA as a netbook.

The MBA has not been conceived as a media consumption device, but as a portable productivity device. A MBP that has been reduced to the essentials, with roughly the same specs as the normal workhorse version (and very slight compromises due to weight, volume and TDP, which are compensated for by the SSD).

Using a touchscreen above the keyboard does not strike me as a comfortable way to use Word, Powerpoint and Photoshop.

It made sense to rename the iPhoneOS, but not because Steve wants to see it on the MBA or MBP, but simply because the iPad is no phone. iOS is a good platform for media consumption, so I would expect to see it on Apple TV and perhaps some version of the Mac Mini.
 
Gruber said:
That article is wrong on many levels. Starting with the ludicrous notion that the App Store was invented within Cydia, it classifies the MBA as a netbook.

The MBA has not been conceived as a media consumption device, but as a portable productivity device. A MBP that has been reduced to the essentials, with roughly the same specs as the normal workhorse version (and very slight compromises due to weight, volume and TDP, which are compensated for by the SSD).

Using a touchscreen above the keyboard does not strike me as a comfortable way to use Word, Powerpoint and Photoshop.

It made sense to rename the iPhoneOS, but not because Steve wants to see it on the MBA or MBP, but simply because the iPad is no phone. iOS is a good platform for media consumption, so I would expect to see it on Apple TV and perhaps some version of the Mac Mini.
Click to expand...

Just to start a discussion, I think the s/he is referring to the idea of app distribution method of Cydia that gave rise to the invention of App Store. Early Cydia app developers made free apps for everyone to use, but later decided to make money from selling these apps, similar to the App Store business model.

I mean a lot of the features and apps of the early iPhone are derived from applications made in Cydia. Even the newest functions of iPhone 4 are arguably stolen ideas of Cydia apps, like Folders, Multitask, Home Screen Wallpaper...etc.

As for whether the Macbook Air is a netbook, I agree with you that it's not positioned that way, but I am using a MBA myself and trust me, it's not the same as a normal workhorse version, especially with playing video or flash. Don't get me wrong, I love my MBA, but it has many limitations whether you use it as a portable productivity device or media consumption device.

I think it will be kinda cool to be able to switch between using the keyboard for Pages, Keynotes and Photoshop, and touchscreen for other Apps or games or photo pinching.

Just saying. ;)

Pako :apple:
 
Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 6.0; Windows CE; IEMobile 7.11) Sprint PPC6850SP)

There's facts. There's logic. There's market logic.

And then there's Mr. Jobs's whims. Which may or may not intersect with facts or logic.

That article's interesting as long-term predicting. We know the chipset wars are not giving Apple a clear path for what to put in an Air after 2010 ends. And the iOS is Apple's own and not entangled in other companies, licensing agreements, etc. Making iOS attractive to Apple for practical reasons. Etc., etc. A lovely vision, (even if a few piffling details can be argued with, by those who can't see the forest for the trees). Truly lovely.

On a practical note, to me adding a touch-screen would arrive with a new case design. Part of the Air's hinge-rips-case-apart problem seems to occur with the slightly smaller "open" angle, and the hinge gets pushed against its range-of-motion limit. A touch screen getting pushed against, would increase these stresses. (I guess one would hold the keyboard half down with one's other hand... to avoid tipping the whole thing over?)

I'd love to see Jobs give Ive and the whole design team permission to show some design leadership with the Air.

I'm part of the market segment that needs it.
 
thinkdesign said:
Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 6.0; Windows CE; IEMobile 7.11) Sprint PPC6850SP)

There's facts. There's logic. There's market logic. And then there's Mr. Jobs's whims. Which may or may not intersect with facts or logic.

.
Click to expand...

Too true sadly
 
I seriously doubt the MBA will get a touchscreen display.

I really believe the next step for using iOS on Macs will be somehow using the trackpad as a "display" that mirrors the actual display. It would allow touching the item on the display but by touching it in the trackpad without getting fingerprints all over the large display. It makes a lot of sense to also be able to run iOS in some sort of shell system. I haven't read anything about this, but I believe it would make a lot of sense. If it could be integrated properly, it might be really interesting.

I don't like touching the display I am looking at and getting smudges and fingerprints on it. I also don't believe that touch of a flat panel is the best way for input or typing. I also don't think OS X would be good at touchscreen. For a phone, it's great. For an iPad it's okay. But for a Mac, I don't think so.
 
Let me join the hue and cry dissing the ludicrous blog piece, which claimed without a whit of evidence that the new MBA would run both iOS and OS X and have a touch screen. The piece is speculative twaddle! The writer doesn't know a bit more about Apple's plans than we do, which is to say, he doesn't know diddly squat.
 
I find myself trying to touch the screen and forget its not the ipad. This seems like a must have for the air's. Touch screen macbook air would be amazing, but they would need the screen to turn around ,in order to use it like a tablet. Check out the ''Modbooks'' made by a third party company. I wish Apple made a better designed version of it.
 
get to apple.com/macbookair, watch the video at 1m15 the marketing guru says that they TRIED TO INCORPORATE A TOUCH SCREEN INTO THE MACBOOK AIR BUT THAT IT DIDN'T WORK. The same with a iMac, you don't want to have to hold your hands up in the air like a sleep walker. you'll get lame arms within minutes. One of the things that bothers me about the ipad is that with a stand and keyboard I miss my huge trackpad that the macbooks have.

I think someone tried to make an article with as much disinformation as possible, and they succeeded to great levels!
 
We should note that the blog was written before the last MBA refresh and the announcement of Lion. Therefore, both it's assumptions (about reasons for no news from Apple) and predictions have already been shown to be wrong.

Will the MBA get a touch screen eventually? Maybe, but it probably won't be the first Mac to go touch screen if that's the direction OS X machines are headed.
 
alecgold said:
get to apple.com/macbookair, watch the video at 1m15 the marketing guru says that they TRIED TO INCORPORATE A TOUCH SCREEN INTO THE MACBOOK AIR BUT THAT IT DIDN'T WORK. The same with a iMac, you don't want to have to hold your hands up in the air like a sleep walker. you'll get lame arms within minutes. One of the things that bothers me about the ipad is that with a stand and keyboard I miss my huge trackpad that the macbooks have.

I think someone tried to make an article with as much disinformation as possible, and they succeeded to great levels!
Click to expand...

When Steve Jobs introduced the new Airs last October he mentioned why touch screen doesn't go well with notebooks as mentioned in the above quote.

From my perspective why would anyone want a touch screen in the Air when it has the best touchpad in the business ... it's easier to use the touchpad, it's conveniently placed on a flat surface in front of you ... why reach past that to put all your finger prints all over the screen. The guy who wrote all that is far out in left field .... as you can see, it's a dated article.
 
I believe there will be dual-boot (or compatibility-environment) Mac OS/iOS systems.

In maybe 5 years or so.

And they’ll be big desktops, not portables. Something like iMacs, only laid flat. (Because neither your arm muscles nor a laptop’s hinges want to have pressure on a vertical surface. Though they could flip up for movies/presentations.)

This will happen when iOS touch-based computing has become so pervasive and accepted that pros want those same benefits in a high-end big-screen system (with a keyboard, even). But they’ll still need their legacy Mac apps too.

And I think they will be ultra-widescreen, maybe 24:10 or 3:1, because pros want big screen area, yet it must be spread out sideways near the front of the desk, not requiring too much reaching back (tiring and awkward). Apps meant for iPads might be used side-by-side, while “iPad Pro” apps might use the whole screen.

Some will probably even have a tower connected, allowing the touchscreen to stay thin, and pros to have their cards and bays.

So, to answer the question, No :)
 
I kind of like the idea of being able to pivot the display and turn the airbook into a tablet. Then the touchscreen would make sense.
 
Leftie said:
I kind of like the idea of being able to pivot the display and turn the airbook into a tablet. Then the touchscreen would make sense.
Click to expand...

That functionality has existed on the Windows side for over a decade. The devices have never sold well. It's possible that Windows 8 and the Metro UI will change that, particularly since Intel is also once again exploring that with the Ultrabook concept (the first Ultrabooks are just MacBook Air clones, but touch screens are part of the long-range concept).

The only way I see Apple doing this is if Windows 8 tablets are a smashing success and start eating into iPad sales such that the iPad is no longer a viable product. I don't see that happening anytime soon (even if iPad ultimately settles into an iPhone-sized niche in the overall tablet market).
 
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