Phil Schiller Says Apple Tested and Rejected Touch Screen Macs, Finding It 'Absurd' on a Desktop

[gk4]

The difference between typing and moving to use a mouse or trackpad, is that your arms / hands / fingers do not have to change from the horizontal to vertical axis - meaning it is an easy shift physically, because your arms can remain supported by the desk. As soon as you have to lift your arm to touch the screen, and not just touch, but interact using fine motor skills, it is simply more difficult to do and therefor less efficient for work.

I think people want to want touch screen laptop and desktop computers to work, because we see movies like Minority Report, where people are [sort of] interacting directly with the screen, but in actual use cases, moving back and forth from keyboard / mouse / trackpad to touch screen is inefficient at best. And I say this as someone who has tried to make it work using the iPad and BT keyboard.

I don't get comments like this. It would take you 2 seconds to test and realize that you can touch every point on a touch screen laptop without raising your elbows of the desk. I can touch at least the bottom third without even moving my elbows from the position they naturally rest at while I'm typing. In other words, on a theoretical touch screen macBook, I'd be able to fully interact with at least the dock without making any changes in my hand/elbow position.

 

[H2SO4]

Sure, pinch to zoom and rotate on the trackpad. It's a natural part of my daily input. And no smudge marks or fingerprints on my screen. I can guarantee that Apple isn't going to do touch screen laptops / desktops. They'll create a screen that is the keyboard / trackpad / drawing screen, reconfigurable, so that you can make it work for whatever application you're using - much like their new Touch Bar, just blown out to the whole keyboard / trackpad. It will be far more intuitive, whether for a desktop or laptop, than the touchscreen concept.

Let’s just see how many handbrake turns are done when Apple release theirs…….

 

[BootsWalking]

I guess Steve Jobs had no creativity, vision, or taste-

http://www.businessinsider.com/steve-jobs-touch-screen-mac-2010-10

Jobs died before the 2-in-1 concept reached the market. To argue a touchscreen doesn't work on a 2-in-1- notebook is to argue that nobody would ever want to use their notebook as a tablet or that tablets themselves aren't useful either.

 

[pier]

what an idiot...

So bringing your fingers to manipulate data thats present on the primary screen is impractical.

But taking your eyes OFF the very same screen,focusing on a secondary, tiny screen and bringing your fingers there to manipulate another resembling instance of your date thats already present on another screen, with an ever changing interface is magical??

the difference is probably 2 inches of arm movement.

Apple has lost it.

Yeah. And don't forget the iPad Pro which is exactly the thing they are criticising because Apple doesn't want to include a mouse cursor on iOS.

 

[somethingelsefl]

Remember when Apple said larger iPhones and smaller iPads were silly and useless..only to do that exact thing the next product cycle?

Nothing Apple says will EVER go against is current line up.

 

[naeS1Sean]

With the current macOS, certainly it's absurd.

 

[Stella]

Steve jobs is dead.

His opinions are not timeless... while trends, design and technology move on which can make his opinions out dated and irrelevant.

For all those complaining, please remember what Steve Jobs said about this topic.

 

[Since1987]

As usual, Apple has decided that USERS are the problem, never them. And usually the users who have been around for decades are the WORST offenders. Constantly whining about not being able to have what Apple USED to provide. I mean, expecting Apple to be as good as it used to be is just UNreasonable.
It's nice to know that if i will just TRY the new MacBooks then they will suddenly have 64GB of RAM, a Dual XEON, Optical interface and substantial SSD internal storage. Magic !! I'll buy that and install Maya right away !!!

"Help me Forstall, you're my only hope!" - people who used Apple computers prior to the iPhone

 

[amegicfox]

Go buy it then and quit your wining. Or buy a Cintiq monitor and plug that into your Mac if you think touch screens are that vital.

don't be bitter and I am happy you keep buying everything apple no matter what !

Tim really needs you!

 

[thealkimist]

What cost-benefit? Certainly not the the consumer. Apple laptops are more overpriced than ever.

There is ABSOLUTELY a cost-benefit for the consumer, for which Apple takes seriously, and one a good designer is always designing for. And once again, we're not just talking about money.

 

[yegon]

While I'm completely underwhelmed by the Touch Bar, I'm with Schiller on this, assuming said laptop isn't also a detachable tablet like the Surface Book.

Just as Android phones went massive* to accommodate LTE and combat poor battery life, touch screen on non-tablet laptops are a salve for crappy touch pads imo. Gorilla arms are real, and I feel it when I'm using my iPad Pro 12.9". Cue "you're a weakling". Yeeeeeah, no. Counter intuitive when you've got easy access to an excellent, large trackpad with gestures on a laptop.

Fortunately for Apple, this company line as told by Schiller also fits in with selling separate products and doing zero** innovation on their laptop line for a few more years and avoiding the huge overhaul of macOS that would be needed. Drip drip drip, yawn.

Still get a few more years from my late '13 15" rMBP, love it, but I'll be looking very closely at Surface Book 2 when that comes along in a couple of years.

*Had a Galaxy Note alongside my 4S, I wanted big phones from the beginning so I'm not one of those people who say things are rubbish, then completely change their tune
when Apple does it.

** Touch Bar does qualify as innovation. I just happen to think it's utterly naff.

 

[stevemiller]

"Can you imagine a 27-inch iMac where you have to reach over the air to try to touch and do things? That becomes absurd."

 

[lazyrighteye]

Doesn't the dramatically larger trackpad on the MBP indicate where Apple feels touch works on a laptop?

And with the intro of the Touch Bar, they're further cementing they feel Touch belongs on the bottom panel of a laptop. I mean, your hands ARE already naturally resting there... Heck, even the key travel is almost that of touching glass. How long before the laptop is 2 glass panels: one for monitor, the other for touch input? 3 years? 5?

 

[StayPuft]

There is ABSOLUTELY a cost-benefit for the consumer, for which Apple takes seriously, and one a good designer is always designing for. And once again, we're not just talking about money.

There is no cost benefit for the consumer. They're absurdly overpriced laptops. And stop saying "cost benefit" and that you're not just talking about money. You've brought up cost benefit and you've brought up R&D ... both things involved with money.

 

[MacsRuleOthersDrool]

i think it actually does cause its easier to reach and u dont have to raise ur hand.
usb c is a different story!

No, it's not.

USB-C is the FUTURE. And the Future is NOW.

 

[thealkimist]

View attachment 672178 "Can you imagine a 27-inch iMac where you have to reach over the air to try to touch and do things? That becomes absurd."

You seem to be the only one who uses a 27 inch iMac 10 inches away from your face.

 

[dannyyankou]

Jobs died before the 2-in-1 concept reached the market. To argue a touchscreen doesn't work on a 2-in-1- notebook is to argue that nobody would ever want to use their notebook as a tablet or that tablets themselves aren't useful either.

And maybe they'll do a 2 in 1 one day. But in this article Phil was specifically talking about the iMac.

 

[Kevin2055]

I don't need touch screen for normal task on a laptop. But for drawing, touch screen is not replaceable! Apple, you know you are pushing graphic designers to Microsoft, right ?

 

[A MacBook lover]

I have a touchscreen laptop, and I'm genuinely curious how you found it PAINFUL. .

Ones a laptop, the other is an iMac

 

[thealkimist]

There is no cost benefit for the consumer. They're absurdly overpriced laptops. And stop saying "cost benefit" and that you're not just talking about money. You've brought up cost benefit and you've brought up R&D ... both things involved with money.

You've completely misunderstood what I said in spite of the fact that I explicitly stated that we're not talking about just money. Move along, I'm not wasting my time on you.

 

[arkmannj]

So if my quick reading of this is right; one of the concerns is the difference in experience that a touch-screen on a mobile would offer over desktop. Assuming I read that right then I have a few questions/thoughts.

1) Apple still thinks about their desktops (j/k)

2) Does this mean we can expect to see a touch bar keyboard for the desktops coming out?
2.1) If so, I hope it can connect with any machine Sierra is supported on.

 

[Kin Yalbets]

Ummm ... what exactly is an iPad Pro with a keyboard and pencil? I guess the iPad Pro is absurd. Apparently absurd is good, or maybe not. Well, I guess Apple is not exactly sure why something is absurd or not.

If done correctly a touch screen on a laptop or desktop can be very effective. I have a HP Spectre x360 and a MacBook Pro and use both. The HP has become my go to machine lately. I admit I don't use the HP touch screen often but it is a nice feature when needing to use the pen or when using it for presentation in tent mode. It's far from absurd.

Apple has been absurd with their innovation lately. I'm a big Apple user (have the whole stack) but haven't bought anything new since the first generation iWatch. I'm not compelled with their recent offerings.

 

[apolloa]

You mean they one that starts at $3,000, was introduced by an oily car salesman who looked to be from the show Jersey Shore, the machine you've reviewed and tested extensively and is for a niche user base? The iMac starts at 1/3 its cost btw.

And the iMac has a third of the innovation and features too. And I do hope you considered the 5K iMac seeing as that's the closet machine Apple make.
I also don't think insulting the Microsoft chap adds any weight or intelligence to your comment either, quite the opposite in fact.

 

[MacsRuleOthersDrool]

Doesn't the dramatically larger trackpad on the MBP indicate where Apple feels touch works on a laptop?

And with the intro of the Touch Bar, they're further cementing they feel Touch belongs on the bottom panel of a laptop. I mean, your hands ARE already naturally resting there... Heck, even the key travel is almost that of touching glass. How long before the laptop is 2 glass panels: one for monitor, the other for touch input? 3 years? 5?

You mean like THIS? :


http://www.artlebedev.com/optimus/tactus/

I'm with you; but if Apple turned their keyboard into something like the Tactus, you'd never hear the end of the screaming.

 

[StayPuft]

You've completely misunderstood what I said in spite of the fact that I explicitly stated that we're not talking about just money. Move along, I'm not wasting my time on you.

You're the only one wasting time by trying to justify the lack of not doing something when other less valuable companies are doing the very same thing you're saying Apple can't do for absurd reasons that you've come up with that have no basis in reality. Yes, we are quite done.