I agree with Schiller. Optimizing an OS for both touch and cursor leaves an overly compromised experience for both. This isn't a guess; I've used Windows. They did a good job considering the compromise, but it's certainly not ideal.
Why does it have to be compromised? Compromised how, exactly? We're not talking about
taking away functionality here (like Apple often does in some way, shape, or form). Were talking about adding
another option. Imagine swiping between desktops from the screen (where your eyes are), or zooming in precisely where you want to, instead of having to move your hand to the trackpad, postition the cursor on the right location,
then zoom in. There's no need to turn macOS into iOS, but you can build in some multitouch functionality where it would be useful.
That said, Apple will now certainly have to work very hard to recapture their future-facing high-ground status with the larger public. I hope that Apple stands by their convictions, but the downside is that people are starting to find Apple's products stale by comparison. However few people actually go out and buy the Surface Studio, and however few people find it to be a compromised experience, people look at the Surface Studio and it *looks* like the future. I would argue that it looks like the future in the same way that sci-fi movie's see-through monitors and minority report gesture-based OSs look like the future – beautiful on screen but highly impractical – but the fact remains... the public loves a good gimmick and they love having their sci-fi dreams realized. I'm no exception. I drew a future incarnation of the iMac a few years ago and it was pretty much a Surface Studio. I have to imagine Apple tried it.
The problem is that (almost) EVERYBODY using Windows 10 is using touchscreens. And what you call "impractical", and a "compromised experience", is now the norm on the PC side. Good luck bringing these people to the Mac. Microsoft is bringing in the future,
now.
But that leaves a more interesting question... where does Apple go from here? How do they get the same level of techno lust for their computers while staying true to their convictions/taste/testing? What does the next desktop Mac look like (if they release one)?
Well, we already know. Phil and Tim have been clear: More of the same, but thinner and in Pink, I mean, Rose-Gold.
This'll hurt Apple in the long-term. Not with its fans, so much, but switchers will be in decline.