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

[Chupa Chupa]

More Schiller spin in reaction to middling reviews on the touch bar. Apple hates something until it likes it... then it's like they reinvented the wheel. And this was frequently true when Jobs was at the helm. But post-Jobs, not so much. I'm not saying I'm dying for a touch screen Mac because I'm not. But I think an interactive on-screen dock would be a bit more useful than the touch bar AND you keep the F keys.

Personally I think the touch bar could be handy but the problem is, my understanding of how it works is, it's not user-centric and depends on developers enabling support with their apps. So if I don't subscribe to Adobe CC or Office 365 it's unused keyboard real estate there, and I use Office a lot. Also no guarantee other devs will be quick to initiate support for something that is on one Mac machine. It will take an iMac keyboard and then more time for touch bar to incentivise devs.

But the touch bar is not the problem of the new MBP -- its everythign else that that was pulled out leaving the touch bar to compensate and justify an effective price hike.

 

[DrewDaHilp1]

Phil Schiller says a lot of stuff...

He's courageous like that.

 

[thealkimist]

This is how you get chronic neck pain. Ask that to graphic designers who work on Wacom Cintiq.

Yup. I am one of those people in the past.

 

[Hanzu Lao]

Exactly. I played with this at the microsoft store. It seems like Microsoft did an excellent job with it, and the dial is just icing on the cake.

So what. You still end up with your hands in the air. It's a bunch of nonsense.

 

[thekeyring]

if schiller said it then 'it must be true'

in the mean time microsoft just released a gorgeous touch screen / pen enabled 28" computer that apple should have released

apple is behaving like when blackberry said customers loved they phone with a physical keyboards

apple will be bankrupt or sold very soon

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.

 

[gaximus]

I think the touch bar is a perfect solution, to touch screen. Just have anything I would need to touch in the toucher, and then my hands wouldn't have to move from the keyboard.

 

[H2SO4]

Lack of innovation. Of COURSE it'd be absurd if you had to reach across your desk. But look at the Surface Studio, how it moves and adjusts to be at the PERFECT drawing angle. THAT is innovation!

Macheads stil won't buy it even if it’s 1000x better than a Mac.

 

[KALLT]

I agree with Apple on this. Touch screens on non-handheld devices are overrated and I don’t want them on the Mac. It creates too many conflicts and variables with pointer-based interfaces.

 

[nazaar]

Apple is out of touch with this. HP, MS are doing interesting / useful things with touch screens on desktops. Just because it might be cumbersome to reach up doesn't mean the idea can't evolve.
IMO Apple has no idea what to do next in this category... it's dead for them.
I think the Touch bar is gimmicky.

 

[Andy00m]

I think Apple should start considering macbook as an mobile device. It has almost same size screen as ipad pro 12,9. Therefore bring touch to all macbooks. Whereas continue to support non touch devices as imac and mac pro.

 

[pier]

Adding a layer of touch control means more complexity, bugs and costs

Ever heard of that new touchbar?

 

[iMcLovin]

clearly nobody being an artist tested it...I for one would love for a desktop screen which also is a Wacom Cintiq equilant.

Of course touch on the iMacs current design wouldnt work, because the machine has zero ergonomical features. But if you made it ergonomical, like the new MS studio, nobody that like to draw, sculpt, paint, make 3d or whatever would mind having touch capabilities. But Phil Schiller has said a lot of stupid things lately.

 

[CausticSoda]

Yet I have seen young children intuitively reach out to touch displays and look surprised when nothing happens. Make it touch, and you have the best of all worlds. If you don't want to touch it, fine...

 

[thealkimist]

if schiller said it then 'it must be true'

in the mean time microsoft just released a gorgeous touch screen / pen enabled 28" computer that apple should have released

apple is behaving like when blackberry said customers loved they phone with a physical keyboards

apple will be bankrupt or sold very soon

Except the Surface Studio will never be able to put a big dent into Microsoft's revenue. It is a very expensive machine for a very specific user scenario. And desktop computer sales have been in the decline for many years now. You don't know what you're talking about.

 

[Quu]

I think the surface studio proves how you can put a touch screen on a large screened desktop. You design a floating arm to bring the screen down to surface level. The iMac has very little adjustment of the screen, its stand would not be a good fit for a touch screen because of it.

Apple need to think outside the box more.

 

[Tovokas]

I have a 24 inch monitor on a swing arm for my PC, and find it an extremely useful additional source of input, especially since I have accessibility issues related to arthritis in my hands. Having the same functionality on my MacBook would be of great benefit to me.

I think the 'why should everyone pay for a feature many won't use' argument has merit, but I think Apples' fetish for 'we know the one true way' is growing more grating by the day. There are many users with many use cases.

 

[thealkimist]

Apple is out of touch with this. HP, MS are doing interesting / useful things with touch screens on desktops. Just because it might be cumbersome to reach up doesn't mean the idea can't evolve.
IMO Apple has no idea what to do next in this category... it's dead for them.
I think the Touch bar is gimmicky.

Are you a design researcher? Are you certain Apple is completely out of touch with this or are you simply just very easily dazzled with the 'new and latest thing'?

 

[AppleNewton]

i don't understand Touch for Desktops/Portables either. its environment just doesn't make sense, it would take more time for gesturing and moving components around and interacting.

Though, I would love to see an iMac to be able to utilize the Apple Pencil and use that for drawing/design. instead of having a clunky cintiq or other crappy devices that don't work as well and are oversized.

That or allow the iPad Pro to be attached to the mac and have the ability to become a design/drawing tablet.

 

[neuropsychguy]

But the TouchBar doesn't... ?

No because Apple can (and will) release a keyboard with the touchscreen. There's a difference now but won't be in another year.

 

[aaronhead14]

Macheads stil won't buy it even if it’s 1000x better than a Mac.

I am a Machead though, hahah. But man, has Tim Cook really started to drive Apple into the ground....

 

[Iconoclysm]

Schiller has seen the surface studio, right?

I'm sure he's seen the Hololens too but that doesn't mean either of those things is the right move or going to take off.

 

[ugahairydawgs]

Phil, allow me to introduce you to someone.

Little bit of a difference there. When Ballmer discounted the iPhone he did so without really ever seeing it in action or really understanding what the smartphone market would become. Schiller is saying they had an inclination that touch on the Mac wouldn't work, but they tried it anyway and came away feeling vindicated in that inclination.

The truth of the matter is that macOS would have to be fundamentally revamped in order to allow for the touch points needed for a touch-centric interface. With the PC market dying the slow death that it is, I don't think Apple feels its a worthwhile investments to spend so much $$ to re-imagine an OS for a shrinking market. And its hard to argue that they're wrong in that.

 

[neuropsychguy]

Macheads stil won't buy it even if it’s 1000x better than a Mac.

They probably won't at its current price but might consider it if it was cheaper than an iMac.

 

[Iconoclysm]

I think the surface studio proves how you can put a touch screen on a large screened desktop. You design a floating arm to bring the screen down to surface level. The iMac has very little adjustment of the screen, its stand would not be a good fit for a touch screen because of it.

Apple need to think outside the box more.

What's funny about that is that you've just said Apple should think inside that box.

Apple is not a company that throws stuff at the wall to see what sticks - Microsoft isn't completely, but definitely do release a LOT of things that they should have left on the cutting room floor.

 

[AustinIllini]

I'm not sure I would say Tim Cook is driving the company into the ground, but I would say Schiller needs to play a smaller role in development and bring Ive to the forefront. Problem is, I'm not sure Ive is doing anything at Apple anymore.