Touchscreen MacBook Pro to Be 'Touch-Friendly, Not Touch-First'

[Brother Cavil]

Because it has happened before? Yes this is an Apple forum but we can use history to gauge what works and what does not work. If Apple starts throwing AI in everything we can very well compare it to how Windows is handling with Copilot in literally every corner of Windows. Windows is the biggest competitor to Mac. Comparisons are valid.

Those that do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it. So you are literally saying we CANNOT do ANY comparison AT .... ALL to Windows just because it's an Apple focus forum? That does not make sense. Comparisons are made all the time with competitors. People compare iPhones to Android devices all the time.

And I bring up this comparison because Windows STILL hasn't gotten mixed UI right in the last 15 years. Windows 8 was the best for touch, but horrible for desktop / server maintenance. Windows 10 and 11 are worse for touch.

You're not making a comparison. You're speculating. Comparing touch-enabled macOS to Microsoft's 15 year old touch UI would require a touch-enabled macOS to exist. It doesn't (yet). So you have nothing to compare.

 

[dannyyankou]

It would be really cool if Apple built a 360 degree hinge on a MacBook. Let us fold it all the way around and use it as an iPad.

 

[Ethosik]

You're not making a comparison. You're speculating. Comparing touch-enabled macOS to Microsoft's 15 year old touch UI would require a touch-enabled macOS to exist. It doesn't (yet). So you have nothing to compare.

It’s taking a look at history. And with how Apple completely botched Tahoe, I have 0% confidence they can “touchify” macOS that is any better than a complete transformation like Windows 8.

 

[Brother Cavil]

It’s taking a look at history. And with how Apple completely botched Tahoe, I have 0% confidence they can “touchify” macOS that is any better than a complete transformation like Windows 8.

That's a fair opinion. I'm reserving judgement until I see what they do. The Mac UI has been slipping for many versions in my opinion. If you're an old-school Mac user, the writing has been on the wall for a long time now. Each version of macOS becomes more like iOS, visually and under the hood. This trajectory will not change.

 

[grammatica]

Brother, I can use the keyboard to pause or play media. I can use the keyboard to increase volume and brightness. Look, I am looking forward to OLED, but why a touchscreen? Also, "Siri, pause."

 

[groove-agent]

Here's a non-AI version of that very thing at this very moment (this is my laptop, on my desk, with my stylus).

It’s a PC in the picture? I remember the modbook pro years ago that replaced the Mac with a touchscreen.

As far as a pc goes I’d probably go for the Acer Zenbook Duo with the dual touchscreens. However after using Windows 11 on my new gaming PC I realized a can’t go back to a PC as a daily driver.

 

[atomjack]

It would be a big challenge for me to touch the crystal-clear MacBook screen with my fingers, because fingerprints would eventually smudge the beautiful image.

i bite off fingers of people who try to touch my screen

 

[jakey rolling]

It’s a PC in the picture? I remember the modbook pro years ago that replaced the Mac with a touchscreen.

Yes, the laptop in my pic is a Dell Latitude reversible. I've been using it as my work laptop for about four years, but it is only a secondary laptop.

I do like the reversibility of it for some purposes. When I have it connected to my screens, I flip it into "reverse" mode so it can serve as another screen. Touch is useful on some occasions such as doing presentations where I want to annotate things on the screen or when I'm travelling.

As far as a pc goes I’d probably go for the Acer Zenbook Duo with the dual touchscreens. However after using Windows 11 on my new gaming PC I realized a can’t go back to a PC as a daily driver.

The only major complaint I have is the battery life. Windows 11 isn't the hellscape that people here seem to think it is. It is a tool and it performs very well for me.

 

[Made In Machines]

I’ve wanted touch on Mac OS for many years but it needs to be with the right hardware. As an add on to the MacBook Pro in its current form is barely usable in any meaningful way for any length of time.

It needs to come in a 2 in 1 laptop format or as an iMac version of the surface studio.

At least if they did implement touch fully I could use a third party screen to use it properly.

 

[MichaelAdam]

I don’t get it … What’s the point ? I want an iPad that has the full capacities of a Mac and a Mac with the full capacities of an iPad … Stop milking the cows and give us products we need …

 

[bogdanw]

touchless touchscreen MacBook Pro 🙂 in Dalloway https://www.imdb.com/title/tt32792395/

 

[chucker23n1]

You're not making a comparison. You're speculating. Comparing touch-enabled macOS to Microsoft's 15 year old touch UI would require a touch-enabled macOS to exist. It doesn't (yet). So you have nothing to compare.

Sure, it's speculation, but what Gurman describes sounds a lot like Office 2013. You get slightly bigger padding when the OS detects you're interacting with a finger instead of a mouse/trackpad, and you can tap, swipe, that sort of thing. Probably pinch to zoom in Photos and Maps.

For compatibility with existing apps, maybe they do a layer that pretends your finger acts as a trackpad. Then even things like four fingers up for Mission Control would Just Work™.

In practice, what most people will do with that is the same as what most people do with touch laptops on Windows: not very much at all. Maybe swipe scroll something here and there. And hopefully clean the screen more often.