Trackpad on Macs and PCs under Windows

[skaertus]

I have a 15-inch retina MacBook Pro and the trackpad under OS X is, of course, great.

However, when I use Windows under BootCamp, the trackpad is just bad. It is not nearly as smooth, and the double-tap doesn't work properly. When I use Parallels, the behavior is better, and Trackpad++ is crap but makes it better under BootCamp as well.

I am usually told, especially in this forum, that the trackpad doesn't work well in Windows laptops. However, I tried some Windows laptops and my experience was mixed. Some were crap, of course. But, while none of them matched the trackpad in the Mac running OS X, some of them performed really well. The trackpad in the the latest Asus Zenbook, for instance, seemed to work quite nicely, and it was much better than my Mac trackpad under BootCamp.

How is your experience with trackpads in Windows laptops and how do they compare to the Mac trackpad, both under OS X and under Windows running on BootCamp?

 

[Altemose]

I have found the trackpad to be better than something you would find on most PCs but still sorely lacking compared to OS X. I also find it to misjudge me using a finger to click and a finger to scroll as a right click (double click). I suppose it is just how Windows handles trackpads.

 

[skaertus]

I have found the trackpad to be better than something you would find on most PCs but still sorely lacking compared to OS X. I also find it to misjudge me using a finger to click and a finger to scroll as a right click (double click). I suppose it is just how Windows handles trackpads.

Some trackpads work better under Windows than Apple's touchpad. Any high-end Windows laptop will have a better trackpad. Just try it at a store. It's not the way Windows handles trackpads. It's the way Apple's driver handles trackpads under Windows. It's different.

 

[Altemose]

Some trackpads work better under Windows than Apple's touchpad. Any high-end Windows laptop will have a better trackpad. Just try it at a store. It's not the way Windows handles trackpads. It's the way Apple's driver handles trackpads under Windows. It's different.

I am not sure if it is just me but I think the Classic MacBook Pro's trackpad worked better in Windows than the Retina models.

 

[TPadden]

Some trackpads work better under Windows than Apple's touchpad. Any high-end Windows laptop will have a better trackpad. Just try it at a store. It's not the way Windows handles trackpads. It's the way Apple's driver handles trackpads under Windows. It's different.

Yep, picked up a Logitech T650 on sale at Amazon; $30 and does everything my Apple track pad does on OSX.

 

[skaertus]

Yep, picked up a Logitech T650 on sale at Amazon; $30 and does everything my Apple track pad does on OSX.

And is it good? I read some reviews of it which were not very encouraging. Some reviews mentioned that it is not precise as a mouse, and that it falls short of the Apple Magic Trackpad. As each of these things cost about US$100 here in Brazil, I end up choosing the Apple Trackpad, but it doesn't work well under Windows. Should I buy the T650 as well?

 

[TPadden]

And is it good? I read some reviews of it which were not very encouraging. Some reviews mentioned that it is not precise as a mouse, and that it falls short of the Apple Magic Trackpad. As each of these things cost about US$100 here in Brazil, I end up choosing the Apple Trackpad, but it doesn't work well under Windows. Should I buy the T650 as well?

I have both, and night and day difference; for surfing and general use I use the T650 daily. I do use the mouse occasionally (but I also use one with the Apple Trackpad with OSX) when I need precision.
For $30 it's a no brainer, for $100 I'd probably stick with the Apple Trackpad, unless it really were me, because I've pretty much moved to Windows 8.1/10 all the time on my Mac Mini; It ONLY falls short if you are using OSX.