Video Shows Off Prototype Touchscreen iMac... From 1999

[MacRumors]

Touchscreen Mac rumors are not new, but it turns out that neither are touchscreen Macs. In 1999, a company called Elo produced and sold touchscreen versions of the iMac G3 through Apple's Value Added Reseller program for use as kiosk machines, and YouTuber Michael MJD recently managed to get hold of one.

The "ready-to-go tabletop kiosks" featured Elo's own iTouch touch-on-tube interface, which used surface acoustic waves instead of an overlay to detect where users touched the screen. You can see a prototype Elo iMac in action in Michael MJD's video, which also covers the history of the machine as well as its technical specifications. Given the simplicity of the hardware modification, it's a pretty impressive feat.

Rumors of Apple developing its own touchscreen iMac date back to 2010, initially fueled by Apple patents for a touchscreen desktop computer and then reports of touch panels making their way through Apple's supply chain.

Former Apple CEO Steve Jobs appeared to put the kibosh on those rumors in 2010 when he said that "touch surfaces don't want to be vertical" due to arm fatigue associated with holding up a finger to the screen.

In the years that followed, Apple firmly established iPhone and iPad at its touchscreen products, with no change in its position on touchscreen for Macs. As recently as 2021, Apple's hardware engineering chief John Ternus said the Mac was "totally optimized for indirect input" and said the company did not feel there was a good reason to change that.

Despite the years of resistance, however, Apple has reportedly started working on adding touchscreens to Macs. According to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, a new MacBook Pro with an OLED display could be the first touchscreen Mac in 2025.

Article Link: Video Shows Off Prototype Touchscreen iMac... From 1999

 

[FloridaScrubJay]

I agree with Steve Jobs, no touch screen Macs.

 

[steve09090]

Whilst it would be 'nice' to have, I don’t want to pay money for something'll use once a year. Unless it has a lay flat screen and Apple Pencil support, it is a waste.

 

[adrianjagielak]

A lay flat screen and Apple Pencil support would be nice but it would sabotage the iPad even more than it currently sabotages

 

[YJINYU]

I'm curious how the new MacBook Pro will solve "touch surfaces don't want to be vertical", or would it be solved? Hopefully, there will be something new and impressive.

 

[Unggoy Murderer]

I'm curious how the new MacBook Pro will solve "touch surfaces don't want to be vertical", or would it be solved? Hopefully, there will be something new and impressive.

Only way it could be "realistically" solved is if the screen bent all the way around to the rear of the device, so it could be used as some sort of really chunky tablet, or of the screen could rotate 180 degrees on a swivel hinge (think of the Toshiba Portégé R400).

Can't see either of those happening.

 

[Coreymac84]

I never touched my iPad Pro screen when it was docked to the Magic Keyboard. It simply does not feel right to reach out when there is another form of input that allows the arms to remain relaxed. Touch computers are a complete bust, I hope this feeling doesn’t transfer to Apple Vision.

 

[MayaUser]

It seems very uncomfortable

 

[DBZmusicboy01]

MacBook ULTRA
😍 With touchscreen OLED 2025
Starting at $2999

 

[JoeG4]

Touch screen laptops always felt silly to me. At my workplace all of the laptops have touch screens and I was discussing this a couple weeks ago and my boss remarked that he forgot his laptop had a touch screen lol. Nobody seems to ever use them that way

 

[JulianL]

What are effectively vertical touchscreens are getting closer to sneaking in through the back door by using spatial computing on the vision pro to interact with your iDevice and/or Mac.

Early days still, the first hugely expensive(*) device not even released yet, but from what I've heard about it so far I like the direction of travel.

(*) for most non-business consumers

 

[darngooddesign]

Hot Take: People dont actually a touchscreen Mac so they can touch MacOS, they just don’t want to have to buy a nice iPad in addition to their Mac. Therefore, people dont want a touchscreen iMac or MacBook, they want a 2-1 convertible laptop or tablet with removable keyboard.

 

[darngooddesign]

Touch screen laptops always felt silly to me. At my workplace all of the laptops have touch screens and I was discussing this a couple weeks ago and my boss remarked that he forgot his laptop had a touch screen lol. Nobody seems to ever use them that way

I have two work Thinkpads, my most used one has a touchscreen. I mostly use it for quick OS interactions like using the task bar, modal windows, some operations in Office, scrolling webpages, etc.; I use it enough that I reflexively try to do the same on my MacBook Pro.

People seem to think that having a touchscreen means you use it for everything, but you should use each controller for what it's best at. For example, if you re doing a lot of work a mouse is better than a trackpad.

 

[Unggoy Murderer]

What are effectively vertical touchscreens are getting closer to sneaking in through the back door by using spatial computing on the vision pro to interact with your iDevice and/or Mac.

Early days still, the first hugely expensive(*) device not even released yet, but from what I've heard about it so far I like the direction of travel.

(*) for most non-business consumers

The way Apple's implementation works though is by using gaze detection, and monitoring your fingers while rested on your lap. So when you tap your fingers together, it's a click. The surface / display might be vertical, but the interaction isn't.

 

[ifxf]

If a touch mac was created, like touch PCs, you wouldn’t be forced to touch the screen. It would benefit people who would like the flexibility of touch.

 

[MayaUser]

If a touch mac was created, like touch PCs, you wouldn’t be forced to touch the screen. It would benefit people who would like the flexibility of touch.

Agree but the price will be forced to everyone

 

[foobarbaz]

What a clickbaity video. "Touchscreen Macs already existed" … as a 3rd party mod. Guess what, it's not even the only one.

Such a shame, because the truth stated plainly is already interesting enough.

 

[winxmac]

This was uploaded nearly 2 months ago… Why just now MacRumors?

 

[StuBeck]

If a touch mac was created, like touch PCs, you wouldn’t be forced to touch the screen. It would benefit people who would like the flexibility of touch.

Exactly, I'm not sure why people think it would be a forced option, or something you can't disable. I also doubt it would cost anything extra either.

The only reason we don't have touch screen Mac is because it would cannibalize iPad sells. Apple doesn't see it as a problem that if you wan ta Mac with a touchscreen, their option is a two device, two accessory option. It was a $3500 option last time we went to the Apple store because the salesperson insisted we couldn't get away with a MBA for the light photography work my wife does. Weirdly enough, the $900 SP7 worked just fine for her use case.

 

[blodyholy]

I caught this as well as Action Retro’s review around the same time. Although this machine in particular was a prototype, the product did indeed make it to market. Our local school district had a number of these machines set up for use by students with mobility restrictions.

 

[Apple Knowledge Navigator]

I don’t think people want touchscreen Macs as much as they just want an iPad-like experience to accompany their Mac.

Most people would agree that a Mac and iPad make the perfect setup because of the versatility, but its also true that if Apple ever tried to create a Mac-iPad hybrid, it would end up being the Jack of all trades and the Master of none. Sacrifices are inevitable.

And to be honest, if you’re already a Mac owner then you can get crazy deals on older iPads these days - which is still very well specced. I can’t see any reason to buy the latest iPad over an older model as a secondary device.

 

[cnnyy20p]

If iPad can have keyboard and mouse as the secondary input Mac can too have touch as secondary input.

 

[Mac_The_Ripper]

I've owned at least six touch screen laptops, and I've never used the touch screen once.

 

[displayblock]

The movie theater by our house used these at the concessions stand for a few years

 

[Sasparilla]

With people much more touch focused (often having a smartphone as their 1st computer these days) perhaps a touch screen will eventually come if there was enough demand, but its extra expense for something you already have an optimized interface (mouse keyboard) for...and Apple found that proposition wanting previously.