A new report on Bloomberg says that something unthinkable is happening – Apple is busy adding touch screens to its Mac computer series.
That’s right, the touch screen, which was mocked by Apple’s co-founder Steve Jobs for being “terrible ergonomically,” will soon be coming to Macs. The report suggests that the first touch screen Macs could be on the market by 2025.
This is a big about-face for Apple, which spent the last decade telling anyone who wanted a touch screen Mac to buy one from the iPad series.
Here’s a clip from 2016 of Craig Federighi, Apple’s Senior Vice President of Software Engineering, rejecting the idea by saying “having to reach out to touch a screen, like that becomes uncomfortable and awkward.”
Apple’s view on touch screen Macs has changed.
We would have been skeptical if this news had been published by a different news source or journalist. Mark Gurman has earned a reputation over the years, and if his sources say it’s true, we believe it.
Gurman is cautious, stating that “a launch hasn’t been completed and plans could change.” Still, the fact that engineers are “actively involved in the project” likely means it’s no longer just a theoretical device.
What else does this information mean? It could mean that macOS will come to iPad’s with M1 or M2 support.
After all, they will be running the same hardware alongside touchscreens. The Mac operating system requires software program changes to cope with a touch-based interface.
Finger touches require larger UI elements than mouse pointer clicks. Motion controls work well on the existing touch surface, but fine adjustments may be necessary for a larger surface.
This could open the door for Apple to segment its devices to compete with Microsoft’s Surface series.
What’s different is that Mac gross sales are increasing in part due to the power of Apple Silicon. The computer series has been outpacing the iPad series in recent years.
This hasn’t been the case for many years when Apple resisted including touch screens in Mac.
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