Apple Finally Adopts Touchscreen Laptops
Apple has introduced touchscreens to almost every computer device conceivable over the years, from smartphones and tablets to smartwatches, but it has resisted adding the capability to its Mac product line, despite a large number of competitors incorporating touchscreens into their laptops and desktops. But now Apple adopts touchscreen laptops finally.
Author:Paula M. GrahamReviewer:Hajra ShannonJan 16, 20233.9K Shares152.3K Views
Apple has introduced touchscreens to almost every computer device conceivable over the years, from smartphones and tablets to smartwatches, but it has resisted adding the capability to its Mac product line, despite a large number of competitors incorporating touchscreens into their laptops and desktops. But now Apple adopts touchscreen laptops finally.
Apple's impending transition to Macs with touch displays is about the company's future customer base. Additionally, the corporation accelerates its own technological goals, focusing on new wireless processors and its first microLED displays. Tim Cook takes a 40% salary reduction, and the probable successor at Apple's services business has unexpectedly departed.
Apple Rethinks Its Stance
A touchscreen computer, which was becoming popular at the time among Apple's rivals, was characterized as "ergonomically horrible" by Apple co-founder Steve Jobs in 2010. Two years later, in Apple earnings call, CEO Tim Cook echoed those words. Additionally, Apple's senior vice president of software engineering, Craig Federighi, said in 2018 that "raising your arm up to poke a screen is quite fatiguing to accomplish."
On this day in 2022 (June 20) in Towson, Maryland, customers browse at The Apple Store, the first of the company's retail sites in the United States where employees voted over the weekend to unionize.
On June 18, 65 of the 98 employees at the Apple Store in Towson decided to join the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers union, after a surge of workers seeking more pay, better benefits, and more negotiation clout in the wake of the late epidemic.
On the other hand, Apple may be reconsidering its position today. Bloomberg claimed Wednesday, citing unidentified individuals familiar with the topic, that Apple developers are working on a touchscreen for the MacBook Pro, with a 2025 release date planned. A representative from the firm did not immediately return a call seeking comment.
It's uncertain whether Apple will really release a touchscreen laptop, but doing so would help the company meet the changing needs of its customers and boost the Mac's already impressive sales.
MacBook Pro may be getting a touch screen
How Is Apple Competing?
Because companies like Microsoft, HP, Samsung, and Dell have sold touchscreen laptops for years, many people assume that it should be possible to tap on a computer screen in the same way that they can on a smartphone.
Apple's new in-house CPU has increased battery life and delivered higher performance, which has contributed to a surge in interest in Apple laptops. In Apple's fiscal year 2022, sales of Macs grew by 14% to $40.1. As a counterpoint, Apple's iPad sales fell short of the previous year.
In the past, Apple has avoided incorporating touchscreens into its Mac range for fear that doing so might hurt iPad sales. Instead, Apple included a slim touch bar on its MacBook keyboard for quick access to shortcuts, emoji, and other capabilities, but the company eventually removed the feature after it was lambasted by customers and reviewers.
A Mac with a touchscreen, on the other hand, may be just the thing Apple needs to keep the upgrade train rolling and keep the Mac sales boom going.
Research director at ABI Research David McQueen noted that the distinction between high-end iPads and Macs is becoming less clear due to improvements in processing power, battery life, and compact design. To paraphrase, "not much to tell it different from a laptop experience" while using a 12.9-inch iPad Pro with a Magic Keyboard and an Apple Pencil, as he put it.
“„The market has embraced 2-in-1 laptop-tablet hybrids and maybe now Apple sees the rationale for also adding one to its armory.- David McQueen, ABI Research
Apple, for its part, has lately relaxed its position on Mac touchscreens. When asked whether Apple would introduce a touchscreen to Macs at a convention last autumn, Federighi said, "Who's to say?"
Final Words
Apple's possible shift in stance on touchscreen laptops is not fully explained by the drop in iPad sales, though. Apple has released a number of peripherals and utilities that are designed for use with touchscreens (Apple Pencil) or that provide functionality that is halfway there on a laptop (like a touchscreen) (the much-maligned touchbar).
We'll have to wait and see whether this turns out to be true, but it would make sense given Apple's recent push for greater in-house component development across its product lines, as well as its likely desire to expand upon its already massively successful notebooks.
Paula M. Graham
Author
Hajra Shannon
Reviewer
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