Apple is expected to unveil its first touch screen MacBooks this Wednesday, marking the end of a long resistance to the feature. This launch is part of a series of company updates before the year-end shopping season, and the event, held in Los Angeles, may conclude an old debate about including touch screens in the brand's computer line.
Reviewing Apple's Historical Stance
In 2010, Steve Jobs had classified touch screens on laptops as 'ergonomically terrible.' Two years later, Tim Cook, who was the company's CEO at the time, compared combining these distinct technologies to trying to put a toaster and a refrigerator together.
Meanwhile, the competition followed a different path. Windows operating system laptops have offered this feature for over ten years, and a new generation of consumers has become accustomed to interacting directly with smartphone and tablet screens.
Anshel Sag, an analyst at Moor Insights & Strategy, considered Apple's stance misguided. He stated: 'I believe they have always been wrong to resist touch, and now reality is setting in,' adding that 'some things are simply inevitable.'
New MacBooks May Retain Current Chips
The presentation comes after the launch of the iPhone Duo in September and a smart home hub earlier this month. This week, Apple also announced an updated entry-level MacBook Pro version that uses the M6 chip.
According to Bloomberg News, the models that will come with touch screens are expected to use the M5 Pro and M5 Max processors, which are already available in other versions of the laptop. Consequently, these new models should not show a drastic leap in performance terms.
This detail is important because part of the recent increase in Mac sales comes from corporations and enthusiasts who use the computers to perform local artificial intelligence (AI) tasks. Jason Calacanis, a technology commentator and host of the All-In podcast, emphasized this priority in an X post, stating: 'The only thing people want is more memory and better processors for local models!'
The introduction of touch has the potential to change how users interact with MacBooks. However, it remains uncertain whether this feature will be enough to attract consumers who are also awaiting improvements in equipment processing power.