Apple will produce touch screen Mac computers: report

Apple engineers are actively engaged in the project, according to people familiar with the effort, indicating the company is seriously considering making the first touch-screen Mac. Still, the launch hasn’t been finalized and plans are subject to change.

For more than a decade, the company has argued that touch screens don’t work well on laptops and that the iPad is a better choice if one wants a touch interface. apple There’s also concern that touch-screen Macs could undercut iPad sales.

But rivals have increasingly added touch screens to computers, putting pressure on Apple to do the same. A Mac resurgence in recent years has also made the business a bigger moneymaker than the iPad — and the company wants to keep its computer lineup as compelling as possible.

Based on current internal deliberations, the company could launch its first touch-screen Mac in 2025 as part of a major update to the MacBook Pro, according to the people, who asked not to be identified because the plans are private.

A representative for Cupertino, California-based Apple declined to comment.

Apple shares rose 2.1% to $133.49 on Wednesday. The stock is up 2.7% so far in 2023.

Current work requires Apple’s first touch-screen MacBook Pro to retain a traditional laptop design, including a standard trackpad and keyboard. But the laptop’s screen will support touch input and gestures – just like the iPhone or iPad. Over time, Apple may expand touch support to more of its Mac models.

As part of the MacBook Pro revamp, apple Apple is also planning to shift its displays to Organic Light-Emitting Diode, or OLED, technology. The company currently uses LCDs — liquid crystal displays — on its Macs, but the iPhone and Apple Watches already rely on OLED. Those screens offer better brightness and colors and will also be coming to the iPad Pro in the first half of 2024.

If touch-screen Macs do move forward, this will be a significant change. The late Jobs said that the idea of ​​letting computer users touch the screen directly “doesn’t work.”

“Touch surfaces don’t want to be vertical,” he said in 2010.

Jobs’ successor as chief executive officer Tim Cook maintained that stance in recent years. In 2012, he said that Microsoft Corporation combining a tablet and a laptop was the equivalent of combining a toaster with a refrigerator.

But Apple has reversed course in other areas. Jobs also said that Apple would not sell a phone or tablet, and they became the dominant business for the company.

And Apple’s laptop competitors, including Dell Technologies Inc., HP Inc., Microsoft, Lenovo Group Ltd., Samsung Electronics Co. and Acer Inc. have worked to move forward with touch screens. Apple is now the lone holdout among major computer makers not to offer such a product.

There have also been outside indications that Apple is considering a change of course.

In 2018, the company began to combine its applications, bringing iPad apps to Mac. The following year, it did the same for apps from outside developers. In 2020 the company began allowing iPhone apps to run on their computers.

But that change has highlighted the Mac’s lack of touch support. Using an app designed for the iPhone on a Mac can be a frustrating experience.

Even with the reversal of touch screens, Apple is not actively working to combine the iPad and Mac operating systems, people familiar with the situation said. The first touch-screen Macs are likely to have used macOS.

over the years, some apple Customers have been demanding Touch Macs, and the company made previous efforts to satisfy those users. In 2016, it launched the Touch Bar, a virtual strip on the keyboard that controlled functions. The feature was useless, confusing to consumers and not picking up enough steam with app developers. Apple may discontinue the feature on the high-end MacBook Pro in 2021.

As of this past October, Apple sounded less hostile toward the idea of ​​touch-screen Macs. Asked about the possibility at a conference, Craig Federighi, head of software engineering, replied, “Who’s to say?”

The text of this story is published from a wire agency feed without any modification. Only the headline has been changed.