[wtallis]

I don't see how in-kernel vs out of tree drivers is at all relevant. There's no problem getting the raw sensor data out of the device and delivering it to userspace. The main problems are at the opposite end of the software stack: the applications and the GUI toolkits they use. Mac OS pretty much has one GUI toolkit and window system, with good multitouch support throughout. Linux is a menagerie, and as a result getting features like multitouch or accessibility features implemented uniformly is a Herculean (Sisyphean?) task. X vs Wayland differences can make this a bit easier or harder, but cannot remove the need to implement multitouch support in GTK, Qt, etc.