[doctoboggan]

> The rumors about an upcoming touchscreen Mac are interesting

What rumors have you seen? Anytime I've seen speculation, Apple execs seem to shut that idea down. Is there more evidence this is happening? If anything, Apple's recent moves to "macify" iPadOS indicate their strategy is to tempt people over into the locked down ecosystem, rather than bring the (more) open macOS to the iPad.

[cosmic_cheese]

Current rumors point to the M6 generation of MBPs being a significant redesign and featuring an OLED touch panel screen.

I don't understand the appeal, even a little bit. Reaching up to touch the screen is awkward, and every large touchpanel I've used has had to trade off antiglare coating effectiveness to accomodate oleophobic coating. For me, this would be an objective downgrade — the touch capability would never get used, but poor antiglare would be a constant thorn in my side. I can only hope that it's an option and not mandatory, and I may upgrade once the M5 generation releases (which is supposedly just a spec bump) as insurance.

[mc32]

Smudges are off-putting... but, there are times when it would be very convenient to be able to scroll or click on a touchscreen. There are times when presenting when a touchscreen would be preferred over a mouse or touchpad. It's not often, but they are nice to have.

And, in regards to smudges, I mean, just don't use the touchscreen unless you have to and problem avoided.

Antiglare can be a thing but that can be avoided by avoiding string lighting behind you.

[cosmic_cheese]

There's still the issue of accidentally triggering things (when e.g. adjusting the screen) and sometimes you don't have control of your surrounding lighting. I'd still prefer touch to be entirely optional.

[WillAdams]

It's convenient, and it also makes usage of a stylus far easier.

FWIW, I often rotate my Samsung Galaxy Book 3 Pro 360 so that the screen is in portrait mode, then hold the laptop as if it's a book and use a stylus and touch on the display with my right hand, and operate the keyboard for modifiers/shortcuts with my left, or open it flat on a lapdesk.

[wlesieutre]

https://x.com/mingchikuo/status/1968249865940709538

> @mingchikuo

> MacBook models will feature a touch panel for the first time, further blurring the line with the iPad. This shift appears to reflect Apple’s long-term observation of iPad user behavior, indicating that in certain scenarios, touch controls can enhance both productivity and the overall user experience.

> 1. The OLED MacBook Pro, expected to enter mass production by late 2026, will incorporate a touch panel using on-cell touch technology.

> 2. The more affordable MacBook model powered by an iPhone processor, slated for mass production in 4Q25, will not support a touch panel. Specifications for its second-generation version, anticipated in 2027, remain under discussion and could include touch support.

[latexr]

> Anytime I've seen speculation, Apple execs seem to shut that idea down.

They also said they weren’t merging iOS and macOS, and with every release that becomes more of a lie.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DOYikXbC6Fs

[CharlesW]

Strategies change. That was 7 years ago, pre-Apple Silicon. It turns out that people want windowing options on their large and expensive tablet, to do long-running tasks in the background, etc.

[jtbayly]

If that were all they were doing, nobody would be concerned. It’s the crapifying of the MacOS in order to make it work fine with a touch interface that drives everybody bonkers about the slow merge.

[jama211]

I have Tahoe and it’s just as good at being a desktop os as any of the previous os’s. Not sure what you’re referring to.

[ethanwillis]

There have been lots of complaints all over the place that contradict your experience.

One article that talks about it: https://osxdaily.com/2025/09/19/why-im-holding-off-on-upgrad...

For less discerning users maybe the rough edges aren't that noticeable. But the point of choosing Apple products is you should be a discerning consumer.

[jama211]

That article mentions basically that they’ve heard that some apps crash a bit but it’s anecdotal and not uncommon with beta/new upgrades before a patch or two (not uncommon), and that he personally dislikes or has trouble with some of the transparency or other design changes.

Neither of those things worry me personally, and I think the previous user calling it a “crappification” is still somewhat of an overreaction. Obviously from an accessibility standpoint transparency/legibility is important but as far as I’m aware tweaks are being made and these things can also be turned off or modified in accessibility settings.

[detourdog]

This a pretty insulting comment. I’m sure ther is better word then discerning.

[latexr]

> That was 7 years ago, pre-Apple Silicon.

There have been rumours of Apple wanting to shift Macs to ARM chips for 14 years. When they made that announcement, they already knew.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mac_transition_to_Apple_silico...

It was obvious it was going to happen. I remember seeing Apple announcing iPads doing tasks my Mac at the time could only dream of and thinking they would surely do the switch.

> It turns out that people want windowing options on their large and expensive tablet, to do long-running tasks in the background

The problem isn’t them making iOS (or iPadOS) more like macOS, it’s them doing the reverse.

[CharlesW]

> When they made that announcement, they already knew.

Yep, the ongoing convergence made that pretty clear. The emphatic "No" was to reassure 2018's macOS developers that they wouldn't need to rewrite their apps as xOS apps anytime soon, which was (and is) true 7 years later.

This is the same session where Craig said, "There are millions of iOS apps out there. We think some of them would look great on the Mac." and announced that Mohave would include xOS apps. Every developer there understood that, as time went on, they would be using more and more shared APIs and frameworks.

> The problem isn’t them making iOS (or iPadOS) more like macOS, it’s them doing the reverse.

That ship has sailed, but it's also completely overblown.

[latexr]

> but it's also completely overblown.

Speak for yourself. I for one despise the current direction of the Mac and the complete disregard for the (once good) Human Interface Guidelines. It’s everywhere on macOS now.

Simple example: The fugly switches which replaced checkboxes. Not only to they look wrong on the Mac, they’re less functional. With checkboxes you can click their text to toggle them; not so with the switches.

I’m not even going to touch on the Liquid Glass bugs, or I’d be writing a comment the length of the Iliad.

[CharlesW]

My apologies, I thought the "IMHO" was implied.

You'll be happy to know that checkboxes still exist and work like you'd expect. https://imgur.com/a/p2Xe1WL

Apple provides HIG guidance on switch vs. checkbox toggles here: https://developer.apple.com/design/human-interface-guideline... It boils down to, "Use the switch toggle style only in a list row".

[justinator]

Chances that there are both a folding iPhone and a Touchscreen Mac somewhere in the skunk works of Cupertino are 100%.

The Apple Vision Pro was a far more extreme product and was kept pretty well under wraps. (tho a market failure).

[dwaite]

The line for market success for a first generation, $3500 VR headset is drawn in different places for different people.

[justinator]

Market success? I'd go with profitability.

Beta quality and expense without value are just some of the reasons for it's failure.