No, they suck. No swiping, no pull-to-refresh, no multitouch zoom, the calendars dropdowns are horrible to use, the buttons look like something out of Windows 3.1
This seems to be an implication of the current market. Since most humans (and thus most consumers) use a phone or tablet as a primary computing device, it's unthinkable to make a consumer software UI that isn't mobile-first or touchscreen-focused.
"They suck" might be a bit harsh, but as someone who has used the Surface line of devices since they became good, I agree with your general sentiment. I have similar issues with COSMIC and Plasma 6 on my new laptop.
In my opinion, computer touchscreens are one of those things you don't realize how nice they are until you've already gotten used to them and are faced with the sub-par alternative. Say what you will about Windows 11, but it is extremely good for touchscreen interaction. That is not by accident. I strongly believe that any UI that takes touch seriously will significantly enhance its KB+M experience as well because it has knock-on effects on the UI. It's a bit like mobile-first. When you stop treating touchscreens as an afterthought, you are forced to become a better designer. You start thinking more clearly about information density, visual hierarchy+feedback, and most ironic of all, it makes keyboard navigation even more pleasant. I would love to see more focus on touch-friendly desktop apps, even if only for those secondary benefits.
No, it doesn't. Most workstation replacement laptops (notably including MacBooks) don't have touchscreens.
While things may be different now, Windows 8 got panned for trying to put touch elements into a desktop UI. Windows 10 and 11 would abandon that approach.
(Also, it has a theme engine. The buttons don't look like something out of Windows 3.1 unless you use a Windows 3.1 theme.)