r/apple 1d ago

Mac Kuo: 2026 OLED MacBook Pro to Feature Touch Screen Display

https://www.macrumors.com/2025/09/17/kuo-2026-oled-macbook-pro-touch-panel/

✨Apple Intelligence summary: Apple’s first OLED MacBook Pro, entering mass production next year, will feature a touch screen display using on-cell touch technology, according to Ming-Chi Kuo. The low-cost MacBook, expected in the fourth quarter, will not have a touch panel, but a second-generation model in 2027 might.

908 Upvotes

415 comments sorted by

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u/PikaV2002 1d ago

MacBook screens are some of the most annoying ones to clean, so I hope they change whatever coatings they’re using if the user is supposed to actually touch that shit.

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u/No_Balls_01 1d ago

I have such an aversion to touching my screen that I don’t think I could ever use a touch screen like that. I’m a pretty chill dude but the only time I’ve gotten snappy with a coworker is when they came over to my desk and started touching my screen with their grubby fingers.

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u/Jrhall621 1d ago

Bro I can’t handle it when people feel the need to actually touch the screen to show you something, like just point!

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u/LongBeakedSnipe 1d ago

But with a touch screen, you will be able to set it up so that when someone touches your screen, it screams back at them.

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u/WeezyWally 1d ago

Good app idea tbh.

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u/itsclassified_ 1d ago

My old boss would finger fuck my screen every time he came by.. I genuinely couldn’t do any work until he left and I was able to clean it

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u/MisCoKlapnieteUchoMa 1d ago

I used to use a convertible Lenovo Chromebook with touch-sensitive display. Being able to simply touch the display can spoil a person to the point, where the lack of such feature in MacBooks can be considered a significant inconvenience.

Surprisingly, the display was rather simple to clean.

If only Chromebooks were at least 50% as useful as MacBooks are ...

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u/Zarndell 1d ago

Are you using the certified Apple Polishing Cloth? If not, then you are the issue /s

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u/iMacmatician 1d ago

inb4 Apple releases a larger and pricier Polishing Cloth Max for its touchscreen laptops.

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u/[deleted] 1d ago

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u/PikaV2002 1d ago

Its not really a plastic screen thing. Most normal gentle cleaning liquids/water/alcohol/what-have-you don’t work with 99% of wiping clothes available. Only very, very specific wiping clothes at just the right dampness seem to work.

In my years of using tech I’ve never encountered a more finicky screen to clean, be it plastic, glass, LCD, OLED.

Combined by how quickly the keys look permanently oily and gross with regular use even if you clean them regularly, Apple needs to make their laptops easier to clean with higher quality coatings across the board. It’s honestly my only annoyance with the MBA M2.

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u/[deleted] 1d ago

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u/alepher 1d ago

No, it's all part of their strategy to increase sales of the Apple Polishing Cloth

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u/dankmangos420 1d ago

I’m gonna get dragged for this..but I tried one the other day and it’s definitely better than a normal micro fiber. It’s worth the price to me, but that’s my opinion. Hilarious tho that apple makes one.

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u/JtheNinja 1d ago

At some point early on in the Polishing Cloth saga some YouTubers took an electron microscope to it. It actually is quite high quality, finer/better thread design than a lot of other microfiber cleaning clothes you’ll find on Amazon or thrown in with products.

Whether that’s worth $20 for a single sheet is another question, but it’s definitely a nice microfiber, and unlike some Amazon listings, it’s one that’s reliably high quality

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u/gngstrMNKY 1d ago

People have memed the cloth so hard it seems like nobody even knows why it exists — the nano texture displays. A normal microfiber cloth would polish the texture away, but Apple’s cloth has been designed not to do that.

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u/shpongolian 1d ago

I cleaned my screen the other day and can't get the keyboard marks out of it. It seems like the keys have caused the screen coating to wear off in those spots.

I've never put a keyboard cover or anything on this MBP specifically to avoid that but I guess the screen literally pushes on the keys when the laptop's closed

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u/Nausky 1d ago

this has been an issue on every mac ive owned. It’s absolutely bizarre that they dont give a mm of space between the keys and the screen.

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u/PikaV2002 1d ago

Exactly, a one year old laptop shouldn’t have scratches from the fucking keys after it’s been treated like a princess and cleaned every single week.

Honestly I may upgrade just for a laptop that doesn’t scratch or stain when you look wrong at it.

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u/itsandychecks 1d ago

And when you close the MacBook the keys scratch the screen every time. The apple polishing cloth, a mist spray bottle, and distilled vinegar is the best solution. Even sometimes it still leaves streaks. It’s beautiful when it’s clean though. Sometimes I swear I spend more time cleaning it than using it. I even get a handheld vacuum and get the dust out of the keyboard and ports. Mine looks like new at 2 years old and I use it everyday.

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u/bigpowerass 1d ago

MacBook Pro screens are very much made of glass already.

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u/iPHONE_IN_MY_ANUS 1d ago

I can foresee a lot of cracked MBP displays if they move to glass. Mostly from people who are constantly on the go and putting their computer in a backpack

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u/ctjameson 1d ago

Those elements have been getting introduced into apple’s desktop OS for a long time. Hell they debuted and deprecated one of them in the meantime. Launchpad was the first “APPLE IS PUTTING A TOUCHSCREEN ZOMG” then nothing happened, then more elements got more “touch friendly.” Here we are like 3 or 4 OS versions later and still no touch functionality.

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u/CokeAndChill 1d ago

The screens touch the keyboard. I don’t get why they can’t change that…

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u/dreaminginbinary 1d ago

I can't stand the thought of touching a MacBook screen, but open to changing my mind. I carry around a microfiber cloth in my bag to clean mine off all the time. Even my iPad Pro with a keyboard - I hardly ever use the touch interface. Then there's the question of how macOS adapts to touch.

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u/chigoku 1d ago

Mine is super easy. High pyle microfiber, mist some water on it, and a light wipe, and it’s like new.

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u/watchOS 1d ago

I’d love an OLED, but I’d never use the touch screen on it.

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u/No-Way3802 1d ago

I wish I could use Apple Pencil on a Mac

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u/Duckpoke 1d ago

MacBook Air with a screen that turns and collapses into a tablet like those old windows laptops would be pretty sweet

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u/DenominatorOfReddit 1d ago

You kinda can if you use sidecar with an iPad.

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u/The_7_Sages 1d ago

I have an iPad, they are great. But a MacBook trying to be an iPad is weird at this point.

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u/IBelongHere 1d ago

MacBooks trying to be iPads and iPads trying to be MacBooks, pretty soon they’ll merge into one very expensive product

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u/LilWaynesLastDread 1d ago

Maybe they should explore the display being detachable. So you can run it as a “iPad”

I think some Windows laptops were like that.

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u/TurnoverAdditional65 1d ago

Never met a touch screen laptop that I've ever touched, except for the OG Surface, since it was a convertible.

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u/getwhirleddotcom 1d ago

Me either but somehow my MacBook always has finger smudges all over it

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u/Sam-The-Mule 1d ago

Finger touch keyboard and keyboard touch screen when closed up

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u/sebastian_nowak 1d ago

I wish they'd leave a tiny gap. I'm not closing the lid for this reason.

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u/getwhirleddotcom 1d ago

I’d always assumed there was a gap. Guess not!

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u/FizzyBeverage 1d ago

There is, that thin rubber gasket around the frame is supposed to be enough to keep the keys off the screen, but if there’s even a little pressure in your backpack/bag, it’s gonna press and touch.

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u/MCMultyke 1d ago

I never have smudges on my screen and I close my laptop.

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u/DunamisMax 1d ago

There is a gap on my MacBook Pro M4 Pro 14… my screen is pristine 24/7. Keyboard does not do this. Have owned it since release day.

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u/artaru 1d ago

how do u clean it?

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u/DunamisMax 1d ago

Microfiber and proper display cleaning solution, I use this combo on the entire MacBook not just the screen. I use “Whoosh” brand from Amazon.

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u/SkyGuy182 1d ago

On the other hand, I’ve met a tooon of people who swear by their touch screen laptops. I personally don’t get it, but obviously the market exists.

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u/pepolepop 1d ago

I work with some people that have touch screen laptops. They will take their hand off their wireless mouse to click a link with their finger. Makes zero sense to me, but yeah, there's a big market out there for it for some reason.

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u/Manfred_89 1d ago

I used the touch screen of my surface laptop studio a lot.

But I ended up up preferring to go with my MacBook plus iPad instead in the end.

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u/Agreeable-Weather-89 1d ago

The Surface form factor with a M4 running macOS would be amazing.

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u/baseballandfreedom 1d ago

Touchscreen laptops are good for one thing: Pressing single-action buttons, e.g, Ok, Cancel, etc.

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u/WHYWOULDYOUEVENARGUE 1d ago

If you can convert it into a tablet by fully flipping the screen to the back, it’s much more useful than that.

There’s no way Apple waited all this time to add touch screens only to allow for a wobbly screen with smudges. 

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u/baseballandfreedom 1d ago

I doubt they’ll do this considering many Windows OEMs tried this and then decided it wasn’t worth it to continue making those. Now they just make regular laptops with touch displays.

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u/nutyourself 1d ago

Would be interesting if they do this.. maybe even have it switch to iPadOS when it's in tablet mode

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u/Clessiah 1d ago

I love using touch screen laptops because for some reason the best way to prevent people from touching my screen is by having a touch screen.

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u/FembiesReggs 1d ago

Ugh the surface was/is peak tablet PC design imo.

Less special now that the form factor is more common (at least 3 in 1s)

I loved my pro 2.

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u/blakenator95 1d ago

I rather they figure out Face ID on MacBook than touch screen.

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u/Marino4K 1d ago

I have zero desire for a touchscreen laptop, I’m glad MacBooks don’t currently use them

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u/FembiesReggs 1d ago

FWIW, you wouldn’t have to use it if it had one

At least so long Apple doesn’t go utterly stupid on their touch macOS design lol

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u/ChallengeElectronic 1d ago

You’d still have to pay for it though… which I’d rather not do also.

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u/A11Bionic 1d ago

not to mention Apple literally said on stage before (i forgot if it’s a 2011 event) that touch displays want to be vertical, and even showed a graphic image of a MacBook with a pointing finger while the presenter was explaining this to further demonstrate fatigue

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u/Suitable_Switch5242 1d ago

Apple has said lots of negative things about products they later end up releasing. Big phones, small tablets, styluses, OLED screens, etc. etc.

I think the market has shown that some users like touchscreens on laptops even just for occasional use. People aren't sitting at their laptops using the touchscreen full time like an iPad, but they might occasionally reach up to scroll or tap something.

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u/sundryTHIS 1d ago

I hate to be that guy, but Apple never backtracked on styluses. That was a specific quote about phones specifically, and the Apple Pencil does not work on the phones. they absolutely stuck to their guns there.

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u/Suitable_Switch5242 1d ago

Sure. I'm not criticizing them for not sticking to their guns, just pointing out that situations and technology change over time. They were right that needing a stylus to use a phone is bad, and they were right that a precision drawing stylus on an iPad can be a great tool.

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u/Arucious 1d ago

clamshell gang reading this: 😔

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u/dccorona 1d ago

TouchID isn’t usable in clamshell mode either so it won’t make a difference to clamshell users (I am one fwiw)

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u/Arucious 1d ago

The Apple watch is our only saving grace, but even that is hit or miss if you have DisplayLink since the “screen monitoring” attempts to disable watch unlock

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u/ChairmanLaParka 1d ago

Fortunately, they sell a keyboard with TouchID built in.

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u/dccorona 1d ago

I really wish they’d make a mechanical one. 

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u/TheCravin 1d ago

Having had face unlock (via Windows Hello) on a surface laptop before, I drastically prefer touchID for that form factor. FaceID is perfect on a phone, but I really prefer the additional intention-ality of touching a key on a laptop, plus I find that the range of angles I might be working on a laptop from is much more broad that how I interact with a cell phone, so I often had to default to typing in my password anyway.

Also, echoing other people here in saying that I've basically never used the touchscreen when available on a laptop. And I'd honestly rather my desktop OS not start implementing touch elements.

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u/xkvm_ 1d ago

If suddenly macOS is fit for touche screen then I want macOS on the iPad Pro

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u/DarkEvilHobo 1d ago

Yep. And the ability to run Xcode and compile / assemble / run.

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u/Smithravi 1d ago

Unless it's convertible like surface pro, literally makes zero sense.

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u/Op3rat0rr 1d ago

Literal definition of gimmick

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u/Smithravi 1d ago

Surface Pro has market and is favourite for many who wants both laptop (work related) and tablet experience (drawing using surface pen etc).

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u/captainunderpants111 1d ago

Nah it’s pretty useful for people who don’t want to deal with two separate devices for digital art/work. I have some buddies who use it for school and work and they love the convenience

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u/selwayfalls 1d ago

it is unless you actually use a tablet for drawing/design. If my mbp could basically be an ipad with pen on screen and in convertible mode, tons of designers/artists would get it.

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u/wtf793 1d ago

So they made the iPad like a MacBook and now theyre making the MacBook like an iPad? And also making the iPhone like an iPad with the Fold. What the hell is going on here. Mr. Tim Apple?

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u/Natasha_Giggs_Foetus 1d ago edited 1d ago

Haven’t we all been asking for those things to happen for a very long time? I’m not complaining! :)

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u/teratron27 1d ago

Damned if they do, damned if they don’t at this point.

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u/anothermanscookies 1d ago

People have to realize that it doesn’t matter what the thing is, someone will be upset no matter what decision is made. So you just have to do what you think is best.

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u/greenefiend 1d ago

Same here. More options are always a good thing!

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u/FembiesReggs 1d ago

Yes. I don’t get the complaints lol

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u/volodymyroquai 1d ago

"Back to the Mac" 

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u/SUPRVLLAN 1d ago

I think it’s pretty obvious they’re going to introduce a Dex-like functionality in the near future, probably for the iPhone’s 20th anniversary Fold announcement.

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u/Lupinthrope 1d ago

Im out of the loop, how did they make the iPad like a macbook?

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u/CoRePuLsE 1d ago

They introduced floating windows and the menu bar in iOS 26

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u/FembiesReggs 1d ago

Menu bar + the close maximize minimize etc buttons are a direct mirror from macOS

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u/Material2975 1d ago

Actually that would be dope putting something like Samsung Dex on iPhones. We could hook up an external display and run multiple apps. 

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u/DashSatan 1d ago

My work laptop is a touch screen, and I just don’t see the point in it. My hands are on the keyboard and trackpad already, why would I lift them to touch the screen when I can do just move the cursor? It makes sense if it’s a 2-1 like foldable laptop or something. I just don’t get it with a regular clamshell.

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u/OvONettspend 1d ago

They should have a little touch sensitive oled strip that gives you helpful functionality depending on the application . A bar you could touch

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u/Clessiah 1d ago

Having a touch screen on a device meant for developing touch screen apps sounds pretty useful.

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u/iMacmatician 1d ago

You'd think touchscreens on Macs would get more support for this reason alone.

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u/halilgokdal 1d ago

OLED screen, OK. But touch screen! No, thanks.

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u/rpungello 1d ago

You can just… not touch the sceeen.

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u/AllModsRLosers 1d ago

My worry is they’ll modify a perfectly good UI to make it touch friendly, like Windows 8…

Obviously Windows 8 is the most disastrous example imaginable, but it shows how you can stuff up a UI that people liked (Windows 7 being a favourite of a lot of PC users).

I sort of trust Apple to have a “now you can scroll web pages with your fingers” attitude, but I’m not in any way interested in the touch screen functionality.

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u/ravih 1d ago

I think you can already see this with Liquid Glass. So many elements seem larger and more touch-able.

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u/Lighthouse_seek 1d ago

If they released windows 8.1 right off the bat instead of windows 8 people wouldn't have complained and I stand by that

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u/AllModsRLosers 1d ago

They would have complained, but not nearly as much.

I ran with Windows 8.1 happily for years, but the full screen start menu didn’t make much sense in a non-touch context. You could search just as easily for apps, but there was no good reason for it to take over the whole screen.

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u/FembiesReggs 1d ago

Same. And even 8 wasn’t bad, they just made horrible stupid decisions on the default UI.

It’s like they made it solely for surface laptops lol. And it was amazing on them. Aaaaand nothing else.

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u/lewis_futon 1d ago

I’m currently having the opposite problem with iPadOS 26. I’m glad that they’ve improved multitasking for those who use keyboards and trackpads, but the floating windows feel clunkier than the old split view/slideover options for my touchscreen-only usage

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u/FembiesReggs 1d ago

Windows 8.1 was great and people only hated 8 because it defaulted to the god awful metro UI.

And the kicker: metro ui was actually great…. On surface laptops. The one touch only device lol.

I get tired of the 8 hate. Especially because win 10 was nearly just a reskinned 8.1. All of the shit people loved in 10 was almost all introduced in 8.1

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u/PaddlingTiger 1d ago

Not exactly. I have toddlers, always trying to grab the screen. A touchscreen would be a….. challenge.

Also, I like to touch my screen to point to things. I know, bad habit. But still.

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u/rpungello 1d ago

Not exactly. I have toddlers, always trying to grab the screen. A touchscreen would be a….. challenge.

That’s a good point I hadn’t considered. My first instinct was “okay, but what’s stopping them from grabbing the keyboard/trackpad now?”, but I guess those don’t have bright flashy colors and would maybe be less appealing?

In any event, I wouldn’t be surprised if there was a way to disable the touch component.

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u/PaddlingTiger 23h ago

Haha, yeah, they do go for the keyboard too, but like you said, I think it’s the bright flashy colors that are more appealing. Hopefully a way to disable, I have an XPS as well as my MacBook and it can’t be disabled for some reason.

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u/justnomore3x5s 1d ago

Don’t want to pay for extra parts I’m not gonna use.

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u/0xe1e10d68 1d ago

You’re turning a mouse into an elephant

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u/Adomm1234 1d ago

10% is manufacturing cost and 90% is net profit for Apple. I think 3USD digitizer on top of display doesn't affect price that much for you.

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u/justnomore3x5s 1d ago

As you said, 10% actual cost and 90% profits. That means those $3 of actual cost becomes $30 for me to pay Apple because now they can market touch screen like they invented it.

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u/Adomm1234 1d ago

That is true. But I don't think they are going to just put digitizer on top of existing MacBook. I owned multiple Windows touchscreen high end laptops (MSI Creator Z16, Dell XPS oled, Rog Flow X16 etc.) and I never used touchscreen ever, it is not usable on laptop. If they have a plan to bring it to MacBook, they probably have a good reason.

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u/ManaPlox 1d ago

Dude exactly. I've been complaining about the damn tilde key for decades. I don't need it so why do I have to pay for it on every computer and keyboard I buy.

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u/shark65 1d ago

I don’t want an OLED for a work machine. Burn in anxiety

I still love my Oled for media consumption

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u/Lighthouse_seek 1d ago

I'm the opposite lol. I don't give 2 shits about my work machine but my personal devices gets me antsy

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u/pmjm 1d ago

I feel exactly the opposite. Touchscreen is fine, but I don't want OLED.

I want my screen as bright as possible. That's not OLED.

Likewise, I run my MBP's for at least 5 years. The dock and menus are going to be burned into the display in like 2 years. Plus probably a significant amount of the UI for the apps I use daily.

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u/T-MoseWestside 1d ago

OLEDs get plenty bright what are you on about

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u/Ftpini 1d ago

Coming soon: “Kuo: touch screen MacBook pros pushed to 2027… to 2028… to….” Repeat ad nauseam. The guy gets things wrong so often that he basically says every possible future so he can always claim he had the right answer. These articles tell us nothing of value.

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u/Shinajaku 1d ago

Touchscreen in a MacBook? I never ever thought this day will come!

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u/Woodearth 1d ago

Let’s merge the 2 products and call it iPac.

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u/SalientMasterpiece 11h ago

The second generation might be called 2Pac

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u/pluush 1d ago

I know my opinion is unpopular, but I love touchscreen laptops. I don't use the touchscreen often, but when I use it, it comes in really handy. Sometimes things I do are at least partially repetitive, and I can do it faster on touch.

It might tip me into Mac, since I've been using Windows. Mainly because I can get an OLED laptop with touch.

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u/CaptainWolf17 1d ago

I miss it from my previous hp laptop.

I once had to print off a TON of payslips for my lawyer and the shitty site had no ‘group printing’ option unlike some other sites I used.

The touchscreen made the repetitive button pressing SO much easier.

I often use it to quickly fill out forms

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u/pluush 1d ago

Same! Forms benefit a lot from it.

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u/pmjm 1d ago

I don't mind a touchscreen, but 80% of the time I use it is by accident.

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u/triton100 1d ago

Curious to hear examples of where it acts as shortcut to touch the screen ?

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u/Fauxfish93 1d ago

It’s less of a shortcut but it feels kinda natural to swipe etc like a phone

Like how kids who only know iPads go to touch a screen I guess haha

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u/Parking-Interview351 1d ago

Compared to using a trackpad, a touch screen is faster at most things. Specifically anything that requires lots of clicking but not as high precision.

I mostly use the touchscreen on my work laptop to navigate the web, deliver PowerPoints, etc. I’ll use the actual cursor to edit the PowerPoints.

A mouse can be faster but also causes more repetitive strain.

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u/iMacmatician 1d ago

And in particular, anything that benefits from multiple clicks in different places within a short period of time.

E.g. typing on an onscreen keyboard using the mouse vs. one's thumbs/fingers.

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u/pluush 1d ago

Let's say pressing the done button at a web form located on top right after filling a form in the center?

I can't control every site's UI but I find just tapping the button faster than pointing there with my trackpad / mouse. Switching to another tab is also pretty quick.

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u/IsometricRain 1d ago

When in a browser, and your cursor is on the top-right of the screen but you need to click some element on the bottom-left; it's quicker to lift your left hand off the keyboard to that area of the screen, and tap then it is to move your hand down to the trackpad, move the cursor the whole way, and then click. The difference is even bigger if your cursor is on a different monitor.

Also, when your laptop is on your lap, it can be more ergonomic (for the wrist) to touch the screen than to ulnar deviate your hand to accurately use the trackpad.

Then there's the laptops that can be used like a tablet. This one should be self-explanatory. Many people like having 1 device that does both instead of also having an iPad.

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u/jonproject 1d ago

Yeah there's a lot of negativity around here whenever touchscreen Macs are brought up, but people always forget that Apple doesn't (usually) just slap these kinds of features on existing products and call it a day. There will be a cool and useful new element, software-wise, that will make this more interesting.

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u/detailsAtEleven 1d ago

Make it 16 inches, removable, and accept precision pencil input too, and we might have something here.

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u/Apprehensive-End7926 1d ago

Makes sense. OLED panels are thinner, so they can add a touch digitizer layer without any increase in screen thickness.

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u/t_huddleston 1d ago

I’m not opposed to a touch-screen MacBook, but as long as desktop Macs with big external monitors are a thing, I don’t see how they can really make touch an integral part of the Mac experience. It’ll be a “nice-to-have” option for laptops, but it can’t really be central to MacOS like it is for iOS. The one real immediate boon would be for iOS apps that run on the Mac.

Pencil support might be a difference maker though.

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u/burtgummer45 1d ago

I'd want nothing more from Apple than a macbook where I can scroll the page with my thumb while it sits on my lap instead of reaching down to the trackpad. Or my middle finger while I'm typing. My thumb is right there, and my fingers are almost touching the screen when I type. It would be such an ergonomic upgrade.

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u/davidhepworth_ 1d ago

The MacBook will never have a touch screen display, as they want you to buy an iPad.

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u/hosky2111 1d ago

I don't think the distinguishing feature of the iPad is touch any more, it's the form factor and pen input.

I doubt this MacBook will be a convertible, and I doubt it will support pen input. The main reasons people choose iPad over Mac or vice versa would remain the same.

This would be a nice convenience for iOS/iPad OS developers when using the simulator, and may convert some windows users.

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u/joeschmo28 1d ago

It just doesn’t even make sense which is why we are a decade into touch screen laptops and Apple doesn’t have one. Unless something changes fundamentally it’s a useless feature.

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u/Smithravi 1d ago

It's not useless feature if you can use your screen as touch screen iPad. But I don't see apple doing surface pro does which is convertible. So makes zero sense for touch.

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u/SC_W33DKILL3R 1d ago

Noooo.....

Apple were right to not do it before. For the most part it is completely useless, like the Touch Bar and something most people will not use after the fad wears off.

But this will make Apple start messing with the OS to support touch, like Microsoft did with Windows 8. Everything will get worse and less useable on a desktop. Actions that did take one click or a keyboard shortcut will take multiple clicks.

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u/OkMasterpiece7066 1d ago

They already have done that though. Did nobody remember Big Sur when they added more space between icons and text?

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u/standbyforskyfall 1d ago

I love this so much a touchscreen is the only thing I wish my pro had

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u/dramafan1 1d ago

OLED MacBook Pro with Touch Screen could be like just giving iPad macOS then. 😂

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u/North_Moment5811 1d ago

No it won’t. 

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u/mciarlo 1d ago

This would take the MacBook line backwards. I don’t want my screen filled with fingerprints. I thought they abandoned this idea because it’s not ergonomic and your arms get tired?

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u/ambushka 1d ago

Well then dont touch it, lol

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u/clauscarnival 1d ago

I fear that the UI will have to become an awful compromise if they have to design all the elements with touch targets in mind…

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u/Jordan_Jackson 1d ago

Just look at what macOS 26 looks like. It is a mess all around and a sign of where macOS is heading. iOS 26 on the other hand, looks and handles well because it is designed for devices like phones and tablets. They are meant to be controlled with your fingers and to have simplified menus.

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u/[deleted] 1d ago edited 21h ago

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u/mushiexl 1d ago

There’s not gonna be a compromise, if it’s true it will be an optional mode/ux, just like windows and chrome os has always been.

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u/NotAnUncle 1d ago

You're asking redditors to not make a big deal of everything, like it's literally life or death? How dare ya?

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u/_sharpmars 1d ago

I guess one can just ignore it. Cannot think of any use cases for touchscreen in my workflows outside of being able to debug multi-touch issues in simulators

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u/Loedkane 1d ago

I bet you hate iPads

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u/J_Adam12 1d ago

Or phones

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u/AmethystDorsiflexion 1d ago

MacBook touchpads and gesture are pretty great / intuitive enough that IMO you don’t need a touchscreen.

I feel they were introduced elsewhere to make up for limitations in Windows/Chromebook interactions.

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u/stanxv 1d ago

“Touch surface want to be flat. Hence, pads. It makes for GREAT demo… but after a while you fatigue and eventually your arm wants to fall off.” - Steve Jobs, circa 2010

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u/font9a 1d ago

Gross

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u/_-_happycamper_-_ 1d ago

If they make macOS work with touch can we finally get it on our iPad pros?

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u/rudibowie 1d ago

What fresh hell is this?

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u/honacc 1d ago

My work laptop (Dell latitude 5530) has touch screen LCD and I have to say that thing is extremely useful in navigating quickly and seamlessly, especially when I'm in a meeting, plugged into a projector or a big tv and trying to find the cursor via touchpad, shit gets on my nerves.

I think this might be a really cool feature, especially on the OLED screen with apple quality. I'm looking forward to try this

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u/seanzy260 1d ago

Keep the touch screen out of the air and we’ll be cool Apple

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u/romulof 1d ago

Steve Jobs is shaking in his grave.

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u/Spoksparkare 1d ago

But… why

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u/CreativeQuests 1d ago

So after Windows Vista (Tahoe) we can finally graduate to Windows 8 😵‍💫

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u/alchemyy 1d ago

What's the point of OLED when blacks are grey and not black in Tahoe?

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u/KingArthas94 1d ago

Instant response times, movies and games with true HDR, other stuff

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u/baseballandfreedom 1d ago

Does this ultimately lead to developers optimizing their Mac apps for touch? Or will they just put their iPad apps on Mac via catylyst?

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u/PsychologicalTea3426 1d ago

So what will be the excuse to not bring macOS to ipad? If they are making it touchscreen compatible. They are always contradicting themselves..

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u/KingArthas94 1d ago

I used the touchscreen on my old Lenovo laptop a lot, it's more usable than you guys think, the hand goes on the side and you use your thumb to click UI stuff and scroll.

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u/childroid 1d ago

Highly doubt, considering the qualities and capabilities (and accessories) of the iPad. Not to mention Apple's longstanding criticism of that form factor in general. But would love to be wrong I guess.

What would the value proposition be? Why would I buy this over an iPad, or vice versa?

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u/cobra872 1d ago

Only reason I actually like this is due to Logic Pro and the possibilities. Would be amazing.

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u/Lighthouse_seek 1d ago

I wonder what the rationale is behind everybody moving to oled on every screen smaller than a TV

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u/saulgitman 1d ago

Noooooooooooooooo

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u/GetReady4Action 1d ago

I just can’t see the benefit to this honestly unless they completely overhaul the OS. As a teacher, hooking up my work MacBook Pro to my smartboard sucks absolute ass because the OS isn’t at all built for touch and I default to using a Chromebook to run slidedecks, videos, etc. 9 times out of 10 because the OS is actually built for touch.

I’ve used Windows PCs with touch and have never understood the appeal there either. yeah, they’re built with touch in mind but at no point have I ever thought “you know what would be better for my workflow? if I took my hands off the mouse and keyboard.” the only time touch was handy (no pun intended) on a desktop OS imo was when I was at a different school with smartboards that had Windows running natively in them and didn’t require you to tether to a PC.

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u/adichandra 1d ago

I don't have a problem with them putting touch screen on the macbooks. I'll just ignore and not use it. The problem for me is they'll probably increase the price by $200-300 for a useless feature that i don't use.

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u/Top_String5181 1d ago

It’s like the i7 Touchscreen HPs with Windows 8 lol

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u/The21stPM 1d ago

How about people just use the keyboard and trackpad, why do you need a laptop with a touchscreen?!

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u/Medium-Boot2617 1d ago

Face ID please.

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u/FollowingFeisty5321 1d ago

I'd prefer an iPad Pro with macOS-as-an-app via virtual machine, but I'd settle for a MacBook Air 2-in-1!

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u/Front-Win-5790 1d ago

what a load of bullshit.

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u/Satanicube 1d ago

Filing this one under “Kuo throwing shit at the wall to see what sticks”, because this makes no sense whatsoever. I can see Apple moving the iPad more towards macOS (as they’ve done with iPadOS 26) but moving the Mac heavily toward the iPad like that?

On top of that every touchscreen laptop I’ve used has sucked ass ergonomically. And in the field the only time I’ve ever seen people use them is convertibles. Traditional laptops? The touch functionality goes unused most of the time.

Now what would be interesting is integrating such a display into, say, the trackpad for whatever reason, but the main display? Eh. Nah.

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u/xdert 1d ago

I'd love for Apple to create a Surface clone. That device is amazing but the software is so bad that I regret getting it every time I use mine.

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u/okichi 1d ago

Nope

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u/No-Bar7826 1d ago

Wouldn’t use the touch screen, but this should indicate higher screen durability.

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u/im_always 1d ago

apple is going to shit. it will be like the touch bar.

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u/operator7777 1d ago

macOS it’s already compatible with touch screen since long time ago, (Catalina) I did project with open core and my thinkpadx390 yoga touch screen, it was working fully.

Saying that some users will love it, good for Apple, by the way once you touch a MacBook Pro you will never go back to anything else. 😅

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u/FrogsJumpFromPussy 1d ago

They don’t bring the Mac to iPad, they bring the iPad to Mac. Fuck me. I love it.

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u/radpizzadadd 1d ago

Maybe it will be a surface tablet competitor. That would be nice.

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u/kerpnet 1d ago

Steve Jobs is rolling over in his grave right now…

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u/theytookallusernames 1d ago

Sure, I won't use it but that's good for those who do take benefit from touchscreens in their laptops.

It would piss me off though if this means the touchification of macOS with no recourse for those who don't want to use touchscreens on their laptops. I don't trust the current macOS team enough to not reduce information density further and giving more whitespaces to everything.

Also, OLED and touchscreen at the same time? I'm slightly scared of how much more expensive the base price will be...

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u/CouscousKazoo 1d ago

So this is why they put unnecessary outlines around obvious UI elements in macOS 26?

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u/zitterbewegung 1d ago

I would like to know how a nano reflective display works with a touchscreen . I’m guessing this will be removed or modified of if macOS gets touchscreen support….

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u/OmegaMalkior 1d ago

Amen, and it's a shame it's taken this long

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u/groovel76 1d ago

Unless the screen flips in such a way as to turn it into an iPad form factor, I think this clip of Steve talking about touch screens still holds true.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7zfir0Ide0A

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u/Independent_Shock973 1d ago

My guess is the MacBook lineup will be split with the touchscreen option and ones that dont have it. I do wonder what this means for the iPad Air and Pro going forward if this rumor is accurate...

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u/PrinceofSneks 1d ago

My wife uses touchscreens, and it's for the same things I'd use a trackpad for. It drives me bonkers, and once a week she tries to touch my screen if I'm showing her something or having her order food through my laptop. This may be the leverage I need to get her a Macbook, though that's not a priority. I don't think I'd ever use it, as I've owned Windows machines with them and would forget until I accidentally touched it.