Oliver Haslam on January 12, 2023, 4:04 pm

Apple Reportedly Working On New Touchscreen Macs

Apple is reportedly hard at work on creating new touchscreen Macs after spending years telling everyone that they wouldn’t be very good.

Apple had previously suggested that a touchscreen Mac would suffer from various issues, not least the fact that macOS is built with a cursor in mind, not a finger.

Former CEO Steve Jobs also suggested that there would be ergonomic issues caused by having people try to touch a vertical display too much. Now, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman reports that things have changed.

Gurman says that Apple now has engineers working on touchscreen Macs, adding that they could be ready for market within the next couple of years.

Apple engineers are actively engaged in the project, indicating that the company is seriously considering producing touch-screen Macs for the first time, according to people familiar with the efforts. Still, a launch hasn’t been finalized and the plans could change.

The report goes on to say that internal discussions suggest that Apple could be aiming to launch its first touchscreen Mac as soon as 2025, alongside a bigger update to the MacBook Pro lineup.

It isn’t immediately clear whether Apple will seek to merge the MacBook Pro with its current touchable device, the iPad. It is also possible that the machine could run a version of macOS that’s more touch-friendly, increasing the size of buttons and software elements to make them easier to interact with.