Apple Unveils First Touchscreen Laptops Amid Product Blitz Ahead Of Holiday Season
Ternus, a former Apple hardware veteran and the company's new CEO, took the stage at an Apple event in Los Angeles, part of a media blitz filled with new product launches.
Recommended For YouHe launched a folding iPhone, Duo, at Apple's Silicon Valley headquarters in September and a smart home hub in New York earlier this month. While those products will test new markets for Apple, the Los Angeles event could rekindle an old question: should Apple put the touchscreens that it made mainstream in iPhones and iPads in its oldest product line?
Apple executives long resisted the idea, with Steve Jobs saying in 2010 that touchscreens on laptops were "ergonomically terrible" and then-CEO Tim Cook saying in 2012 that such devices would be as pleasing to users as converging a toaster and a refrigerator.
Before becoming Apple's latest CEO, Ternus argued that Apple already made a touchscreen computer with its iPad lineup.
But touchscreens have been widely available for more than a decade on Windows devices, and with the iPhone nearing its two-decade anniversary, a new generation of buyers expects screens to respond to touch.
"I believe they were always wrong on pushing back on touch, and this is the long arm of reality setting in," said Anshel Sag, an analyst at Moor Insights Strategy. "Some things are purely inevitable."
A key question for Apple is how customers will respond. The company has seen an uptick in Mac sales, but much of that growth has been among technology enthusiasts and businesses buying the machines to handle AI tasks on-device.
While Apple this week announced an upgraded base model of its MacBook Pro with a new M6 chip, Bloomberg News has reported that it plans to ship touchscreen models with its existing M5 Pro and M5 Max chips that already come in MacBook Pro models, meaning the new machines would not gain a significant performance boost over existing ones.
"The only thing people want is more memory and better processors for local models!" prominent tech commentator Jason Calacanis, the host of the All-In Podcast, wrote on X.
ALSO READ- Apple launches M6 MacBook Pro and iMac, pitches faster on-device AI Apple may drop new Mac mini ahead of September launch, Bloomberg reports Apple could launch new iPad Pro, MacBook Pro in early 2027
Legal Disclaimer:
MENAFN provides the
information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept
any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images,
videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information
contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright
issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.
Comments
No comment