Apple expected to show first touchscreen laptops amid product blitz

Apple is set to introduce its initial touchscreen MacBooks on Wednesday, ending its long-standing opposition to the technology as it wraps up a series of product releases prior to the crucial holiday shopping period. The company will host an event in Los Angeles, following the launch of a foldable iPhone in September and a smart home hub in New York earlier this month.

Although those offerings will explore new markets for Apple, the Los Angeles event may reinvigorate a long-standing question: should Apple integrate touchscreens that have become ubiquitous in iPhones and iPads into its flagship laptop line?

For years, Apple executives, including former CEO Steve Jobs and Tim Cook, dismissed the idea, citing ergonomic concerns. Jobs remarked in 2010 that touchscreens on laptops were "ergonomically terrible," while Cook asserted in 2012 that such devices would be as satisfying for users as combining a toaster and a refrigerator. However, before becoming CEO, John Ternus argued that Apple had already produced a touchscreen computer with its iPad line.

Touchscreens had been commonplace on Windows devices for over a decade, and with the iPhone nearing its two-decade milestone, a newer generation of consumers anticipates screens capable of touch sensitivity.

Industry analysts agree that Apple's resistance to touchscreens was misguided, with Anshel Sag of Moor Insights & Strategy stating that the company was simply out of touch with market realities. "Some things are purely inevitable," Sag added. The company has noticed a surge in Mac sales, though much of this growth has been driven by tech enthusiasts and businesses leveraging the machines for AI tasks on-device.

Bloomberg News reported that Apple plans to equip touchscreen models with its current M5 Pro and M5 Max chips in MacBook Pro configurations, implying that the new devices will not offer a substantial performance enhancement over existing ones.

The primary concern for Apple is customer reaction. While the company announced an upgraded base model of its MacBook Pro with a new M6 chip this week, prominent tech commentator Jason Calacanis noted on X that users primarily desire more memory and more powerful processors for local models.