8 MACWORLD JUNE 2019
MACUSER TIME FOR MAC WITH TOUCH INTERFACEfurther, with the suggestion that support for
pointing devices like mice and trackpads—
traditionally the domain of the Mac—may
be supported in an iOS release later this
year. The takes have flown fast and
furious, ranging from those suggesting this
would be a huge improvement to
productivity on the iOS to those decrying it
as a totally useless feature.
Me, I don’t have a horse in that race.
Because what I want is not an iOS device
where I can use my trackpad, but instead—
yes, I’m going to say it, at the risk of being
ostracized by my fellow Mac fans—a Mac
where I can touch the screen.
OUT OF TOUCH
I love my little 11-inch MacBook Air. I’ve
been using one for nigh on 8 years now,
though even my current 2014 model is
starting to show its age. The light weight
and small size of the 11-inch Air has always
made it more challenging to choose to
forego my Mac for an iPad—not that the
iPad isn’t smaller lighter, but I still feel more
capable on a Mac, and the Air isn’t that
much bulkier.
But as I look out over the Mac laptop
lineup to think about what I’d choose to
replace my MacBook Air, should that
eventuality rear its head, I’m not
particularly excited about any of the
options. None of them seem to really push
the manila envelope, so to speak. The new
MacBook Air is probably the obvious
choice, though I find myself swayed
towards the MacBook’s even lighter
weight and slimmer profile.
While any of those machines would
certainly be an improvement over my
11-inch Air, which doesn’t even have a
Retina display, I’d prefer to see a more
radical improvement in my next Mac. And
it’s hard to argue that the addition of a
touch interface wouldn’t be a radical move
for the Mac.REACH OUT AND TOUCH
SOME SCREEN
Touch interfaces have become—like it or
not—the default way for interacting with
our devices these days. Rare is the time
when we deal with a screen that isn’t
touch-sensitive. It’s on ATMs, payment
terminals, information kiosks, and so on.
I’m sure we’ve all seen those videos with
puzzled kids wondering why they can’t tap
the TV screen.
As it stands, all of Apple’s other
devices—even the HomePod and the
Apple TV’s remote—have touch features.
So why is the Mac left out? Frankly, I’m so
used to touch interfaces that I have to
restrain myself on a fairly regular basis
from reaching up and tapping something
on my MacBook, and I’ve been using a
Mac for coming up on thirty years.
If anything, Apple’s bid to redefine