The Mac Touchscreen Rumor Goes Against Steve Jobs’ Philosophy

Touchscreens could be coming to Mac computers. According to a Bloomberg report, an unnamed source claims that engineers are actively engaged in incorporating touch-sensitive displays into the Mac line as early as 2025. If true, it would introduce a concept that Steve Jobs said “doesn’t work.”

In October 2010, Jobs railed against the idea in his “Back to the Mac” keynote address (one of his very last before his resignation and death):

“It gives great demo but after a short period of time, you start to fatigue and after an extended period of time, your arm wants to fall off.”

But it seems that the world has moved on since Jobs made this declaration. Most of the major computer manufacturers produce touchscreen laptops and monitors. HP, Lenovo, Dell, Samsung, and Microsoft have flagship devices that harness the power of touch-sensitive displays.

Furthermore, Apple’s signature touchscreen device, the iPad, has increasingly gained laptop/desktop-tier power and features. A whole market of products allows you to use your Apple tablet like a regular computer, including stands, wireless keyboards, and productivity apps. Apple even produces styluses for iPads, a notion Steve Jobs also initially hated.

Bloomberg also reports that the engineers are planning to replace Mac’s current use of LCD displays with OLED, the technology Apple employs in iPads and iPhones.

But, perhaps, after so much time has elapsed, Jobs wouldn’t be so sour on touchscreen Macs. He had been persuaded to change his mind on several critical aspects of Apple products, such as the iOS App Store, which became one of Apple’s most successful endeavors. Jobs also stated several times that Apple would never sell phones or tablets. Now the company sells those more than it does computers.

One can picture Jobs in a black turtleneck at a keynote introducing the new “iMac Touch,” saying, “Apple has decided to do this better than other companies…in a way that actually works.”

Source: Bloomberg