The other weekend I was at home for a “four-in-one” birthday celebration (sister, brother, sister-in-law, brother-in-law) when we got onto the topic of touch screen. The discussion started with the usual banter between my brother and I – he being a Windows guy, me being a Mac/Linux guy – but at some point my Dad chimed in, asking what I thought Apple would be doing with touch screen (pointing out HP’s new computer). A quote I read today changed my answer to the question – and here’s why.
Obviously, we’ve already seen touch screen on a few Apple products – the iPhone and iPod Touch. And OS X already supports multi-touch, as evident in the most recent updates to the Macbook and Macbook Pro lines. However, the question was more directed at whether or not Apple would release a desktop system with a multi-touch screen. At the time, I made a somewhat off-the-cuff remark that Apple tends not to pick up on technologies it sees as a “fad”. Obviously, I didn’t think the question through, dismissing multi-touch screens as a “fad”.
I bring this up because today, while reading an article comparing Windows 7 features to OS X Snow Leopard, I read the following quote from Steve Jobs: “Multi-touch makes a lot of sense on the iPhone, but not so much sense on an iMac. Consider it a research project.” This caused the gears to begin to grind in my head, reconsidering my answer to the question posed by my Dad.
Will Apple eventually release a desktop system with a multi-touch screen? In short, yes, but it may not be the typical “desktop system”. Stevieboy makes a good point in stating that multi-touch screens don’t make a lot of sense on the iMac. Try sitting in front of an iMac, at the proper distance from the screen, and interacting with it like you would a touch screen (without actually touching the screen – you don’t want to make it all oily). It feels extremely unnatural, and keeping your arm in that position for an extended period would cause significant discomfort.
So, let us assume for the sake of argument that Apple is, in fact, researching some sort of multi-touch screen implementation on a desktop system. This would require a redesign of the monitors, and possibly even the whole system. Apple won’t want to sell a multi-touch solution that isn’t aesthetically and ergonomically pleasing, and their current product line doesn’t lend itself to such a goal.
The correct answer to my Dad’s question (IMHO) is “yes” – Apple will eventually release a multi-touch screen desktop system. However, it will probably look significantly different from their current product line. And while it may take them longer than other computer makers to release, I’m willing to bet the implementation will be the best available on release day.
