It’s only natural that the geekerati are excited about Apple’s move to ARM-based Processors. The first MacBooks with the new technology are expected later this year. While there will be a marketing push (I expect something along the lines of “lighter machine, more power, and longer battery life”), the general consumer will likely compare the MacOS laptops to the Windows 10 laptops. At some point, the Windows ecosystem has a distinct advantage.
Maybe Tim Cook’s team should take note of Panos Panay’s Surface team and the technology they’ve been camping on for years?
ILLUSTRATION – A man holding a Microsoft Surface Book around the USB ports, SD card slot and the … [+]
The advantage is the touchscreen.
It is prevalent in the Windows 10 powered laptop market. Although Windows 10 runs smoothly without running, the addition of the touchscreen adds to the functionality of Windows 10, although it is never requested. Microsoft has traveled all the way from a desktop-bound OS built around touch as a primary interface (hello Windows 8), and has balanced the needs of both camps in Windows 10 equally.
Look back at the choices Microsoft made for its Surface hardware, and you can see the direction the company wants manufacturers to consider. The all-in move to Windows 8 on a tablet with touchscreen in the original Surface (no Surface with Windows RT) was, with caution, both ambitious in vision, but lacks the foundations for a smooth transition.
The majority of the problems lay in the use of Windows RT, a variant of Windows 8 built for 32-bit ARM devices. It requires applications to be shipped through the Windows Store and at least recompiled for the new platform and considerations made for the new touch interface. A handful of devices were released, but Microsoft’s vision of an ARM ecosystem that suddenly appeared was little more than a vision.
Roll the clock forward, and you have Windows 10, which brings back most of the classic Windows interface, which is more than enough for older legacy apps to run happily alongside newer apps that take advantage of Windows 10’s new UI elements and touchscreen support.
Touchscreens are widely accepted as part of the Windows ecosystem now. Manufacturers may offer options with and without the interface, but it is an accepted part of a high-end laptop. And it’s this part of the laptop experience that MacBook fans want for a long time.
Detail of the Lightning ports on a 2019 15-inch MacBook Pro laptop computer, taken on July 23, 2019. … [+]
That’s not to say Apple wouldn’t make the decision to bring a touchscreen to the MacBook Pro and MacBook Air. Until now, MacOS was built around the keyboard and mouse – it would be possible to have a touchscreen that replicates the mouse, but that would mean that much of the UI would have to be redesigned for the larger surface finger requires.
With MacOS 11 moving to an interface that is more iOS and iPad, along with the convergence of code that Tim Cook and his team hope to bring more developers and applications to the Mac platform thanks to the switch to ARM. If so, there’s a very strong argument to add a touchscreen to the next generation MacBooks that will debut with Apple’s new processors.
The addition of touch screens to the new MacBooks will reinforce the idea that the new Macs are capable and compatible laptops, at least outside of Apple’s geekerati.
At what point will the key be how Apple handles legacy applications.
Just as Microsoft’s Windows 10 on ARM project has built a better foundation for legacy applications (especially when you look back at RT), Apple will have been working behind the scenes to make this as boring as possible. However, anyone moving to an ARM-powered Mac will keep a close eye on their critical applications and if they make the same leap as Apple’s processor.
Read now why Apple’s new MacBooks are a threat to Google’s Chromebooks …
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