Laptops with touchscreens aren't anything new. They've existed for several years, and many of them have been a success. Apple has seemingly never shown public interest in this device type, but it appears that might change. According to reports, the company has been internally considering the idea and developing a touchscreen laptop. In fact, if the rumors turn out to be accurate, we could see the first touchscreen MacBook Pro as soon as 2025. Though, for everybody's sake, I hope this project remains unreleased and hidden away from the public's eyes and hands. And if it does release it, heaven forbid, then I only hope it addresses some very valid concerns.

Hardware: The current form factor isn't touch-friendly

Let's start with the hardware. When people first open a MacBook's lid, they usually position the screen somewhere between 90 and 120 degrees with the keyboard. Beyond that point, the lid starts resisting, and pushing it further will likely damage its hinge and the closing mechanism. So you can't even get the MacBook screen to 180 degrees without breaking it. This is why Steve Jobs was explicitly against touchscreen laptops back in the day.

As a result, most MacBook screens are used vertically. When you constantly use touch inputs on a vertical screen, your arm will become sore. Take tablets, for example — when we use them, we usually have them laid horizontally or slightly tilted upwards. That's the comfortable angle for the typical human.

Another somewhat minor, yet valid, concern is cleanliness. If you've used a MacBook, you're probably aware of how easily smudged and hard-to-clean the displays can be. My iPad's screen already looks like a mess, and I say that as someone who regularly washes and wipes their hands. My fingers are in no way overly oily, yet the iPad looks like a crime scene after a few hours of use. What I love about my MacBook Air is how its display is always looking fresh and sharp because I simply never touch it. While this might sound like an insignificant argument, I'm sure that many other users share the sentiment.

So unless Apple plans to redesign the MacBook Pro's hinge to support at least 180-degree angles, or preferably 360-degree angles, then touch input won't be convenient or practical for most people. And assuming the great Mac producer adds a matte layer to the screen to address the smudging issue, this device should still not see the light of day.

Software: macOS isn't ready for our fingers

Now that we've theoretically gotten over the hardware obstacles, it's time to address what's arguably the second most important issue — macOS. Well, macOS Ventura isn't the present issue per se, but it will be if Apple decides to make it touch-friendly. We've witnessed Microsoft's efforts to solve this dilemma before, and it wasn't a success, to say the least. By focusing on touch input through Windows 8, the operating system became terrible to use with a mouse and keyboard. Plus, it was completely redesigned from classic Windows, which made it confusing to use. Similarly, with the revert to the mouse/keyboard input focus on Windows 10, the OS stopped being touch-friendly. It couldn't have its cake and eat it too, which would be the case with macOS.

Right now, macOS has relatively small UI elements, so you have to precisely hit a tiny button with the mouse cursor. If the MacBook Pro adopts a touchscreen, then the design would have to be overhauled to accommodate our larger fingers and the resulting touch input inaccuracies. Right now, iPadOS — a touch-first operating system — includes support for mouse cursors, but I can't bring myself to depend on that. Touch is simply easier to use with my iPad because that's how the software was designed. It just feels too awkward to jump the long distances placed between different buttons and move a large, horrendous cursor to operate it. Introducing this kind of UI philosophy would simply ruin the Mac.

If Apple really wants to bring the touchscreen to a macOS-enabled device, then I have some ideas. First, the MacBook would need a 360-degree hinge that triggers the operating system when in tablet mode. Consequently, the interface would change from that of the traditional macOS to that of iPadOS. We're not dual booting two operating systems here. Instead, it would be the same hybrid OS that swiftly changes the interface based on whether you're in tablet or laptop mode.

Another resolution would be going the Samsung DeX route with the iPad Pro models. For those unfamiliar with DeX, it's a feature that allows Samsung phone users to utilize a desktop-like experience by connecting their smartphones to a mouse, keyboard, and external display. Apple's highest-end iPads are already powered by the M2 Mac chip, so this might be a solution. Nonetheless, the restraints of iPadOS limit what users can do with this power. So the aforementioned hybrid OS could be deployed on the iPad Pro and the OS switch would be triggered when the Magic Keyboard is (un)attached.

Do we even need a touchscreen MacBook? Not really.

Apart from completely redesigning the software and hardware, Apple would have to address another issue: Do we really need a touchscreen MacBook? I have never felt the need to touch my MacBook Air's screen. When I annotate, I simply take out my iPad Air 5 and Apple Pencil 2. And users looking for third-party options for professional digital illustration can depend on dedicated pads, such as those from Wacom. There are so many other proven alternatives that many wouldn't even use the feature. Adding a touchscreen would obviously increase the price as well, making it even less appealing to many potential customers.

If Apple really wants to bring the touchscreen to a macOS-enabled device, then it would have to remain as an optional hardware configuration rather than applying it on all Macs, as some rumors suggest. The world really doesn't need a touchscreen MacBook, at least not in its current form factor. I really hope that if Apple releases it, it comes up with a reimagined execution that addresses our concerns and exceeds our expectations. Otherwise, the device should remain as a test unit concealed in a faraway, undisclosed Cupertino laboratory.

Are you with or against touchscreen MacBooks? Let us know in the comments section below.