“These high-end displays could be found on today’s iPad, iPhone 4 and even on the latest upgraded iMacs,” Purcher reports. “According to Apple’s newly published patents, it appears that Apple’s MacBook line-up is destined to gain these incredible displays as well – even though they already possess a pristine LED-backlit display with wide-angle viewing, today.”
Purcher reports, “Yet the big news buried deep within all ten of this week’s display-centric patents is a clear-cut fact that the MacBook is destined to also gain a multi-touch display.”
Full article, with much more, including patent application illustrations, here.
MacDailyNews Take: Again, just because it’s in a patent application, doesn’t mean it’ll become a shipping product.
“To us longtime Apple watchers, Cupertino seems to be saying, ‘Multi-Touch on the screen only when trackpads are not part of the device.‘” – MacDailyNews Take, November 19, 2008
Things can always change, but nothing Apple has shipped so far indicates that the company has any intention of deviating from the approach to touch that we so concisely iterated nearly two years ago.
If Apple does go the greasy screen route with Macs, we hope that a built-in trackpad, or at least support for an external Magic Trackpad, is always an available option. What do you think, is it time to consider more Windex stock?
LED IPS display, you bet.
Touchscreen, no.
OS X requires a cursor for proper use. Apple knows this.
I bet Apple has taken longer to come to market with an iMac or MacBook Touchscreen because they’re rewritting iLife to run with touch. Sorry MDN, but I do see this as being viable. A side report on that article you link to also shows how a future macbook could be able to fold into a tablet. So Apple is definitely striving to kick butt on all fronts related to multi-touch! Go Apple!
We have to see iLife become a touch app first, for sure. Then it’ll all make sense.
I could imagine touching an iPhone button on the macbook touch that work nicely. HP has a nice touch desktop that I played with at Best Buy, and for TV, touch was lightning fast as well as other little apps that they had. It wouldn’t cost Apple much to implement and it helps to stave off the competition. Who doesn’t have a touch desktop these days (HP, Dell, Asus, Acer, Gateway)? Apple. If they want to be the king of touch, then they have to participate in that category, plain and simple.
@ Seth
You said: “OS X requires a cursor for proper use. Apple knows this.”
Duh? This is an Apple patent boy. I’m sure that Apple knows what they have to do to make this work.
I’d love iTunes to be touch based on a mac. I’d put an iMac or macbook on my kitchen counter or den table and quickly operate it standing up without having to use a keyboard. It has some potential. My friend has an HP model and he was really fast with it using a photo app. Kind of got me thinking why apple is taking so long.
PC’ers don’t get Apple’s fanatic quality. Man, did you see these 10 patents on display technology alone? Wow. Who wouldn’t be impressed seeing that kind of attention to detail? Macs cost more because they deliver on super quality, most of the time.
Apple will never copy other PC makers unless it makes sense (eg CD-RW back in 2000).
If they think there is good utility for a touch screen in a mac they will implement it.
Here’s one thing to consider: touch works well when your hand is above the surface. It is natural and similar to writing. However go vertical and it is a lot less effective.
Flipping a laptop screen to make a tablet would work and has been done. However this is not really Apple’s style.
Don’t Touch my screen! Ever!
What if the screen just detatched to become an ipad-like device?
This notion that it’s not “Apple Style” is a silly argument. That was said about the iPhone and iPad and the naysayers got it wrong, again.
Why does the touchscreen have to be used as part of the macbook anyways? Think Different, think outside the box. That would be sweet with Apple’s revamped macbook air. The size is kind of right and just detaching it would give you another version of the ipad. A two for one deal. Whatelse would you want? You pay a premium price for a macbook air anyways, so why not justify the cost?
Apple intro’d the magic trackpad so that students wouldn’t freak out when the iMac or macbook touch hits the market for christmas this or next year. When Apple killed Newton every so-called “long time Apple watcher” said Apple would never, ever, ever touch a PDA or tablet again. Every “long timer” got it wrong. It’s a tired old argument that died in 2001 with Think Different. Maybe you heard of it (old timers)?
I can that a touch interface works for a small screen for phones and devices like the Ipad, and I suppose, a small screen laptops where the screen size implies the user is in close proximity to the screen.
But I think my arms would get pretty tired in an hour if I try to surf the web our do some detailed manipulations of either data or graphics requiring a lot of tweaking on a 21- 27 inch screen. I just don’t see touch screens for a big screen.
Maybe if Apple further develops the the magic pad concept- build in touch screen keypad, into the magic pad in addition to the current functionality?
i think the detachable lcd makes sense. apple could just create an ipad with a builtin keypad. i didn’t think i’d like an ipad and once i saw it, i’m thinking of getting one. i’d prefer having both a new notebook that happens to double as an ipad. nice to see apple is at least thinking about it.
The illustration shows a touchscreen but still has the trackpad. That’s the way it should be. Having multi-faceted inputs is the way to go. It doesn’t have to be an either/or situation. Apple should have voice commands, touch screen, trackpad, magic mouse and whatever is new and helpful in some app. Sensors are coming to future mac bezels that will allow for hand motions for godsake. So it’s no biggie to add a touch screen. What’s with the whining?
I am not interested in the whole future of hand gestures to operate my gear. Seriously. I’m a lazy bastard. If I knew I would have to get into freakin’ aerobics to open a folder I would have never gotten into computers in the first place.
@kneugent. So you’re lazy and that’s why apple shouldn’t advance technology. Note to Steve Jobs, STOP INNOVATING, you’re bothering kneugent! That’s funny.
I can see this being applies to the next MacBook air. It will swivel or do something very cool and apple like and then become a 12-13″ iPad. It will make sense once we see apple do it. Not some pc box assembler with no real tech abilities.
@ nippon:
Seriously though. Everyone has this wonderful vision of the future of computers, all floaty in the air and see through like something out of Minority Report. Meanwhile just doing a simple e-mail will have us all waving our arms around like were trying to land jets on a freakin’ aircraft carrier.
@ kneugent
Seriously though…of course Apple will give us options and for most of our daily routines we’ll be happy to do what we do, for sure. I’m just saying that computers will keep advancing whether we adapt to them or not. And, not everything is for everyone. I may want an iPhone, but not an iPad or vice versa. I’d love to have a notebook for work, but an iPad for surfing on the couch. But to say that it’s the old way or the “Stupid” way is overboard. That’s all.
It was a JOOOOOOOOOOOOOOKE……
Touch screens will be everywhere, and you should stock up on iKleen, not Windex.
@DogGone,
You took the words right out of my mouth.
I bet Apple filed these patents to throw Redmond for a loop. HP and all the beige box assemblers are already experimenting with touch screen laptop and desktop models, these patents are only likely to make them push that much harder. It will be one of the greatest misdirections ever, as Apple knows better than to give people “gorilla arms” touching displays of their laptops and imacs… I absolutely don’t see this happening.
@ Joe.
Dumb yapping. Reminds me of the those who thought that it was a joke that Apple would ever venture into the cellphone market. A tablet? Just another idiot Windoze idea that Apple will never touch. I remember 93% of Apple fans of yesteryear demanding that Apple buy BeOS over NextStep. And were mad as hell when Apple bought Next. Silly, visionless and yappy dummies. Your just another one, Joe.
@Seth Oh don’t you worry, MacBooks WILL eventually have touchscreens.
Thing is, no one (okay, ALMOST no one) here is thinking outside the box; you’re assuming it’ll be the standard, disastrous implementation PC makers have done on their gimmick-notebooks.
Apple has filled A LOT of patents relating OS X (no, I’m not talking about iOS, I know what you’re thinking) with advanced multi-touch stuff. Keep in mind Apple bought PA Semi last year and Fingerworks two years before iPhone’s launch…