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Comment by foepys | Hacker News Reader

Why would you want a touch screen on your Macbook? Touching the display will leave grease stains on the glossy display, you will move the angle of the display, and you have to raise and extend your whole arm instead of just moving your hand. It doesn't make sense to have a touch screen on a Macbook because the form factor is totally different from tablets.

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People don't seem to have a problem touching the screen on their phone why is touching a laptop screen any different? I suggest you try out a touchscreen laptop for an extended period if you haven't already.

Phone screens are different. Because Steve told us to touch them. Praise Him; RIP.

Steve also told us no one wanted 5-inch(!) "Hummer" phones. To test our faith, he also said 7-inch tablets were too small and would require users to file down their fingers to use them.

> It doesn't make sense to have a touch screen on a Macbook because the form factor is totally different from tablets.

I suspect this is like the iPhone screen size issue. Apple had some very good reasons for keeping the screen size small, but ultimately consumers found large phones to be more valuable, and in the end, Apple's commitment to small screen size held them back. You listed a bunch of really good arguments against touch screen laptops—and I agree with them—but tons of people who use touch screen laptops nevertheless find the value in it outweighs those negatives. Eventually, Apple will have to concede to the marketplace's wishes.

I dunno. I guess my kids find it natural to touch things they see on the screen and they expect the screen to work this way. Different generation I guess. I personally like it because the trackpads on cheap chromebooks aren't as sensitive as the screen so some things like scrolling are easier by screen touching.

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