It is a fad, one that has already been rejected on the market. See www.digitimes.com/news/a20131211PD217.html

My personal experience with a touchscreen laptop running Windows 8 was that once the novelty wears of, it feels unnatural to reach beyond your touchpad to the touchscreen for input. The touchpad is closer to the user's hands and therefore faster to access and that beats everything a touchscreen could offer.