Apple has given the iPad Pro an M4 chip, its most advanced chip ever. So why doesn’t the MacBook actually get a touchscreen?
Many laptops these days are tablets and PCs in one. You fold the keyboard back, leaving only the screen. You can’t do that with the MacBook, and there’s a reason for that, according to Apple.
The iPad Pro does get an M4 chip, giving it the same processor as a future MacBook, but in the meantime the MacBook doesn’t move up to the iPad with a touchscreen. But why not?
No touchscreen on the MacBook for now
At Apple, it’s not either or, but and and. It sees iPad and MacBook users as two different audiences. It doesn’t think the two devices get in each other’s way.
“We are not seeing it as competing devices, but as two different ones,” Tom Boger, who is vice president of iPad and Mac product marketing told 9to5Mac. “The iPad has always been a touch-first device, while the MacBook is there for indirect manipulation,” or a mouse and keyboard.
The iPad Pro with Magic Keyboard. (Image: Apple)
And so Boger says that is reflected in the software of the various devices. “macOS is a completely different business,” he says. So he sees the iPad as primarily complementary, because you can easily switch between the two programs.
So it doesn’t seem like Apple will ever come out with a Mac with a touchscreen. “But I can’t say we’ll ever change our vision,” he said.
How will Apple move forward in the future?
Still, it cannot be completely ruled out, which is where Bloomberg journalist Mark Gurman comes in again. He previously revealed that Apple plans to release a touchscreen MacBook in 2025. It would be a “traditional laptop design” with a standard trackpad and keyboard.
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Still, you can actually buy a “Mac with touch screen” already, even though it doesn’t run on macOS. You can just buy an iPad with a Magic Keyboard. The latest version looks exactly like a MacBook with the special feature row.
Listen to Freakin’ Nerds
Every week we take an even deeper look at tech, pop culture and lifestyle in our podcast Freakin’ Nerds. With this week:
The Google Pixel 8a
Price increases at Netflix and HBO Max
The new Huawei smartwatch
Moreover, the iPad Pro runs on the M4 chip, which in likely to be in future MacBook as well. OK, it won’t be the most powerful machine Apple will release, but the new Pro apps will allow you to perform quite a few tasks. For example, Final Cut Pro allows simple editing on your iPad.
