14 DAY TRIAL // Apple’s new MacBook lineup comes with the all-new Touch Bar, but without a touchscreen, and this has caused some controversy in the tech world, with many claiming that Cupertino’s losing its innovative factor to Microsoft.
But Philip Schiller, Senior Vice President of Worldwide Marketing at Apple, doesn’t think his company is doing anything wrong and explains in an interview that the card they’re playing right now perfectly makes sense in the existing tech ecosystem.
Schiller explained that a touchscreen on laptops and desktops doesn’t make sense because users in this field still rely on the mouse and keyboard, and this is one of the reasons the firm has been looking into ways to improve these input methods, hence the Touch Bar.
Not following Microsoft’s lead
Furthermore, Schiller suggested that Apple has no intention to follow Microsoft’s lead and merge laptops and phones by offering an operating system on all devices to keep them in sync, explaining that macOS and iOS will continue to exist as separate products.
“There’s iPhone and iPad which are single pieces of glass, they’re direct-manipulation, multi-touch and tend towards full-screen applications. And that’s that experience. And we want to make those the best in that direction anyone can imagine. We have a long road ahead of us on that,” Schiller explained.
“Then there’s the Mac experience, dominated by our notebooks and that’s about indirect manipulation and cursors and menus. We want to make this the best experience we can dream of in this direction.”
Microsoft, on the other hand, is trying to bring together all its devices with Windows 10, offering similar look and feel on both smartphones and PCs. Devices are always kept in sync and the features that are available on PCs are also offered on mobile phones and vice-versa, with Microsoft aiming to provide the same experience across its entire ecosystem.
Touch on laptops is just bad experience
Apple, on the other hand, thinks this is “bad experience,” and explains that it doesn’t make sense to have a Mac with a touchscreen because the mouse and trackpad are still essential.
“Here’s one example of how they should remain distinct: the Mac from the very first has had a menu bar fixed at the top. It’s core to the identity and the experience you get,” he continued.
“But iOS doesn’t have a menu at the top. It never will. The thought of pointing at a menu at the top of an iPhone feels wrong. If you made the Mac a touchscreen you’d have to figure out how to make it a good experience with your finger on a touchscreen. Trust me, we’ve looked at that - it’s a bad experience. It’s not as good or as intuitive as with a mouse and trackpad.”
Microsoft, on the other hand, believes that Apple would, at some point, bring touch on laptops, with Surface exec Brian Hall explaining that the Touch Bar is just the first step towards this final goal.
“I've had a day to think. officially am calling it. 100% Apple is making touchscreen mac, 95% detachable. They're too smart not to,” he said. “They would not have planned just the touchbar. Buy a Surface now & let's let the games really begin when they get (real) touch.”
It’s very clear that the more technology evolves, the more Apple and Microsoft become fierce rivals in new product categories as well, although for the moment, Redmond seems to be a little bit more interested in inventing new products. Apple prefers a more traditional approach, so it’ll be very interesting to see which one of the two companies is playing the winning card.