Mike Peterson
Apple has downplayed rumors of a touchscreen Mac, but a new macOS Big Sur graphic on the App Store has revived rumors that such a device could be coming.
The App Store graphic, spotted by developer Louie Mantia, features a stylized human hand tapping on various widgets and user interface elements in macOS Big Sur.
why in the mac app store is there a human hand touching macos interface elements pic.twitter.com/51xyCDYCHB
— Louie Mantia, Jr. (@Mantia) November 13, 2020
Apple has since removed the animation and the hand graphic and replaced it with a static image depicting the widgets feature in the new macOS update.
so... they removed the hand, and with it, the whole animation, it's just a static image now pic.twitter.com/zhDDUX9FZE
— Louie Mantia, Jr. (@Mantia) November 13, 2020
However, as one would expect, Mantia's tweet picked up a bit of attention and reignited rumors and speculation that Apple is in the process of transitioning macOS to a touch-based user experience.
The macOS Big Sur update brings a complete visual overhaul to the Mac operating system that heavily borrows from iPadOS and iOS. That has led some people to believe that it's a first step toward merging macOS and iPadOS, or at least a step toward bring a touch-based UX to the Mac.
In an interview from earlier this week, Apple software chief Craig Federighi downplayed rumors that a touchscreen version of macOS was coming, and claimed that touch-based controls weren't in mind during the redesign.
On the other hand, Federighi didn't outright deny that a future version of macOS could incorporate touch support. And, in fact, Apple patented touch-based command systems for macOS earlier in 2020.
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42 Comments
lol Give it a rest! It won't happen, not under Apple's current leadership anyway.
Sometimes artists take liberties or even make mistakes. Hard to tell in this case what happened.
Next iPad Pro will be a 24 inch giant and come with an optional stand ($499 RRP).
I suspect Macs will get touch screens at some point. When I read user forums discussing Mac vs. PC, the one thing PC users always bring up is "but my PC has a touch screen." Also, larger window title bars in Big Sur suggest it's happening. In government RFPs, if the spec calls for touchscreen laptops, Macs automatically lose the contract. I'm not saying I'd use it much, but since Apple already has the tech in iOS devices, why not? Besides, Apple could charge $100 more for the touch screen SKU and see how it goes.
I guess this rumor won’t die until Apple really made a touchscreen Mac.