For me, it feels faster, easier, more comfortable, and more natural to use the keyboard and trackpad 100 percent of the time, but I admittedly have decades of muscle memory and habits built around them. There’s apparently a generation coming up with the same kind of familiarity with touch interfaces, so this feature may appeal to them. Plus, touchscreen laptops have been a thing on Windows forever, and some people seem to want to buy them, though I never quite got why without an added tablet configuration.
It’s unlikely to account for a big portion of the device’s cost compared with the rest of the OLED panel, memory, storage, and so on. So, my own bafflement aside, I’m not unhappy it’s here. I imagine it will serve those who want it well enough.
The same excellent workstation—if you can afford it
As noted earlier, whether this laptop is worthy of a recommendation depends on you and how you use your machine. That’s always been the case, but it seems more so here.
If you’re a creative professional or a display enthusiast who wants the best laptop screen you’ve likely ever seen, you won’t be disappointed if you shell out for it. And hey, maybe you can show me your workflow and prove me wrong about the touchscreen!
If you’re just looking for a great laptop with strong performance for everyday use, consider the non-OLED, non-touchscreen model that’s still in Apple’s lineup—or even a MacBook Air, which compromises relatively little for most users. And there is, of course, the entire world of Windows and Linux laptops.
If you’re a developer—especially one working at the frontier of AI workflows—well, that’s where things get tricky. Will waiting be worthwhile? So much about how those workflows will evolve and what they’ll demand from your hardware is still so up in the air that I can’t make a confident recommendation. (For what it’s worth, I fit best in this category, and I’m still holding onto my M1 Max machine, though my resolve is wavering.)
