Voluntarily buying one of the new crop of Apple MacBook’s? You are inviting ridicule and buyers remorse. Buying one out of necessity (loss, theft, or acts of nature) invites sympathy, but similar regrets.
Why? No touchscreen.
- I was talking with a good friend (and Apple enthusiast) recently. He remarked how he had occasionally dragged his finger across his laptop screen – unconsciously expecting it to respond like his phone. I have done the same (and I run Ubuntu Linux for crissake).
- His comment came up in discussing the disaster that is Windows 8. Microsoft’s over-reliance on touch does make Win8 a confusing mess. But the idea of touch is a clear step forward.
- Phones and tablets are training us to expect touch interfaces elsewhere.
It is brain-dead obvious that Apple will eventually introduce touchscreen on its laptops. They will probably launch those sometime in 2014 (unless Apple management has totally lost it). Apple’s version of touch will probably be as awesome as Microsoft’s is bad.
So everyone with a recently purchased non-touch MacBook will be forced into an early upgrade – with an admixture of ridicule and sympathy (depending on personal circumstances and the kindness of your peers). Unless you believe Apple will replace older, non-touch screens at a fair price. I am hoping no-one is that dumb.
That also probably means a huge 2014 MacBook upgrade cycle – driving great results for Apple. This assumes Apple wins its bet on stupidity over logic (ie. 2013 sales don’t evaporate in advance of a touch MacBook). That is probably a safe bet…
Full disclosure. I had also entertained thoughts of buying a MacBook before the above thought smacked into my frontal lobes. The path to enlightenment is lit by awareness of one’s own propensity for stupidity, IMHO.
