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>Why does Apple get a pass on this?

Here's why: Last November when the iPad Mini and the iPad 4 launched, Apple sold 3 million iPads over the weekend. Surface has sold about 1.7 million devices total since it launched. http://bgr.com/2013/07/31/microsoft-surface-sales-2013/

It's hard to argue with success.

>As a consequence, this is one area where MS is ahead of Apple

The numbers seem to disagree with you. The reason Apple doesn't put touch on their Macbooks is cause no one wants it.



That's a false argument. These are separate points of discussion. You're arguing that they're right because they were first to market in a new space and have achieved significant momentum. Momentum is just that. They've been riding on it for a while. The last significant innovation was iPad, which was just an evolution of the one real innovation: iPhone. That's only going to carry them so far. Android is eating their market share while Apple is extracting what they can from this momentum and iterating on a theme.

I think Apple's products are great. Their ID is fantastic. Their developer ecosystem leaves much to be desired. The fact that I no longer buy their products due to their closed nature (and, by extension, their philosophy for the future: closed, controlled, and owned) does not take away from my admiration of the company from a product and engineering perspective.


Actually. Apple was really late to the market with the iPad. Microsoft had been doing tablets for 8 years before Apple came along (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft_Tablet_PC).

Apple was the first to bring down the price, make it holdable (in your hand), give it a battery that you don't need to worry about. Give it apps that were only designed for touch.

Android is iterating as much as Apple is. They will probably keep iterating until some big hardware breakthrough, maybe when someone releases a ARM86 (compatible ARM and x86 processor)? One major breakthrough of the original iphone was smooth finger tracking made available by the new capitative touch screen.


I'll just leave this little nugget here. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_Newton

Before, they were called PDAs and they've existed since the late 80s. Apple wasn't late, they were simply waiting for the technology arrive to do it right.


"The reason apple doesn't put touch on their Macbooks is cause no one wants it"...

The reason they have not added touch input to OS X, is because its not design for touch. I am sure, Apple will find another input method for their non-mobile hardware. Perhaps something similar to MYO or Leap Motion (or a touchscreen).


There's a better reason. Touch doesn't work for a vertical screen at all, it makes your arms hurt.


Agree. I don't want touch on a laptop. I see no need to mar the screen of my computer with debris and fingerprints.




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