ZDNET’s key takeaways

• Reports suggest Apple will announce a touchscreen MacBook.
• Apple’s trackpad is already enough touch input for me.
• I’m unsure if Apple will significantly improve issues with laptops and touchscreens.

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I’ve been looking for a reason to upgrade my 13-inch M2 MacBook Air, but the last several MacBook release cycles didn’t have a “wow factor” feature that would convince me to trade in. When I heard of new MacBooks coming out this year, with an all-new-to-MacBook feature, I couldn’t wait to see what that feature would be.

As Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman first reported, new MacBooks are on the way, and their special trick will be a touchscreen display.

Also: Apple’s first touchscreen MacBook is days away

Fingerprint oil magnets

Dark-colored MacBooks are already fingerprint magnets; when I was shopping for a MacBook at the Apple Store, all I could notice was the Midnight color covered in fingerprints. From the laptop’s outer shell to the trackpad, the fingerprint residue seemed inescapable.

I ended up going with Starlight, which also attracts fingerprints, but the lighter color makes it harder to notice. Despite my laptop sporting a clear protective cover, every few weeks I need to wipe down my screen because it somehow ends up with all kinds of random smudges that disrupt my viewing.

Also: Can you use an old iPad as a HomeView?

If this many imperfections spawn on my non-touchscreen MacBook, I can only imagine how a touch display would look after a few uses. 

Apple’s trackpad is actually magic

Apple calls its trackpad the Magic Trackpad, and although I’m not a proponent of tech companies asserting their products are “magic,” some things actually are, and Apple’s trackpad is one of them.

Casual users rarely need to invest in a mouse unless they have wrist pain or another physical limitation that prevents them from using the MacBook’s built-in trackpad. Apple’s “natural scrolling” encourages users to interact with webpages like they would with a touchscreen, pinch-to-zoom is reliable, the Force Click can be triggered anywhere on the trackpad, and a three-finger swipe easily moves you between applications.

Also: Hold onto your old HomePod – an upgrade is on the way

Even signing a digital document is easily done on Apple’s trackpad. Every command you ever need already lives within the Magic Trackpad, and its ability to mimic touch input without invoking gorilla arm syndrome is what makes it great.

Ahead of this MacBook event, tech journalists are reminding us that Steve Jobs was famously opposed to integrating touch displays into Macs. In fact, when Microsoft did the same in the early 2000s, purists criticized it. Steven Sinofsky, former president of Windows at Microsoft, is not letting us forget that. 

Breaking down the walls of precision

If you’re like me, there are some tasks you prefer to do on your laptop rather than on your phone or tablet, such as paying bills, researching, or anything that requires more precision and might feel less secure when using touch.

A touchscreen laptop display blends the roles of the tech in my life. When I want touch input for things like scrolling on social media, playing a simple game, or glancing at my emails, I’ll pick up my phone. For more intensive reading, typing, or serious tasks, I go to my laptop. 

Also: Apple’s new smart home devices get 3 things right – and one frustratingly wrong

MacOS is especially designed for precision, thanks to its small icons around the perimeter of the screen that make as much information as possible easily available to you. This precision is best experienced with a small cursor, as I’d expect my fingers to misfire on the smaller icons and only be useful for scrolling.

I had a Microsoft Surface in the late 2000s. My dad — always fond of the latest consumer tech — thought it would be cool to buy me a laptop that doubles as a tablet. Thanks Dad, but I hated my Surface.

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Aside from my Surface’s awful attached keyboard and trackpad, I wasn’t a fan of the 2-in-1 form factor; touch precision to complete laptop tasks was an issue for me, and my screen was full of smudges — the same issues I felt were left in the past are being brought up again by Apple, this time in a new package.