Apple’s Magic Touch

It’s hard to imagine the ubiquitous mouse (which Apple ironically popularized 30 years ago) disappearing from our technology lives. But it could happen.

Recently, someone I know who is an iMac user, replaced their mouse with Apple’s Magic Trackpad. It’s the first time I’ve ever known someone to make the switch. I can understand if someone has only ever used a laptop, and a trackpad is all they’ve known. But this is someone who always used a mouse, happened to get a Macbook Air, fell in love quickly with the Air’s excellent multi-touch trackpad, and decided to get rid of the mouse they’ve been using with their iMac.

Is Apple actually onto something here?

I too have been impressed, and at times astounded by how much I actually enjoy using the multi-touch trackpad on my Macbook Air. I have a bluetooth mouse, but have been catching myself not even using it even though I have it out. Now, I only use it if I really need ultra-fine control for some reason.

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But those who are looking for extra precision with a mouse are not Apple’s target audience.

Mainstream consumers of Apple’s products are iPhone and iPad owners, and they are beginning to ditch their Windows computers for Macbooks and iMacs. Many are even ditching their desktops (whether Windows or Mac) for Macbooks - particularly the Macbook Air.

Touch is at the heart of the Apple experience.

It makes sense for Apple to push the mouse to the sidelines.

Their multi-touch trackpad is easy and powerful because of the variety of gestures that can be configured.

It’s also worth noting Apple’s move away from ‘click’ to ‘tap’ - a slight, but notable change that aligns their trackpads with their iOS devices.

In a recent Apple keynote, I noticed that one of Apple’s presenters, when showing off features of OS X, repeatedly used the word ‘tap’ instead of ‘click’ - a sure sign of the an impending transition.

I have the trackpad on my Air configured to respond to taps instead of full physical clicks. I predict that Apple will do away with the trackpad clicking mechanism all together, and soon.

It’s also why I believe the next Apple TV will not ship with a remote that has clickable buttons.

During this year’s Superbowl, Samsung ran an ad which features a phone that uses a stylus. In the ad, Apple enthusiasts were portrayed as hopeless lemmings, waiting in line at an Apple Store for a product release. In the ad, these supposed Apple fanboys were mesmerized by Samsung’s stylus and decided to ditch Apple, via song and dance. It’s is possibly the most absurd technology ad I have ever seen. A stylus? Really?





A stylus might have niche appeal, and is certainly useful for particular tasks. And we are very far away from the ubiquitous mouse going extinct.

But the future is touch. Apple knows it. The road they are paving leads to a multi-touch future across all of their products. And where Apple leads, the industry follows.

Resistance is futile.