Apple Mac with Touch Screen, Detachable Keyboard 'Inevitable', Says IDC analyst
Industry watchers have previously touched on the possibility of Apple creating its own touch screen device. Now another analyst adds his voice, saying it's "inevitable" for the company to release an Apple Mac with touch screen.
Ryan Reith is an analyst at the International Data Corporation (IDC). He recently spoke with Forbes contributor Brooke Crothers regarding what he believes Apple will do next now that its iPad shipments have decreased.
Reith said he doesn't believe Apple's iPad as a category grows. In particular, he views the iPad Pro as a "kind of stopgap solution" until the company releases a Mac line with touch screen and possibly a detachable keyboard.
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"I think [a touch Mac] is inevitable," Reith said. "There's nothing from the supply chain or from Apple that supports that right now — I just think it's inevitable … I don't know if that's two years out or what. In the typical Apple fashion, they're going to take their time and when they do it, they'll … do it the right way."
A high-level executive of the company had previously tackled the issue. Apple's Senior Vice President of Software Engineering Craig Federighi told CNET in October that introducing Macs with touch screens is not in their plans. He said Mac is a "sit-down experience," so having to continuously reach forward to touch the screen, as one would do with a touch screen Mac, is simply not the right interface. Although he admitted that Apple has experimented with this technology in the past, he revealed that their experience wasn't good and they're not interested in building one.
The publication adds that another possible barrier to a touch screen Mac release is the device's operating system. The Mac OS X isn't a touch-friendly interface and is currently distinct from its mobile counterpart.
However, Apple is known to expressly disregard a certain technology or update only to release devices sporting the same later on. For example, it said 7-inch tablets were too big to be a smartphone competitor and too small to be an iPad competitor. But as it turns out, Apple released its 7.9-inch iPad Mini in November 2012.
Whether it sticks to what it says this time around or contradicts itself by releasing a device it said it wouldn't release, fans and followers will have to stay tuned.
