App Store graphic revives wild speculation about touchscreen Mac
Apple has downplayed rumors of a touchscreen Mac, but a new macOS Big Sur graphic on the App Store has revived rumors that such a device could be coming.
Credit: Apple
The App Store graphic, spotted by developer Louie Mantia, features a stylized human hand tapping on various widgets and user interface elements in macOS Big Sur.
Apple has since removed the animation and the hand graphic and replaced it with a static image depicting the widgets feature in the new macOS update.
However, as one would expect, Mantia's tweet picked up a bit of attention and reignited rumors and speculation that Apple is in the process of transitioning macOS to a touch-based user experience.
The macOS Big Sur update brings a complete visual overhaul to the Mac operating system that heavily borrows from iPadOS and iOS. That has led some people to believe that it's a first step toward merging macOS and iPadOS, or at least a step toward bring a touch-based UX to the Mac.
In an interview from earlier this week, Apple software chief Craig Federighi downplayed rumors that a touchscreen version of macOS was coming, and claimed that touch-based controls weren't in mind during the redesign.
On the other hand, Federighi didn't outright deny that a future version of macOS could incorporate touch support. And, in fact, Apple patented touch-based command systems for macOS earlier in 2020.
Credit: Apple
The App Store graphic, spotted by developer Louie Mantia, features a stylized human hand tapping on various widgets and user interface elements in macOS Big Sur.
why in the mac app store is there a human hand touching macos interface elements pic.twitter.com/51xyCDYCHB
-- Louie Mantia, Jr. (@Mantia)
Apple has since removed the animation and the hand graphic and replaced it with a static image depicting the widgets feature in the new macOS update.
so... they removed the hand, and with it, the whole animation, it's just a static image now pic.twitter.com/zhDDUX9FZE
-- Louie Mantia, Jr. (@Mantia)
However, as one would expect, Mantia's tweet picked up a bit of attention and reignited rumors and speculation that Apple is in the process of transitioning macOS to a touch-based user experience.
The macOS Big Sur update brings a complete visual overhaul to the Mac operating system that heavily borrows from iPadOS and iOS. That has led some people to believe that it's a first step toward merging macOS and iPadOS, or at least a step toward bring a touch-based UX to the Mac.
In an interview from earlier this week, Apple software chief Craig Federighi downplayed rumors that a touchscreen version of macOS was coming, and claimed that touch-based controls weren't in mind during the redesign.
On the other hand, Federighi didn't outright deny that a future version of macOS could incorporate touch support. And, in fact, Apple patented touch-based command systems for macOS earlier in 2020.
Comments
I have a problem. I'm a very much a traditionalist when it becomes to the Mac system. I use the terminology by Apple for the macOS system. Gawd, there are some crazy people think they can call some features of the macOS with terminology they desires. They confuse me. In one example, they love to call the macOS Desktop Pictures as 'wallpaper". This doesn't make sense. I know that nearly all of you are die-hard Mac fans, please help them to see the light. To me, 'wallpaper' has no meaning. Why call Desktop Pictures as 'wallpapers?" Really doesn't make sense to me. Seems like the ones who stupidly call Desktop Picture as wallpapers are very dumb.
If the uninformed others like to use the word "wallpapers", they need to be ignored or tell them to use the correct terminology. I've notice this a lot in other forums.
Pleas help me. Thank you.
(Moderators, if I'm in the wrong forum, pease tell me what forum is the best.)
My guess is that he was trying to convey how user interface ideas were being brought over from iOS.
Now that I've been using Big Sur for a day, the expanded space in the title bars does make me wonder if they're making it more finger-friendly. If they are then those buttons are still way too small.
Actually, is that space really bigger, or does it just look bigger because there are no defining lines between the tabs and the title bar?
For a very long time though having a Mac was like living on another planet (with all its ups and downs), especially if you were a kid and wanted to play games, or if you simply believed color was useful on a screen. Regardless of whether this was fair or not given the Macintosh's extraordinary experience to the day, the proportion of Mac users was nearly irrelevant market-wise in regards to the Windows ecosystem - another word that expanded like "wallpaper" to encompass a whole new dimension. If you wanted to find nice images online to use as your desktop picture, your chances of finding what you were looking for depended on using the Windows term. Still to the day that is the case if you happen to like using other people's beautiful images and creations. Maybe it is because Windows pioneered the term, but probably it was because we end up using the terms the majority uses. The glorious Selfie could be an example of such, as likely in most if not all languages had a specific term for this for centuries, but it would sound very funny to call these 'self-portraits' now. Probably ultimately it is all about being understood first and foremost, so whatever waists less time and energy works? cheers
until they do.
If Apple insists on keeping screens as output only they will be pushing Mac customers to either iPads or to 2 in 1 Windows devices.
That would insure the demise of the MacBook.