I had several PCs with touch screen and this absolutely true. Even intermittent use is not something I did, it’s just too inconvenient to ever become a habit, so the few times it’d be great, I don’t think about it being there because it’s not in my active list of affordances.

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ErroneousBosh 2 days ago | parent | next [-]

The problem with touchscreen laptops is you have to reach over the keyboard and trackpad to actually touch the screen to make it work, and that's physically uncomfortable and kind of inconvenient.

The answer is to make them fold flat so you're just looking at the screen with the keyboard facing away from you (and, ideally, disabled by a switch in the hinge so when you put it down you don't zkjltohtrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrolkmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

Then, of course, it becomes annoying and inconvenient to use in a different way, but at least you get really really good at replacing the little flexi PCB ribbon that connects the screen through the hinge.

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overfeed 2 days ago | parent | next [-]

Spurious keyboard inputs and broken ribbon cables may have been issues in 2003, but tablet-mode laptops made in the last 15 years face no such issues; e.g. the many generations of the Lenovo Yoga series in that period. In 2026, even 7mm-thick phones can have reliable 180°/-180° folding screens - laptops have a lot more volume to play with and fewer lifetime open/close events.

Apple's problems with touchscreen laptops are not mechanical; if Apple were to make a decent touchscreen laptop - say a 12" MacBook Air, it'd have a 360° hinge and cannibalize iPad sales, so they don't make that device to preserve the segmentation motivating people to buy both devices.

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mcv 2 days ago | parent | prev | next [-]

It's not uncomfortable and inconvenient. There are many times when it's much more convenient to reach for the screen than to reach for the mouse or touchpad and carefully move the cursor. Touching the screen directly is much more natural for the occasional interaction. For prolonged use, nothing beats the mouse (and yet laptops still come with a touchpad and sometimes a clitmouse).

	▲	kjkjadksj 2 days ago \| parent [-]
		Carefully move the cursor? Come on. It is a subconcious action. How do you think people play fps games? Do you even use a mouse yourself or maybe have some physical disability that impairs you?

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VerifiedReports 2 days ago | parent | prev [-]

It's totally pointless, because the trackpad is already a touch device... and you use it to manipulate a precise cursor that doesn't block your view of what you're working on.

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WillAdams 2 days ago | parent [-]

Except that the trackpad has to be used to get the cursor all the way over to the control --- it's often faster to just reach out and touch, and if using a stylus, then the cursor goes right back to where the other hand was working as soon as one lowers it back into hover range.

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kjkjadksj 2 days ago | parent [-]

I can move my cursor across my entire screen without lifting my wrist with the trackpad. It is vastly easier than tapping at a screen.

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isidusjdjsu 2 days ago | parent [-]

And requires a LOT less effort too. There simply is no real benefit to a touchscreen on a laptop. It’s ridiculous. It’s the phablet of laptops. Insane.

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WillAdams 21 hours ago | parent [-]

I find it lends a lot to the flexibility of the device --- but I'm using a touchscreen on a convertible which I can flatten out into a tablet w/ keyboard to one side or the other, or fully reverse into an expansive tablet.

	▲	kjkjadksj 17 hours ago \| parent [-]
		Flexibility in what way?

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Rendello 2 days ago | parent | prev [-]

Then, on the rare occasion where you do use it, you end up with a single finger smudge that lasts until you find the will to clean it.