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Ask HN: Why is the touchpad on MacBooks still ahead of other manufacturers?

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1–10 of 58 posts

Re: Ask HN: Why is the touchpad on MacBooks still ahead of other manufacturers?

#2
Because any company other than Apple spends only a fraction of the money on innovating and developing hardware for their computers. They mostly buy internals from other companies and wrap them in a plastic case. Yet they charge similar prices for their products. If your budget is only 1% of that from Apple the outcome is inferior.

Re: Ask HN: Why is the touchpad on MacBooks still ahead of other manufacturers?

#4

Is not "light years ahead" of __all__ manufacturers, just the cheap ones. Surface laptop trackpads are on par with Apple ones.

I'd agree. It would be good to know what laptop OP bought.

It would be nice to have a clear "avoid" brand list for poor trackpads

Re: Ask HN: Why is the touchpad on MacBooks still ahead of other manufacturers?

#5

Is not "light years ahead" of __all__ manufacturers, just the cheap ones. Surface laptop trackpads are on par with Apple ones.

Also, I bet most of the Apple touchpad magic actually lies in the software. For instance the touchpad on an MBP doesn't feel all that great anymore under Linux (not a dig against Linux, it's just that writing universal touchpad drivers doesn't appear to be a simple and straightforward task).

Re: Ask HN: Why is the touchpad on MacBooks still ahead of other manufacturers?

#6

Is not "light years ahead" of __all__ manufacturers, just the cheap ones. Surface laptop trackpads are on par with Apple ones.

I'd agree. It would be good to know what laptop OP bought. It would be nice to have a clear "avoid" brand list for poor trackpads

For a start, anything that relies on Synaptics or other 3rd party touchpad drivers (at least that has been my experience so far).

Re: Ask HN: Why is the touchpad on MacBooks still ahead of other manufacturers?

#8

Is not "light years ahead" of __all__ manufacturers, just the cheap ones. Surface laptop trackpads are on par with Apple ones.

I had about the same budget as a MacBook Pro, 2000-3000$. I decided to buy a Dell XPS but I could not tell any great difference between laptops in that price range either. I am comparing the XPS against my MBP 16 inch (year 2020).

Re: Ask HN: Why is the touchpad on MacBooks still ahead of other manufacturers?

#9

Is not "light years ahead" of __all__ manufacturers, just the cheap ones. Surface laptop trackpads are on par with Apple ones.

isnt it JUST surface though? ALL the other track pads ive tried are abyssmal. A physical click is now a deal breaker for me on a trackpad.

Re: Ask HN: Why is the touchpad on MacBooks still ahead of other manufacturers?

#10

Is not "light years ahead" of __all__ manufacturers, just the cheap ones. Surface laptop trackpads are on par with Apple ones.

I'd agree. It would be good to know what laptop OP bought. It would be nice to have a clear "avoid" brand list for poor trackpads

Or better of, a clear list with good ones.
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