Recently got a Pro 10.5, and it's a fantastic device — seriously considering a keyboard for office work.
(Actually, I'm a web developer, so what I really would need is full dev tools on iOS Safari.)
https://www.cnet.com/products/apple-ipad-keyboard-dock-serie...
(For the record, this was in 2010, the same year the camera adapter you mentioned was released, as well as OS support for Bluetooth keyboards.)
Missing is the ability to use a mouse to supplement touch, which I could do on my Android tablet before it died.
This is about making development easier for enterprise developers.
In other cases I'd use the touchpad (the cursor is more fine grained than my finger) but some touchscreen / some touchpad seems fine to me.
Fingerprints on a matte screen? Maybe that's a problem.
Of course that would assume Apple builds a device that can detach its keyboard or operate as a 2-in-1 where the screen folds over. I agree that as it's designed right now, a Macbook with a touchscreen would be a bad user experience.
This is just an anecdote, but when my last Windows laptop died in October I looked really hard at buying a Macbook and eventually decided I couldn't live without the touchscreen. Pardon the pun, but being able to touch anything on my screen like I can do on a phone just feels right.
(However, I will say that my default work setup [0] is to flip the screen over, place it on my laptop stand and use it as a second monitor - a decent configuration for annotating documents or taking notes with the pen.)
I'd say one of my biggest peeves is tap area sizes. Your fingers need much bigger areas to tap in accurately, so an efficient touch UI needs way more space for tap areas. But that space is wasted when you are using a mouse/touchpad cursor.
I think Apples stance that the additional costs and impediments aren't worth the minor gains has been reasonable. But it's probably close. I wouldn't be shocked if they changed their minds on their next round of laptops.