Asus replaced the touchpad on its new ZenBook Pro with a 5.5-inch touchscreen

Re:Asus replaced the touchpad on its new ZenBook Pro with a ... by state_less on Saturday June 09, 2018 @03:42AM (#17271994)

I like my touchbar and I think I'd probably like a touchscreen trackpad too. The key in my opinion is the programability of the 'buttons'. They don't need to be just buttons, you can have sliders, video scrubbers, button hierarchies (button menus) and so on.

I'm also up for dual display laptops where the clamshell of a laptop is two touchscreens. It would help water proof the device, simplify the mechanics (lower cost?), give options for keyboard layout (improved ergonomics?) increase full screen size when fully unfolded and might be more comfortable than the stiff keys on the latest gen of MBP. I use an external keyboard when I'm at my desk and want a tactile full size keyboard, so I wouldn't be stuck with only glass.

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Re:Asus replaced the touchpad on its new ZenBook Pro with a ... by Fnoord on Saturday June 09, 2018 @08:52AM (#17272779)

A TouchPad has too many negatives.

It costs additional power (with no clear benefit).

Its another point of failure.

It has a big learning curve.

It requires one to look away from the screen (pro users needn't to look at their keyboard).

It replaced something which worked very well: esc key and function keys (who also had F-keys with "fn" combo).

IMO it is an interesting usability concept from an R&D PoV, but not something to be shoved in the throat of users. Unfortunately, Apple decided it is the way forward for MBP users with no option to turn back except for legacy products or switching ship.

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