Linus (for other readers: not Torvalds) is a random YouTuber, not an "Apple technoratti", which was the original claim -- that would be someone like Gruber, Jason Snell, the guys at The Loop, 9to5 Mac, Apple Insider, and so on).

Original claim: "There's no touchpad Yet... with many of the Apple technorati asking for one and saying it's a necessary next step"

Have actual "apple technoratti" asked for a touchpad? I never read one do so.

Have they asked for touchscreens? Some did, some are against.

In any case, I don't exactly see the reasoning.

iPad is criticized because it doesn't have mouse support, and the Mac is criticized because it doesn't have touch support. As if a hybrid model wont have all the problems the Surface has -- (touch not that useful when using a keyboard, and mouse-based apps not that useful with touch) --and presumably the kind of lackluster sales the Surface has compared to the iPad.

I don't know who those people are, so I googled. It does look like Gruber proposed a track pad:

https://daringfireball.net/2017/05/ipad_trackpad

Nice find, hadn't seen that.

Note that while he does propose one, he does it contrary to the spirit discussed here (of getting desktop OS X parity), even adding: "Even if users expect a mouse cursor when they first see the trackpad, they’ll adjust quickly when they realize it isn’t there. If they wanted a MacBook they’d be using a MacBook. By definition anyone using an iPad is not expecting it to act like a Mac."