Is it even called a "trackpad" outside of Apple machines? I'm pretty sure they're called "touchpads" generally. So maybe "trackpad" is inherently referent to Apple.

> Is it even called a "trackpad" outside of Apple machines?

Yes.

https://www.lenovo.com/us/en/faqs/laptop-faqs/what-is-a-trac...

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/p/surface-trackpad-settings/...

http://support.blackberry.com/kb/articleDetail?articleNumber...

https://edgeup.asus.com/2019/the-asus-screenpad-2-0-lets-the...

https://wikidiff.com/trackpad/touchpad

Trackpad and touchpad are generic synonyms according to every source I can find.

I'm not sure that they actually are. Touchpad was the name I always heard for that kind of input, remember they're not only used in computers.

I don't have the data but I think this is like the motherboard / logic board split. In other words "trackpad" may be Apple for "touchpad".

> I don't have the data but

I gave you data by showing links where other companies like Blackberry, Lenovo, Microsoft, and Asus use the word "trackpad" themselves for their own devices. Lenovo even cutely capitalizes the P to fit their ThinkPad branding. You could also google around and see random people on reddit and elsewhere talking about the "trackpads" on their dells, hps, vaios, matebooks, and so on.

I'm not saying that "touchpad" isn't more common, but the evidence _clearly_ shows that "trackpad" isn't exclusive to Apple devices.

The comment I was replying to was ~⅔ quasi argumentum ad populum. So I replied to their quasi argumentum ad populum with examples of it applied to the broader context of the thread, including the comment I originally replied to, and replied to their other argument with counterpoints both with and without Apple hardware.