Apple could enter its toaster-fridge era with touchscreen MacBooks

Tim Cook famously said his toaster-fridge quote in 2012 when asked about merging the Mac and iPad platforms. The question was asked in relation to Windows creating hybrid laptop form factors.

"You can converge a toaster and a refrigerator, but those aren't going to be pleasing to the user."

It was a good burn against the awkward Windows 8 computers of the time. I owned several of those convertibles, and needless to say, they were not great. Even one Sony model I had was equipped with rails to slide the display up and out.

Since then, Apple has reaffirmed that there won't be a merged macOS and iPadOS, nor will the platforms themselves merge. However, we've seen increasing similarities between the platforms.

The emergence of touchscreen MacBooks is yet another line being blurred between the products.

This has been rumored for a while, so I have no doubt that it'll happen eventually. Current rumors suggest we'll see M6 Pro/Max MacBook Pro models that have been redesigned with OLED, touch, and Dynamic Islands by the end of 2026.

It's not that I think it's a bad idea, it's just an odd one. macOS was not originally designed for touch, and MacBooks have notably thin lids that could be compromised by touch technology.

If Apple can deliver a touch panel without negative effects to the MacBook design, then sure, go for it.

macOS Tahoe and the previous few releases have increasingly incorporated iOS and iPadOS elements. You can even run iPhone and iPad apps on Mac – this wasn't by accident.

That said, macOS is still cursor-first and that won't change. It will be interesting to see what Apple does with this adaptive touch interface. My guess is something similar to the radial menus shown with Apple Pencil Pro.

iPad and Mac will remain separate

In this world where people are more likely to have interacted with a smartphone or tablet before a Mac, they will likely find it odd that the Mac isn't touch-sensitive. Giving them the option isn't a bad thing.

However, I hope this doesn't mean macOS becoming overly reliant on touch. The rumors suggest it'll have a hybrid system that shows tiny targets when a mouse is actively used versus big touch targets when the screen is being touched.

This doesn't sound quite as big a shift as Windows 8 was at the time. If done right, it will be fine.

That said, this isn't iPadOS either. These MacBook displays are not touch-first and never will be. They also won't have Apple Pencil support and likely never will.

The iPad still stands out as a naked robotic core that can become whatever device you need when paired with accessories. It can be a tablet, laptop, desktop, kiosk, or whatever else. The MacBook is just a laptop and always will be.

There is space for both.

And no, Matt Birchler, Apple is not going to kill iPadOS.