iPad and Mac: Why the Mac Is Taking Over the Touchscreen Role

TVS News AI, editorially supervised, presents iPad* and Mac: Why the Mac Is Taking Over the Touchscreen Role.

Yesterday, Apple unveiled its first MacBook Pro with a touchscreen in Los Angeles. For anyone choosing between an iPad* and a Mac, the division of roles is shifting: For years, the touchscreen was Apple's argument in favor of the iPad*, but now the Mac has it too.

The price, however, immediately draws a first line. In Spain, the touchscreen model starts at 3,349 euros. According to Xataka, that is more than 1,000 euros above the model without a touchscreen.

The new hardware fits a story that Apple had already told in 2017 with an iPad* commercial. In it, a girl spends her day doing homework, taking photos, chatting and drawing on her iPad*. When a neighbor asks about her computer, her answer is: “What is a computer?” For Apple, this was not just an incidental advertising idea, but a vision of the future of a touch-based computer.

For Ten Years, the iPad* Was Supposed to Replace the Mac

The original division of roles

For years, Apple maintained that the iPad* and Mac were not competitors because they served different purposes. The Mac stood for a keyboard and trackpad, while the iPad* stood for direct control by touch. In the long term, however, the company believed that the touch-based device would displace the traditional computer.

That prediction did not come true. Instead of the iPad* replacing the Mac, the Mac gradually took over its most important functions. The convergence proceeded almost exclusively in one direction.

What the Mac took over from the iPad*

The course of events can be traced through individual product generations: The MacBook got a keyboard in 2015, a cursor in 2020, an M-series chip in 2021, windows in 2022 and a menu bar in 2025. The functional gap between the two product families gradually disappeared as a result.

The Touchscreen Dissolves the Original Division of Roles

Ultimately, only two unique characteristics remained on the iPad*: the touchscreen and the Apple Pencil. With the new MacBook Pro*, the iPad* loses its exclusive hold on the touchscreen. It can now retain the Pencil as its sole exclusive feature.

That is precisely why Apple's decision seems remarkable. Xataka cites Greg Joswiak, who explained in Wired that almost all creatives own an iPad* and that young creatives who grew up with touchscreens expect to be able to touch their MacBook Pro* as well. According to the report, the iPad* had accustomed millions of people to direct control.

Why the Pencil does not come along

A MacBook Pro* does not offer the same horizontal surface area as an iPad*. According to Xataka, the Pencil needs that space to rest a hand on. That is why Apple has so far not brought the stylus to the Mac.

The Touchscreen Comes With a Significant Price Premium

The price gap of more than 1,000 euros compared with the version without a touchscreen is substantial. It makes clear that Apple is not treating the touchscreen as an ordinary additional feature. At the same time, the significant price premium changes the original argument: The iPad* was no longer merely the device for touch, while the Mac remained simply the model with a keyboard.

As a result, the iPad*'s once-unique role as the touch-based computer in and of itself also falls away. The iPad* retains the Pencil, but no longer the most important operating feature that defined Apple's original product concept.

The Bigger Contradiction Does Not Involve Steve Jobs

The new touchscreen Mac is often associated with Steve Jobs and his 2010 keynote. At the time, Jobs described a touch-sensitive laptop as an ergonomic mistake. This contradiction is conspicuous, but explains the current step only in part.

The more profound rupture lies in Apple's own development over the past decade. The company had deliberately kept the Mac and iPad* separate while functions steadily migrated from the iPad* to the Mac. Now, with the touchscreen, the most visible boundary between the two worlds is disappearing.

The decisive shift

For buyers, this means, above all, a clear guide to making a decision: If you need touch, you can now find it in the MacBook Pro* as well, but in Spain you will have to pay at least 3,349 euros. If you only want to type and scroll, you can choose the cheaper model without a touchscreen. The iPad*, meanwhile, has not disappeared, but is losing its role as Apple's only computer with direct access to the screen.