What’s coming in MF331 on 25 September
Adam Banks tracks the surprisingly long history of the Mac’s most inscrutable input device
The glass-topped Multi-Touch trackpad has been a distinctive central feature of the modern MacBook since 2008, when OS X Snow Leopard introduced gestures across
Apple’s range. But its roots go back further. In 1991, the original PowerBook 100 came with a dinky little trackball in front of the keyboard, which you rolled to move the pointer. The competing Olivetti S20 had a large touchpad behind the keyboard instead.
That’s often thought of as the first example of a trackpad, but in the early 80s, Apollo desktop systems came with an optional touchpad in place of a numeric keypad; pressing this turned the blinking command-line cursor into a draggable arrow. “Take care not to puncture the conductive material,” warned the manual: the resistive membrane, which needed firm contact, was easily damaged.
In 1983, the portable – well, 4kg! – Gavilan SC featured a large touch strip between its screen and keyboard, strikingly prescient of today’s MacBook Pro with Touch Bar, which complements the trackpad’s pointer and gesture control with contextual shortcuts.
When the PowerBook gained its touchpad in 1994, the capacitive surface used thirdparty Cirque GlidePoint technology. It was Multi-Touch, adapted from the iPhone’s revolutionary new finger-operated screen, that finally gave Apple a unique selling point in touch input. And in 2009, it squared the circle of touch on the desktop with the Magic Mouse and its gesture-sensing top panel. Despite a stubborn tendency to accidentally scroll, swipe, or disconnect, today’s rechargeable Magic Mouse 2 remains an unrivalled hybrid.
However, it’s the Magic Trackpad 2 and recent MacBook and MacBook Pro trackpads that represent the peak of touchpad technology. While the Magic Mouse has invisible buttons, Apple’s latest trackpads go one better: pressing down on one doesn’t move anything, yet Apple’s vibrating Taptic Engine makes you feel like it did. After 35 years of people touching computers, now the computer ‘touches’ you.