Video Shows Off Prototype Touchscreen iMac... From 1999

Touchscreen Mac rumors are not new, but it turns out that neither are touchscreen Macs. In 1999, a company called Elo produced and sold touchscreen versions of the iMac G3 through Apple's Value Added Reseller program for use as kiosk machines, and YouTuber Michael MJD recently managed to get hold of one.


The "ready-to-go tabletop kiosks" featured Elo's own iTouch touch-on-tube interface, which used surface acoustic waves instead of an overlay to detect where users touched the screen. You can see a prototype Elo ‌iMac‌ in action in Michael MJD's video, which also covers the history of the machine as well as its technical specifications. Given the simplicity of the hardware modification, it's a pretty impressive feat.

Rumors of Apple developing its own touchscreen ‌iMac‌ date back to 2010, initially fueled by Apple patents for a touchscreen desktop computer and then reports of touch panels making their way through Apple's supply chain.

Former Apple CEO Steve Jobs appeared to put the kibosh on those rumors in 2010 when he said that "touch surfaces don't want to be vertical" due to arm fatigue associated with holding up a finger to the screen.

In the years that followed, Apple firmly established iPhone and iPad at its touchscreen products, with no change in its position on touchscreen for Macs. As recently as 2021, Apple's hardware engineering chief John Ternus said the Mac was "totally optimized for indirect input" and said the company did not feel there was a good reason to change that.

Despite the years of resistance, however, Apple has reportedly started working on adding touchscreens to Macs. According to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, a new MacBook Pro with an OLED display could be the first touchscreen Mac in 2025.

Popular Stories

AirPods Pro 3 Mock Feature

AirPods Pro 3 Just Months Away – Here's What We Know

Friday April 18, 2025 5:16 am PDT by
Despite being more than two years old, Apple's AirPods Pro 2 still dominate the premium wireless‑earbud space, thanks to a potent mix of top‑tier audio, class‑leading noise cancellation, and Apple's habit of delivering major new features through software updates. With AirPods Pro 3 widely expected to arrive in 2025, prospective buyers now face a familiar dilemma: snap up the proven...
iphone 16 pro models 1

17 Reasons to Wait for the iPhone 17

Thursday April 17, 2025 4:12 am PDT by
Apple's iPhone development roadmap runs several years into the future and the company is continually working with suppliers on several successive iPhone models simultaneously, which is why we often get rumored features months ahead of launch. The iPhone 17 series is no different, and we already have a good idea of what to expect from Apple's 2025 smartphone lineup. If you skipped the iPhone...
Beyond iPhone 13 Better Triad

Apple's 20th Anniversary iPhone May Finally Go All Screen

Tuesday April 15, 2025 6:31 am PDT by
Apple is preparing a "bold" new iPhone Pro model for the iPhone's 20th anniversary in 2027, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. As part of what's being described as a "major shake-up," Apple is said to be developing a design that makes more extensive use of glass – and this could point directly to the display itself. Here's the case for Apple releasing a truly all-screen iPhone with no...
maxresdefault

iPhone 17 Pro Launching Later This Year With These 12 New Features

Sunday April 13, 2025 7:52 am PDT by
While the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are not expected to launch until September, there are already plenty of rumors about the devices. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models as of April 2025: Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and ...
CarPlay Hero

Apple Releases Wireless CarPlay Fix

Wednesday April 16, 2025 11:28 am PDT by
If you have been experiencing issues with wireless CarPlay in your vehicle lately, it was likely due to a software bug that has now been fixed. Apple released iOS 18.4.1 today, and the update's release notes say it "addresses a rare issue that prevents wireless CarPlay connection in certain vehicles." If wireless CarPlay was acting up for you, updating your iPhone to iOS 18.4.1 should...
iOS 18

iOS 18.5 Includes Only a Few Changes So Far

Monday April 21, 2025 11:00 am PDT by
Apple seeded the third beta of iOS 18.5 to developers today, and so far the software update includes only a few minor changes. The changes are in the Mail and Settings apps. In the Mail app, you can now easily turn off contact photos directly within the app, by tapping on the circle with three dots in the top-right corner. In the Settings app, AppleCare+ coverage information is more...
top stories 2025 04 19

Top Stories: iPhone 17 Pro Rumors, CarPlay Bug Fix, and More

Saturday April 19, 2025 6:00 am PDT by
This week saw rumor updates on the iPhone 17 Pro and next-generation Vision Pro, while a minor iOS 18.4.1 update delivered not just security fixes but also a fix for some CarPlay issues. We also looked ahead at what else is in Apple's pipeline for the rest of 2025 and even the 20th-anniversary iPhone coming in 2027, so read on below for all the details on these stories and more! iPhone 17 ...
ipad air windows 11 arm

M2 iPad Air Runs Windows 11 ARM via Emulation, Thanks to EU Rules

Tuesday April 22, 2025 5:01 am PDT by
A developer has demonstrated Windows 11 ARM running on an M2 iPad Air using emulation, which has become much easier since the EU's Digital Markets Act (DMA) regulations came into effect. As spotted by Windows Latest, NTDev shared an instance of the emulation on social media and posted a video on YouTube (embedded below) demonstrating it in action. The achievement relies on new EU regulatory...

Top Rated Comments

FloridaScrubJay Avatar
20 months ago
I agree with Steve Jobs, no touch screen Macs.
Score: 26 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Coreymac84 Avatar
20 months ago
I never touched my iPad Pro screen when it was docked to the Magic Keyboard. It simply does not feel right to reach out when there is another form of input that allows the arms to remain relaxed. Touch computers are a complete bust, I hope this feeling doesn’t transfer to Apple Vision.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
darngooddesign Avatar
20 months ago

Touch screen laptops always felt silly to me. At my workplace all of the laptops have touch screens and I was discussing this a couple weeks ago and my boss remarked that he forgot his laptop had a touch screen lol. Nobody seems to ever use them that way
I have two work Thinkpads, my most used one has a touchscreen. I mostly use it for quick OS interactions like using the task bar, modal windows, some operations in Office, scrolling webpages, etc.; I use it enough that I reflexively try to do the same on my MacBook Pro.

People seem to think that having a touchscreen means you use it for everything, but you should use each controller for what it's best at. For example, if you re doing a lot of work a mouse is better than a trackpad.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
winxmac Avatar
20 months ago
This was uploaded nearly 2 months ago… Why just now MacRumors?
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
cnnyy20p Avatar
20 months ago
If iPad can have keyboard and mouse as the secondary input Mac can too have touch as secondary input.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
steve09090 Avatar
20 months ago
Whilst it would be 'nice' to have, I don’t want to pay money for something'll use once a year. Unless it has a lay flat screen and Apple Pencil support, it is a waste.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)