my wife wants a new laptop for christmas and she was talking about a touchscreen. I have never had a touchscreen computer and was wondering if there is a benefit to the touchscreen or not. what are your opinions? pros and cons.
touchscreen laptop a benefit?
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Ian S
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I have a laptop that can be used traditionally or in touchscreen mode when the screen is opened 360 degrees and acts like a tablet. TBH, I've rarely used it in tablet mode. It makes for a thick heavy tablet and the screen gets dirty.
The Cosmic Avenger
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I have a Surface Pro 4 and use the touch screen occasionally, but I don't feel like I really need it. I really bought this one so I could have an ultralight laptop that could handle MS work software when I travel. I use the touch screen the most when I use the Surface Pro as a tablet, since I detach or fold back the keyboard, but since you mentioned a laptop, I'm assuming that's not a factor here. I like to do that to scroll through long articles and to walk around while on a video call.
Really, it's only a significant factor for me in either games or document sharing/drawing/note taking. And even then, for the latter I'd rather use the pen than my finger. But I see work laptops with touch screens now, so I assume it doesn't cost more, like a TV being a smart TV, it's just standard in many models now. And it certainly doesn't hurt to have, whether you use it or not.
Really, it's only a significant factor for me in either games or document sharing/drawing/note taking. And even then, for the latter I'd rather use the pen than my finger. But I see work laptops with touch screens now, so I assume it doesn't cost more, like a TV being a smart TV, it's just standard in many models now. And it certainly doesn't hurt to have, whether you use it or not.
Lewis Clark
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My wife has a laptop with a touch screen. She likes it overall, but it is harder to keep clean.
The Cosmic Avenger
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True, but a vigorous swipe with a microfiber eyeglass-cleaning cloth should quickly fix that, at least temporarily. I get one every time any of the three of us go to the optometrist, and so I have them all around the house. They're also fairly cheap, in case you don't wear glasses.
mitchjav
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I have a laptop with a touchscreen - so does DD. We both rarely use it - and sometimes it's a detriment when you try to point to something and accidentally touch the screen. Bought the touchscreen because I thought I'd use laptop as a tablet - but rarely, rarely happens - too big and bulky as a tablet.
PaunchyPirate
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Both my desktop all-in-one and my laptop have touchscreens. I don't use the touchscreen feature on either of them. I have a tablet for that.
We have an HP Pavilion touchscreen laptop that we actually purchased for our daughter for college. She had problems with it while at school (she was raised on Apple products so that might be part of it), so we got her a MacBook and we kept the HP. I cleaned up the OS problems and it runs fine now.
My wife likes the touchscreen for Amazon shopping and just touching the item that she wants to see more details about. Other than that she does not use the touchscreen option much, and I never use it. More from habit as I don't even think about it until after I have struggled with the mouse pointer and then remember that I could have just touched the screen where I wanted to select. Old habits die hard!
You will probably pay a little more for the touchscreen option but not that much as it is a pretty common feature now. You may also want to see if the Internet has any reliability information that is different from non-touchscreens.
My wife likes the touchscreen for Amazon shopping and just touching the item that she wants to see more details about. Other than that she does not use the touchscreen option much, and I never use it. More from habit as I don't even think about it until after I have struggled with the mouse pointer and then remember that I could have just touched the screen where I wanted to select. Old habits die hard!
You will probably pay a little more for the touchscreen option but not that much as it is a pretty common feature now. You may also want to see if the Internet has any reliability information that is different from non-touchscreens.
We got Dell laptops a few years ago with touch screens. DH touches his constantly. I never do. I hate the fingerprints on the screen and I find it easy to use my trackpad that's configured for two-finger scrolling and tap/double-tap clicking.
One thing I really do like is the 360-degree hinge. I fold the keyboard back and stand it up like an easel when I want to use it as a TV.
One thing I really do like is the 360-degree hinge. I fold the keyboard back and stand it up like an easel when I want to use it as a TV.
latexman
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I like the more precise control it gives because of the larger area of the screen compared to the smaller area of the mouse pad. That has it’s uses.
pb4uski
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My Lenovo Mixx has both a touch screen and a touchpad and I've never been very good with the touchpad so I just use the touchscreen. On prior Lenovo computers it had the little red thingy that was used to move the cursor and I got very used to that.
The Mixx also has a stylus and I sometimes use that when I need more precision then I can get using the touch screen with my finger.
The Mixx also has a stylus and I sometimes use that when I need more precision then I can get using the touch screen with my finger.
Car-Guy
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I've had the laptop I'm on now for two+ years and I just checked to see if the touch screen even works.... It does....
Great on a smart phone but I don't see much use for it on a laptop except for maybe it's an easy way to change screen sizing...
Great on a smart phone but I don't see much use for it on a laptop except for maybe it's an easy way to change screen sizing...
harley
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
I hate touch screens. I constantly accidently touch the screen and it does things I don't want it to. I move around a lot with my device, and even changing the tilt of the screen causes weird things to happen. If all I did with my laptop was browse the web or FB or whatever, maybe it would be OK. But I do a lot of writing and spreadsheet work and just find the touch screen to create problems and slow things down by making me undo the touch.
DW has a touch screen, but she rarely uses it too. She doesn't mind it, as she is more of a browser than a worker. But even so she often calls me to come over and figure out what she accidently did by touching the screen.
It's a gimmick IMO. But it seems to have a popular following amongst the younger gen.
DW has a touch screen, but she rarely uses it too. She doesn't mind it, as she is more of a browser than a worker. But even so she often calls me to come over and figure out what she accidently did by touching the screen.
It's a gimmick IMO. But it seems to have a popular following amongst the younger gen.
maybe I should be looking at a surface pro. it would be handy for trips and such to use as a tablet. I am not a fan of the touchscreen. even with my phone I am always getting redirected to where I don't want to be.
OldShooter
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I am on my second MS Surface Pro. I guess you could call it a convertible laptop or a convertible tablet. I use the touchscreen a couple of hours a day.
The Surface spends most of its hours docked at my city home or lake home desks. There it has a full size monitor, keyboard, and mouse plus four or five other USB devices like a flatbed and a sheet-fed scanner. Ir runs an Intel i7 processor and has a 512Gb SSD. It's pretty much as capable as any other laptop and runs Adobe Lightroom image processing smoothly and quickly.
When I am out of the house for a meeting, I pull it from the dock and snap on its keyboard. So now it's a laptop, albeit with a keyboard that's not too great.
In the evenings when I'm done at my desk, the Surface comes upstairs to the table by my recliner. There it's ready for my morning coffee and reading, done entirely by touch and by the Surface pen. Emails, even long ones, are easy with the voice-to-speech capability but editing long ones using the onscreen keyboard is a giant PITA, so that's the one thing I avoid. The specs say the tablet/screen weighs 1.7# but it doesn't feel that heavy. I have only run the battery down once or twice; probably it's good for five or more hours.
Really, the only shortcoming is the squishy keyboard. I look forward to MS or someone else offering a "real" keyboard, which could clip on just like the original.
I think this type of device is the future of personal computing.
The Surface spends most of its hours docked at my city home or lake home desks. There it has a full size monitor, keyboard, and mouse plus four or five other USB devices like a flatbed and a sheet-fed scanner. Ir runs an Intel i7 processor and has a 512Gb SSD. It's pretty much as capable as any other laptop and runs Adobe Lightroom image processing smoothly and quickly.
When I am out of the house for a meeting, I pull it from the dock and snap on its keyboard. So now it's a laptop, albeit with a keyboard that's not too great.
In the evenings when I'm done at my desk, the Surface comes upstairs to the table by my recliner. There it's ready for my morning coffee and reading, done entirely by touch and by the Surface pen. Emails, even long ones, are easy with the voice-to-speech capability but editing long ones using the onscreen keyboard is a giant PITA, so that's the one thing I avoid. The specs say the tablet/screen weighs 1.7# but it doesn't feel that heavy. I have only run the battery down once or twice; probably it's good for five or more hours.
Really, the only shortcoming is the squishy keyboard. I look forward to MS or someone else offering a "real" keyboard, which could clip on just like the original.
I think this type of device is the future of personal computing.
Just bought a new HP Envy x360 with touchscreen. I use the touch screen a lot and in fact it was one of my criteria.
I also am very glad I got a backlit keyboard and a large enough laptop (15.6") to include a separate numeric keypad. Very handy for spreadsheets etc.
I also am very glad I got a backlit keyboard and a large enough laptop (15.6") to include a separate numeric keypad. Very handy for spreadsheets etc.
We have 4 tech savvy kids and none of them feel like touchscreens are particularly useful or are worth any price differential. Added complexity and risk of malfunction. One son had a touchscreen and the touchscreen overlay cracked and became non-functional while the underlying LCD still worked. He used it for some time afterwards but it wasn't pretty. Just got a new computer without a touchscreen. They are all content with touchscreens on phones and iPads as am I. In my experience, so-called convertibles - between laptop and tablet do neither job well.
grasshopper
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My daily chromebook is touch screen, I had it a month before I realized it. My Windoze for TurboTax and Quicken isn't I find myself touching the screen waiting for something to happen. So yes I used the touch screen a bunch.
Midpack
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Our desktops/laptops don't have touchscreen, while our iPads and iPhones are touchscreen only. All I can say is they both seem 100% intuitive - IOW I've never wished any of the devices had both interfaces. I may be wrong, but I'd think it would drive me crazy if my laptop had fingerprints on it. Cleaning the screen frequently doesn't sound like a good trade for touchscreen+physical keyboard/mouse. YMMV
As others have said above, I love my iPad and my PC, I wouldn't be satisfied with just one or the other - so I don't think about a touchscreen laptop. I use my tablet more often, but that may just be my content habits.
As others have said above, I love my iPad and my PC, I wouldn't be satisfied with just one or the other - so I don't think about a touchscreen laptop. I use my tablet more often, but that may just be my content habits.
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I did not know that the touchscreen was just an overlay on the lcd screen. are they all that way or just some depending on what you buy?
misanman
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I read an article recently that recommended not getting a touchscreen unless you really planned to use that feature. Disadvantages cited were higher power draw and hinge issues with models that are suppose to double as a tablet. I have no idea of how valid this is but it might warrant some research.
I didn't know it either until it went in for possible repair and was told this was the case. It made sense though as the LCD was still fine and he continued to use it although the 'broken' touchscreen was both non-functional and a distraction. I don't know if there are different manufacturing processes.
Gremlin
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I LOVE my touchscreen and use the feature constantly. It is a godsend when I land on a page with tiny text I can’t read, eg Amazon reviews. I can easily enlarge the text and don’t have to hunt down my reading glasses. For me the pros outweigh the cons but, as always, YMMV.
RunningBum
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Fingerprints are a big reason for me not to get one. I also wonder about the ergonomics. I just tested, and in my normal sitting position I can't quite reach the screen with my finger, so I'd be bending over or sitting closer. It helps to have a good, reliable and easy to use mouse. For me that's been the Logitech M515 and then M510.
