"It doesn't work": Would Steve Jobs hate Apple's new MacBook design?

MacBook with a finger pointing at the screen.

"Yuck! Who wants a stylus?" Steve Jobs famously exclaimed on stage while detailing Apple's rationale for adopting a touch screen for the original iPhone in 2007. That clip was much shared when Apple, in its post-Jobs era, launched the Apple Pencil (which, to be fair, has turned the iPad into the best drawing tablet).

And it looks like history might be about to repeat itself. Rumours are swirling suggesting that that Apple's first ever MacBook models with touch displays are set to enter mass production next year. And just like the infamous stylus, it turns out Jobs had strong opinions on touchscreen laptops too.

Jobs wasn't keen on the idea of a stylus (Image credit: Future)

According to seasoned Apple leaker Ming-Chi Kuo, as spotted by MacRumors, Apple's "first OLED MacBook Pro, set to enter mass production next year," featuring a touch screen display.

Kuo says the design choice "appears to reflect Apple's long-term observation of iPad user behavior, indicating that in certain scenarios, touch controls can enhance both productivity and the overall user experience."

https://t.co/Rt4epzOgSQ pic.twitter.com/YiKrvuibHiSeptember 17, 2025

Indeed, we've heard rumours for a long time that some kind of iPad/MacBook hybrid could be in the works from Apple, and a touchscreen laptop would certainly fit that bill, giving Apple its first shot at our best 2 in 1 laptops roundup.

But what would Steve think? A recently resurfaced video seems to make it pretty clear. "We've done tons of user testing on [a touchscreen MacBook], he announced on stage at the launch of the iPad in 2010, "and it turns out it doesn't work. Touch surfaces don't want to be vertical. After a short period of time you start to fatigue, and after an extended period of time your arm wants to fall off. It doesn't work, it's ergonomically terrible."

"2026 Macbook Pro has a touch screen" pic.twitter.com/rkaVwSgm6NSeptember 17, 2025

So there we have it. "Ergonomically terrible." "Doesn't work." It seems safe to say Jobs wasn't a fan of the idea in 2010. But what about today? Time will tell if Apple manages to make the whole thing work. Hey, it's finally managed to make the iPad more like a Mac, so perhaps it'll manage to do things the other way round.