Yeah, "nothing" is a really poor term to summarize "Apple made fundamentally superior choices in terms of hardware development, software integration and general OS input architecture in the past 15 years".
I use both Windows and Fedora enthusiastically on desktop machines, but recognize that even high-end Windows laptops have trouble matching my 2012 Macbook in terms of input. Apple has been miles ahead of the competition in this specific regard for years. I would love to use Linux on a laptop, but although the combination of libinput and modern Qt and Gtk are helping here they're still ways off [1].
Many people who have only used Linux and Windows on laptops for years assume that a touchpad is only there as an emergency. That you cannot seriously use a laptop without a peripheral.
On Macbooks, that's simply not the case - I never use a mouse with my Macbook. It's easy and probably deserved to discount Macbooks in other areas (even in terms of e.g. keyboard input, looking at Apple's 2016-2019 lineup), but you don't know how good an input tool a touchpad can be unless you've spent some time familiarizing yourself with a Mac touchpad.
Apple sells desktop versions of the touchpad [2]. It might be difficult to believe, but they do so unironically. I bought one for when I connect my Macbook to a big screen.
[1]: I found that Ubuntu has a better laptop input experience when running in a VMWare Fusion than running natively on a Macbook, despite all hardware working out of the box...
IMO the best way to control Apple devices is KB + mouse + magic trackpad. Mouse is of course superior for precise movement such as highlighting text, but the trackpad itself is worth it just for the gestures.
I have a mouse and keyboard attached to my 2015 MBP....and I still reach for that track pad. I really need to replace my mouse with their Magic Trackpad. It's just that good.
Yes, they do, I'm using one. Aside of haptic feedback which allows it to go really quiet, it's really nothing special - just a regular touchpad. I'm also using the internal one in my Dell XPS - if it was slightly bigger it would be just as good. In the past I've used Lenovo Yoga one and it was just as good either.
I'm using touchpads exclusively on GNU/Linux for years now. It's a myth that Apple touchpads are "magical" - it's just macOS which comes with good defaults, but if you put some effort in it you can get it just as comfortable on GNU/Linux as on macOS (sans continuous gestures, I have to admit that's the one thing I envy them).
> even high-end Windows laptops have trouble matching my 2012 Macbook in terms of input
That's only because vendor drivers on Windows are notoriously bad. My girlfriend is using a mid-2012 13" MBP and its touchpad is rather meh. Not bad, but I've used much better ones. Current Macbook touchpads are better than the 2012 ones though.
>Many people who have only used Linux and Windows on laptops for years assume that a touchpad is only there as an emergency.
I never use mice, only trackpads, on Windows laptops and Windows laptops from 2013 with Linux on them, and it's fine. c: And by fine I mean bad, but that's just laptops, as an ontological concept, to me.
Well that's what I'm trying to say :) Touchpads on Windows and Linux are "fine" at best (high end Dells are good enough to get out of the way I've heard) and "terrible" at worst. On Macbooks they're consistently great, and can make it legitimately enjoyable to use a laptop as a, uh, laptop.
Worth noting that there are still usage scenarios where a mouse beats a touchpad (i.e. image editing, pointer centric games), but overall touchpads don't have to be the inferior option if your computer is built for it.
My Huawei Matebook actually has an excellent touchpad interface as far as I can tell. The only real drawback is excessive pinch sensitivity, which seems to be application-specific (happens all the time in Firefox, less in Office). Scrolling and selecting are continuous. Minesweeper is still hard to right-click 100% of the time, but that didn't work well on OS X either. In fairness, my most recent Mac was from 2013.
Unfortunately Huawei's reputation is mud these days thanks to the Chinese government. They made pretty nice laptops, though the aesthetics are obviously imitating somebody.
I use both Windows and Fedora enthusiastically on desktop machines, but recognize that even high-end Windows laptops have trouble matching my 2012 Macbook in terms of input. Apple has been miles ahead of the competition in this specific regard for years. I would love to use Linux on a laptop, but although the combination of libinput and modern Qt and Gtk are helping here they're still ways off [1].
Many people who have only used Linux and Windows on laptops for years assume that a touchpad is only there as an emergency. That you cannot seriously use a laptop without a peripheral.
On Macbooks, that's simply not the case - I never use a mouse with my Macbook. It's easy and probably deserved to discount Macbooks in other areas (even in terms of e.g. keyboard input, looking at Apple's 2016-2019 lineup), but you don't know how good an input tool a touchpad can be unless you've spent some time familiarizing yourself with a Mac touchpad.
Apple sells desktop versions of the touchpad [2]. It might be difficult to believe, but they do so unironically. I bought one for when I connect my Macbook to a big screen.
[1]: I found that Ubuntu has a better laptop input experience when running in a VMWare Fusion than running natively on a Macbook, despite all hardware working out of the box...
[2]: https://www.apple.com/shop/product/MJ2R2LL/A/magic-trackpad-...