Do I Need a Touchscreen for Windows 10? (Laptop)

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  eug on 27/03/2015 - 22:24

  +2

  You don't - it's designed to work well with desktops that rarely have touchscreens.

  That said, once you get used to a touchscreen, you can't go back. Tapping on buttons and links even in Windows 7 is much quicker with a touchscreen. Want to tap that OK button? Just tap it - no need to move the mouse cursor and click.

  • 

    sol3x on 27/03/2015 - 23:01

    Thanks eug. So that means a touchscreen is always a bonus. So it's a question whether or not you want to pay extra for it, isn't it?

    • 

      scrimshaw on 28/03/2015 - 02:27

      There are cheap laptops with touch displays. The Dell Inspiron 11 3000 is an example of a machine that's <$400 (if purchasd via outlet) and comes with integrated touch display. It is classed as a 'convertible netbook' though and only comes equipped with either an Atom or i3.

      If you want the best experience with the legacy Windows desktop UI when you're using a touch display, you're going to want to invest in a machine that comes with an active stylus. (well known example — Surface Pro).

      This means you won't be trying to poke at your screen with your fat, inaccurate finger and missing button presses as a result — the stylus lets you hover over a button and see where exactly the mouse cursor is situated, and allow you to also accurately position the cursor to highlight text, for example.

      If you're only going to use windows in the Modern UI, accuracy isn't as important, as the touch targets are much larger and finger-friendly.

• 

  Cheeper on 27/03/2015 - 22:28

  I suppose it will be like Windows 8 that accommodated both types of uses?
  http://windows.microsoft.com/en-au/windows-10/about

  • 

    sol3x on 27/03/2015 - 23:08

    +1

    Thanks for the link xywolap. That hololens is awesome!

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  Axelstrife on 27/03/2015 - 23:07

  No windows OS needs a touchscreen.

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  mskeggs on 28/03/2015 - 00:14

  +1

  I have a win8 laptop with a touch screen. I almost always use the touch pad, but sometimes scroll on the screen when reading a doc or similar.
  This laptop is fairly heavy and thick due to the touch screen.
  I also have a macbook air because it is light and has amazing battery. It does 99.5% of what I want ( failed an Excel compatibility issue).
  In any case, even with a touch screen I find the win8 desktop cumbersome, so I would say, no touch screen is fine.

  • 

    scrimshaw on 28/03/2015 - 02:30

    This laptop is fairly heavy and thick due to the touch screen.

    Not really — the inclusion of a touch panel will make a laptop more expensive, but the weight of a laptop is not really affected by the addition of a touch panel. If you have ever broken a phone or a tablet display, you'll find that the touch display has an addition of digitizer panel overlaid on top of the display itself.

    If you crack that digitizer panel and the touch feature stops working.

    • 

      scotty on 28/03/2015 - 09:41

      the weight of a laptop is not really affected by the addition of a touch panel

      Don't the touch screen laptops have glass panel which make them heavier? Or is that just the laptop/tablet convertibles?

      • 

        scrimshaw on 28/03/2015 - 11:17

        The effect is more pronounced on a larger display, so yes, I suppose the glass will add a little more weight.

        On Dell Inspiron 14 5000, the difference betwee a touch and non touch model is

        Non-Touch Screen
        Height: 0.9” (21.6mm) / Width: 13.5” (342mm) / Depth: 9.7” (246mm)
        Starting at 4.46lbs (2.02 Kg)

        Touch Screen
        Height: 0.9” (22.0mm) / Width: 13.5” (342mm) / Depth: 9.7” (246mm)
        Starting at 4.8lbs (2.16 Kg)

• 

  HAL on 28/03/2015 - 00:57

  My work laptop has a touch screen, the glare from it really annoys me!

  It's a finger print magnet, I found myself changing Windows 8 to be more Windows 7-esque espcially with the start menu.

  Whilst the touch screen has come in handy a few times, I would prefer if my laptop wasn't touch screen.

  On a side note I considering a downgrade to Win7 over waiting for Win10, Win8 not playing nice with my laptop (despite it being only 3 months old).

• 

  iridiumstem on 28/03/2015 - 02:48

  As long as the number of desktops without touchscreen is a significant portion of the Windows user, MS wouldn't be ditch traditional mouse and keyboard users. Looking at how MS changed W8.1 to be more desktop friendly (Reintroduction of "Start menu", being able to start up on desktop mode etc), I assume that Windows 10 would be more of trying to assimilate both parties.

  Though, I think touchscreen does add some values, especially on laptops (I don't really like touchpads, so I am biased). I would assume that since the majority of the users are still mouse/keyboard users and MS did get burnt fairly badly with W8 being touchscreen centric, I am guessing that W10 would not neglect mouse/keyboard users.

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  BewareOfThe Dog on 28/03/2015 - 11:03

  I have an Acer V3-112P that has a touch screen. Quite light. I hardly touch the screen.

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  skillet on 28/03/2015 - 12:18

  Lifting the hand and touching the screen is more physical than leaving it rested on the keyboard and track pad so no you probably won't use it much. Mirror screen plus finger prints is last thing I want on my laptop.

  • 

    eug on 29/03/2015 - 01:13

    To each their own I suppose. I find it much quicker to simply tap on the screen than to spend time moving the cursor to the element and clicking. Scrolling and tapping on things is quicker on a touchscreen than two-finger-scrolling then moving the cursor to click on something too.

    Imagine using your smartphone with a touchpad. Which would be quicker?

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  sol3x on 05/04/2015 - 14:37

  Thanks to everyone who shared your experience here. Much appreciated.