Apple Executives Address Lack of Face ID and Touchscreens on Macs

In an interview with The Wall Street Journal's Joanna Stern, a pair of Apple executives have addressed what is probably the most contentious and talked about features missing on the Mac - Face ID and touchscreen input.

john ternus on stage
One of the biggest criticisms of the Mac is the lack of ‌Face ID‌. Since ‌Face ID‌'s launch on the iPhone X, some have wondered if Apple will ever bring it to the Mac. A report earlier in the year suggested it will happen in the future, but the new 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pros with the notch, and the lack of ‌Face ID‌, have brought the debate back to the mainstream.

Addressing why the Mac lacks ‌Face ID‌, Tom Boger, Apple's vice president of iPad and Mac product marketing, told Stern that Touch ID is more convenient on the Mac since users' hands are already on the keyboard.

‌Touch ID‌ on the upper-right hand corner of the keyboard lets users easily authenticate by just placing their finger on the sensor. Still, ‌Face ID‌ on the Mac would presumably be even easier, as the Mac would unlock once a user looks at the display, similar to ‌Face ID‌'s behavior on the ‌iPhone‌ and ‌iPad‌.

And Face ID? When I stare at the laptop's giant notch, I wonder why I can't unlock the machine with my face. Mr. Boger said Touch ID is more convenient on a laptop since your hands are already on the keyboard.

Another hot topic of debate surrounding the Mac has been touchscreen capabilities. The notion has been that if Macs were to gain touch input, it would cannibalize ‌iPad‌ sales. John Ternus, Apple's senior vice president of hardware engineering, seemingly agrees and said that it's not something Apple has felt the need to do.

"We make the world's best touch computer on an iPad. It's totally optimized for that. And the Mac is totally optimized for indirect input. We haven't really felt a reason to change that," John Ternus, Apple's senior vice president of hardware engineering, told me.

Ternus and Boger also addressed more specific questions about the newly launched 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pros and Apple silicon in general. Recent MacBooks feature non-user upgradeable RAM, so the amount of RAM can't be upgraded down the line if a user finds they need extra memory than what shipped with the computer.

Both executives say that Apple silicon's "unified memory architecture" enables higher performance on Macs with Apple silicon, suggesting that similar performance levels would not be achievable without UMA.

The new MacBook Pros brought back many features enjoyed by Mac users that were taken away during the laptop's redesign in 2016. Most notably, Apple has brought back additional ports such as HDMI and MagSafe, removed the Touch Bar, improved the displays, and more.

Speaking generally to the reversal of changes this year, Boger told Stern that Apple is always "listening to its customers," which meant it ultimately needed to undo some of its previous Mac design decisions.

“We’re constantly listening to our customers and with this new lineup of MacBook Pros we decided to make some changes as we do a lot on the Mac,” Tom Boger, Apple’s Vice President of Mac and iPad Product Marketing, told me.

Run that through the executive-to-English translator and it comes out pretty clear: We were wrong.

In the full article, Stern also reviews the new MacBook Pros, applauding the return of more ports, full-size function keys, and more.

Popular Stories

iOS 26

Everything New in iOS 26.1 Beta 1

Monday September 22, 2025 12:44 pm PDT by
Apple released the first beta of iOS 26.1 today, just a week after launching iOS 26. iOS 26.1 mainly adds new languages to Apple Intelligence, but there are a few other features that are worth knowing about. New Apple Intelligence Languages Apple Intelligence is now available in Danish, Dutch, Norwegian, Portuguese (Portugal), Swedish, Turkish, Chinese (Traditional), and Vietnamese. AirPo...
apple tv 4k new orange

Next Apple TV Expected to Launch This Year With These New Features

Monday September 22, 2025 10:00 am PDT by
The next Apple TV is expected to be released later this year, and a handful of new features and changes have been rumored for the device. Below, we recap what to expect from the next Apple TV, according to rumors. Likely Features N1 Chip With Wi-Fi 7 Last year, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said the next Apple TV would be equipped with Apple's own combined Wi-Fi and Bluetooth chip, which is...
Apple Intelligence General Feature 2

iOS 26.1 Adds New Apple Intelligence Languages and Expands AirPods Live Translation

Monday September 22, 2025 11:15 am PDT by
With iOS 26.1, Apple Intelligence is gaining support for additional languages, including Danish, Dutch, Norwegian, Portuguese (Portugal), Swedish, Turkish, Chinese (Traditional), and Vietnamese. Apple announced plans to expand the languages that can be used with Apple Intelligence last year, and now the added language support is here. Apple Intelligence is now available in the following...
iPhone 17 Pro USB C Port

iPhone 17 Pro Max's USB-C Charging Speeds Tested With Apple Chargers

Monday September 22, 2025 7:29 am PDT by
The website ChargerLAB has tested the iPhone 17 Pro Max's USB-C charging speeds with a variety of Apple's chargers, from 18W to 140W. The device reached a peak charging speed of around 36W with the following Apple chargers:40W Dynamic Power Adapter with 60W Max 61W USB-C Power Adapter 67W USB-C Power Adapter 70W USB-C Power Adapter 96W USB-C Power Adapter 140W USB-C Power AdapterFor...
iPhone 17 Pro and Air N1 Feature

Some iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone Air Users Experiencing Intermittent Wi-Fi Issue

Monday September 22, 2025 8:44 am PDT by
Apple's latest iPhone models launched on Friday, and some early adopters of the devices are experiencing intermittent Wi-Fi issues. Affected customers say Wi-Fi connectivity periodically cuts out on the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, iPhone 17 Pro Max, and iPhone Air, with hundreds of comments about the issue posted across the MacRumors Forums, Reddit, and the Apple Support Community over the...
Apple Foldable Thumb

Foldable iPhone Like 'Two Titanium iPhone Airs' Joined at the Hinge

Monday September 22, 2025 2:16 am PDT by
Next year's rumored foldable iPhone will showcase an ultra-thin design resembling "two titanium iPhone Airs side-by-side," according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Writing in the Q&A section of his latest Power On newsletter, Gurman says Apple's first foldable device will be "super thin and a design achievement," combining Apple's thinnest iPhone form factor with cutting-edge folding...
iPhone 17 Pro and Air Feature

Two iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone Air Colors Appear to Scratch More Easily

Friday September 19, 2025 10:02 am PDT by
As reported by Bloomberg today, some of the new iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone Air models on display at Apple Stores today are already scratched and scuffed. French blog Consomac also reported on this topic. The scratches appear to be most prominent on models with darker finishes, including the iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max in Deep Blue, and the iPhone Air in Space Black. Images Credit: Consoma ...
iPhone 17 Pro Colors

Skipped the iPhone 17 Pro? Here's What is Rumored for iPhone 18 Pro

Tuesday September 23, 2025 8:55 am PDT by
While the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max are still a year away, there are already a few rumors about the devices that offer an early look ahead. Below, we have recapped some of the early iPhone 18 Pro rumors so far. This story was published previously, and it has been updated to reflect the latest rumors. Many early rumors prove to be true, but nothing is confirmed yet, and Apple's...
ios 26 digital id passport wallet

Apple Confirms iOS 26 Wallet Passport Feature is Coming in 2025

Tuesday September 23, 2025 1:06 pm PDT by
Digital ID, the iOS 26 feature that lets U.S. passport holders add their passports to the Wallet app, is coming later in 2025, Apple confirmed today. Apple updated the release timing wording of Digital ID on its iOS 26 features page. "Digital ID will be coming later this year with US passports only," it reads. Prior to today, the footnote for the feature said "Digital ID will be available ...

Top Rated Comments

ruka.snow Avatar
51 months ago
I am glad they aren't putting stupid touch screens on Mac's, lets leave that to the $300 Walmart special.
Score: 107 Votes (Like | Disagree)
miguelcoma Avatar
51 months ago
"more convenient on a laptop since your hands are already on the keyboard"

as if your face is anywhere but in front of the screen when you are using said laptop...

what a dumb excuse - plus if you are right handed your hand is likely on the mouse or trackpad when a Face ID prompt shows up, so it's actually less convenient to lift the hand and use the touch sensor.
Score: 93 Votes (Like | Disagree)
EugW Avatar
51 months ago

Touch ID is more convenient on a laptop since your hands are already on the keyboard.
Makes sense, because we don't hold iPads with our hands. They just float in mid-air on their own in front of our faces.
Score: 64 Votes (Like | Disagree)
WinkleStinkle Avatar
51 months ago

Mr. Boger said Touch ID is more convenient on a laptop since your hands are already on the keyboard.
Okay but TouchID requires you to consciously change your hand placement. The screen is right in-front of your face so FaceID would require no thought to unlock, it would be instant..

I wish Apple was honest about this stuff rather than coming up with BS excuses. Supply chain issues, lack of space with current FaceID hardware, etc..
Score: 60 Votes (Like | Disagree)
antiprotest Avatar
51 months ago
What's going on? Are their minds kind of broken for them to offer these explanations? Are my hands already on the keyboard, but my face is in another room? It would be easier to just say they don't want to do it for undisclosed reasons.
Score: 50 Votes (Like | Disagree)
al256 Avatar
51 months ago
I owned a Surface Pro 3 for 30 days. Adding a touch screen would not be useful to me 95% of the time. I don't want it on Macs.
Score: 48 Votes (Like | Disagree)