I don't think you can say that. Windows 10+ has a tablet mode that is completely detached from desktop mode, and it's a global toggle. Switching on tablet mode brings full-screen, upscaled, simplified explorer and settings, and switches off the classic desktop launcher with paper bin, shortcuts, etc. in favor of a larger "Start"-type menu launcher. What deeper and experimental integration there was in Windows 8 had just been removed as it became clear MS couldn't quite sell into the iPad/Android tablet market or compete in terms of power management. After stripping most of Windows 8 innovations, what remains is a touch keyboard, touch mouse emulation, and a few affordances in explorer to make tablets not outright terrible, with the target audience education and mbas interested in mobile powerpoint and web/mail.

I made this point below, but Windows 10 still doesn't have the display-real-estate efficiency of Windows 7. Windows 10 wastes all kind of screen space on large, flat surfaces that a non-touch-screen user will never use. Windows 7 wasn't as pretty as Windows 10, but it was better at displaying information.

So actually, you are harmed by this decision every day you use a Windows 10/11 laptop. You live with this every day. You just don't know what you're missing.

You make a good point. Windows 10 course corrected fairly heavily from Windows 8. The tablet mode was there but you could ignore it pretty easily.

However, I still feel like Apple is in their Microsoft era where they're making some of the same mistakes Microsoft have made in the past 20 years.

Aero -> Liquid Glass

Ads in the OS -> Ads in core applications

Fullscreen ads for Microsoft services in the OS -> banner ads for Apple services in the OS

Dark patterns for Windows 11 upgrades -> Dark patterns for macOS 26 upgrades

Windows Mixed Reality -> Vision Pro

I could also say Surface Duo -> iPhone Duo but at this time it's too early to tell. I also think that a touchscreen Mac is a mistake. Not because it's something Microsoft already did but because the reason a MacBook does not need a touchscreen is because Apple has best-in-class trackpads.

The obvious downside is that all the UI elements are unnecessarily big for all the people not using touch.

> It absolutely is a harmless feature that you can ignore. There’s no reason not to have one

what i've learning developing and creating products over the years is that harmless features tend to be the ones that cause the most problems. for ex, now you have to add touchscreen code to the OS vs previously not having it at all. and this code or feature we will support for the rest of the lifetime of that product.

I turn it off in the bios.

1. Takes extra battery 2. I’m not touching my screen regardless. It gets dirty enough

My last three or four laptops, which never even booted Windows, have had disabled touchscreens

The UI is worse, which is the GP’s claim, and you don’t address that at all?

The way you describe it, this release amounts to an extremely large and expensive Touch Bar.

I agree. KDE is by far the best desktop environment for Linux laptops with touchscreens.