Ask Lemmy

Those laptops with the reversible screen and the Surface are convenient for genuinely using the touch screen on the go to play simple time killing games while waiting in public without messing with the peripherals

The ones that are just normal laptops with built in keyboards and a folding touchscreen only ever got touched when someone was demonstrating that it was a touchscreen

I don't have one, but when I was at uni one of the lecturers had this dinky old-looking laptop that apparently had a touchscreen, and he would project the screen and draw on it during lectures, which worked really well to illustrate what he was talking about. Had some software to just draw on top of what he was presenting, to be clear.

I bought a cheap 8" tablet on eBay many years ago, and really liked using it for college. Then when my regular laptop broke and I had some money, I went for one of those 13" Yoga thinkpads, thinking it would replace both the tablet and the aging laptop.

In the 7 or so years since I bought it, I can count the number of years that I used it on two hands. I've used the shitty old 2013 dell tablet more than the touch screen / pen input on the laptop. It mostly lives in a docking station on my desk, or gets used as a regular laptop. It's just too big to be used as a tablet, period. Cool concept, wasn't worth the extra money for me.

They could figure you out by the comments you make. They would know enough to know what computers you use based on you volunteering of information. I wouldn't say perfectly but if something else lined up they could put it together. For sure. Did that answer you question?

i never thought I'd ever use my touchscreen but now I'm touching the screen of my other laptop that doesn't have a touchscreen out of habit...

Me: so rarely that I keep forgetting it's a touch screen

My wife and daughter: constantly, so my screen is full of their fingerprints

Depends. On my ROG Flow z13 it I'm playing a game I don't typically have the keyboard/touchpad attached so touch is how to navigate, just use a controller. If I'm coding, browsing, doing most things I very rarely touch the screen.

Sometimes it's faster than finding the mouse cursor when clicking a link or a button (and when filling in forms with check boxes), but probably my biggest use is if I'm browsing around Google maps or Earth.

Click-drag click-drag on the trackpad is just slow and frustrating compared to just dragging the on-screen image.

I use a macbook sometimes and it's a bit infuriating when I try to drag the screen.

I don't use it constantly but I'm used to having the choice whenever I decide it's easier.

Pretty much never. Even if my hands are dry and clean, I get annoying marks on the screen.

I use one for sound recording, as tapping controls on a screen makes far less noise than a keyboard or mouse of any make or model.

Never. I didn’t realise it had a touch screen when I got it, i disabled it, and I don’t miss it.

Mine is a two-in-one where the keyboard can fold fully backwards and it puts the laptop in "tablet mode." I use it constantly for reading comic books, as rotating to a portrait frame and swiping through pages is much easier than scrolling/zooming on each page with mouse and keyboard.

I also occasionally use it for doodling when I'm traveling, but I've got a nicer setup for that on my desktop. So that's a corner case.

I use to use mine regularly, it was nice ergonomically to change between the trackpad and touchscreen. My arm needs a rest from being tucked up next to the trackpad. This makes most sense if the laptop is on your actual lap. Can't do it anymore since my laptop broke.

ITT: people hating on touchscreens

Also ITT: people pointing out really good reasons to have a touch screen.

I've had two and the only time I've used it is by accident. Something like the Lenovo Yoga where you can put it into touchscreen/drawing mode would work, but I don't see how it's useful to touch your screen at a weird angle.

I don't use it consciously. But I do notice when I'm using a laptop without touchscreen - so I probably use it more than I think.
I mostly use it in tent mode with keyboard and mouse attached tho.

all the time. sucks to go back.

Disabled it in BIOS, most useless feature in a laptop. Yoga like laptops that can flip the screen 18 degrees, sure. But a regular laptop - just why?

You know... It comes in handy. I have a late model Acer laptop. It was a Costco special I bought for general usage years ago.

I don't use it often but I'm bilingual and instead of getting stickers for the second language I use the on screen keyboard when I need to use the other language.

Also it's great for when the lights are off and I can't see the keyboard.

My work computer has a touch screen. It is used about evenly by people pointing at my screen and accidentally touching it and one form I sometimes use where I have to select an option and hit next a bunch of times. It's way faster to do that with a couple fingers than with a track pad or a mouse.

I recently pulled out my previous laptop that I'd used for several years before getting my current one. I don't remember how long I'd had the previous one, but it's been quite a few years.

While working on my project with that laptop I accidentally bumped it and knocked it off my desk. Reflexively, I grabbed for it and managed to catch it by the corner of the screen.

And that's how I found out my laptop had a touchscreen.

My work laptop is a touch screen, The only time I've used it is when I accidentally brushed the corner of the screen reaching passed and closed the window I was working on.

I had a Surface Pro all through college, and used it for note taking in all my classes (pen on screen), which was fantastic. Haven't really used the touchscreen function since though, and it's been quite a few years.

It can be useful for drawing and photo editing without a mouse. Since I don't do that much, it is practically useless

Only to answer teams calls because I can hit the notification with my pinkie rather then moving my hand to the mouse.

used to have one. loved it. I hate trackpads and having a touchscreen saved me from cramping the tendons in my hand.

bring back the nipple!

Sometimes, mostly for a quick volume or pause/play press.

Being able to fold it right round can be useful as it uses less space when you are just playing a video or something. (Less chance of damaging it while cooking too!)

I got a fancy one with a pen, but found that trains are really not as smooth as I thought so the plan of learning to draw on the train never happened.

Edit: the pen support has come in useful for electronically signing things multiple times!

I honestly forget it had a touchscreen all the time. I grew up before the prevalence of touch screen devices so it never occurs to me that something with a built in physical keyboard could be interacted with that way.

When I had one, I used it a couple of times to play Civilization V on an airplane.

I may rarely swipe to scroll, but if it's anything else I'll go hunt down a keyboard to plug into it instead of using the screen. Convertible, by the way, can;t see any reason to do it unless you have it detached from the base and in your hand like a giant phone.

Very rarely. It’s my work laptop so I always have the mouse available. Occasionally it will sometimes be easier to just reach over and tap something on the screen.

Oh, and I hate the trackpad.

Mostly simple things. Changing and closing tabs and windows, toggling bluetooth, etc. Anything where the button is visible and big enough hit easily.

Used to have one, literally never.

Work laptop. I use it when I’m sharing my screen and we’re discussing a map or drawing of something. Pretty useful. Especially the pinch zoom function when whatever app I’m using doesn’t have an intuitive zoom function.

Not work laptop. If I’m reading an article on the couch sometimes I’ll scroll down using the touch screen.

occasionally. It's nice to have, but I wouldn't go out of my way to buy a laptop with one. Sometimes I use it to quickly scroll or tap a button if my hand isn't already near the mouse. Not too often, but saves me a fraction of a second once every few weeks :)

Literally never. Never on purpose, at least.

Every once in a while I accidentally tap and am reminded I have a touch screen.

I have a much older laptop with a stylus interface that I'll use to draw things when I need to.

I used to note take constantly on the Surface line so all the time. Even now I still use it quite a bit since it became so natural.

I usually don't use it.

Since the battery in the pen stopped charging, almost never now.

When I had a work laptop with one, I used it daily for quick UI things, browser windows, start menu stuff. I used it a lot. I'd never spend more to own one myself, but the work one I had was nice.

Often. Easier on the train than using the touchpad. But a x86 tablet with a sliding-over keyboard would be even better.