I have a little secret to share. While it’s true that I’m an Apple fan – personally I don’t represent the views of every Guiding Tech contributor – I wasn’t always like that. Before I got my first MacBook in 2011, I was stubbornly opposed to Macs. My heart belonged to Windows 7.
My laptop before the MacBook Air was a 17-inch glossy bronze HP computer. To be specific, it was the dv7-1245dx model. I paid $699 in 2009 and looking back it probably never felt this good. I don’t remember ever being as fast as my MacBook Air. In fact, by 2011 it had gotten so slow that the optical disc drive stopped working and would only turn on when plugged in.
Still, one of the things that stood out to me was that the Dv7 was a series of entertainment laptops. Back then, I wanted a nice big screen where I could watch movies. It even came with a nice little plastic remote control but I didn’t use it even once.
While Apple was bragging about its $1799 MacBook Pro with Touch Bar, guess what? My 2009 laptop did it first.
The HP Dv7 was by no means a powerful machine or anything particularly innovative, but it somehow beat Apple in one feature. While Apple was bragging about its $1799 MacBook Pro with Touch Bar, guess what? My 2009 laptop did it first.
Media Bar of Dv7
Okay, maybe that’s a huge exaggeration. But there was a touch-sensitive bar at the top. It was home to the power button, Wi-Fi toggle, volume and mute control, and a shortcut to HP’s QuickPlay media suite. Voice control can detect how I move my finger in addition to just taps. So I can slide the media bar to increase the volume.
I remember thinking I might miss this when I switched to my MacBook Air. It was extremely convenient to have some of my most frequently used controls at my fingertips. Of course, the playback and volume control keys on the MacBook were more than enough.
Now to be honest, Apple’s claim that HP ripped out the touch-sensitive media bar is mostly just for laughs. The MacBook Pro Touch Bar is clearly on a whole new level. It’s a full screen instead of capacitive buttons, and it’s endlessly customizable and versatile depending on the app you’re using. It also features multi-touch and has Touch ID built-in.
No other laptop of this caliber has included an omnidirectional touch bar.
Touch Bar Still Wins
Apple is clearly winning by a landslide. No other laptop of this caliber has included an omnidirectional touch bar. You could argue this is because other laptops have focused on full touchscreens and convertible 2-in-1 tablets. Apple is filing strong lawsuits against them. First, tapping and maneuvering a vertical screen with your fingers is a terrifying and sometimes painful experience. Also, software designed for the precision of a pointer click is less than ideal for touch input, and vice versa.
All that said, I can’t help but wonder if maybe Apple was inspired by the likes of HP back in the day. There is a clear similarity between the two touch bars. Both have similar intentions at their most fundamental level. The comparison almost reminds me of one between the Apple Newton and the iPad.
Perhaps a mediocre touch-sensitive media bar on a below-average HP laptop was enough to spark some creative minds. Technology is in constant evolution and nothing is inherently free from contribution.
