I prefer a larger keyboard, but I can get by. I - O substitutions are the largest problem I have
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I agree with you ā there are just times itās easier to reach up and tap a screen. When I switch back from my iPad to my MBP, it takes concerted effort to not poke at my screen expecting things to happen!
Iām absolutely ready for a touchscreen MBP!
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Use whatever keyboard you like or none, depending on circumstances. I mostly use Logi multi way keyboards and mice so that I can keep using them across devices. Also using multiple mice with the same iPad or Mac is not impossible and sometimes useful. I like my Magic Mouse but there are apps that donāt play well with a scroll surface, so being able to switch to a scroll wheel mouse is useful.
Hereās a patent from 2021 for a touchscreen iMac thing. Jobs said touch on a vertical screen would never work, which may be why it does work on iPads, tablets, and phones.
Nevertheless, hereās the iMac thing.
https://screenrant.com/apple-patent-imac-glass-design-built-in-keyboard/
Agreed! I hope this doesnāt ruin the experience for us keyboard cowboys 
Yes!
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You gotta ask yourself why Apple patterned the iPad on an existing touch-enabled mobile device (the iPhone) and not a touch-enabled Mac? After all, the desktop Mac operating system underpins all of Appleās iPhones, iPads, and Macs?
I ordered that first iPad and used it daily. I think at that point, 2010 with the smaller screen, lower resolution, less memory and less powerful processors, it made sense to start with iOS as the basis rather than the Mac. The early vision (as described by Jobs) was a device that was primarily for reading. They did have the Keyboard Dock and Pages from day one so they had the door open for other use. But it really was positioned in that space between Mac and iPhone.
Jump ahead 8 years to the 2018 iPad Pro with the much more powerful processor, more memory and larger screen and macOS starts to make sense. And of course, we can look back from 2023 and the evolution of iOS into iPadOS and question whether itās been enough to keep up.
For my mom, dad, aunt, granny (yes, all older and non-tech backgrounds) the simpler iPad was and is the better device. For kids not old enough to be given a laptop an iPad was/is a good choice. And, thinking about the iPhone user base as the starting point (much, much larger than the Mac user base) Iād suggest that it made sense that this population of less āproā, less tech-focused users made sense. Still makes a lot of sense. And I think thatās why the evolution of the iPad into the larger more powerful form factor has been a difficult balancing act for Apple. Keep that large base of users happy with a device that is still super easy and simple to use but also try to accommodate the larger, much louder tech audience that is clamoring for a touch-based Apple device that is more like a Mac and less like an iPhone.
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Personally, I hope never to see a touch screen-enabled Mac. But one day, I might be interested in an iPad running a fork of macOS.
And theyāll call it the macPad.
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Apple explains why it hasnāt added a touchscreen or Face ID to the Mac - 9to5Mac
ā¦ the company is focusing on āindirect inputā on the Mac and saving touchscreen technology for the iPad. John Ternus, Appleās senior vice president of hardware engineering, said in the interview:
We make the worldās best touch computer on an iPad. Itās totally optimized for that. And the Mac is totally optimized for indirect input. We havenāt really felt a reason to change that.
Of course, Apple always reserves the right to change its mind when it discovers how to do something better. 
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The āiPad Studioā.
Remember that one year when they just called the iPad āthe new iPadā?
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I listened to the most recent episode of Upgrade specifically to get Jason Snellās take on the rumor. I value his opinion as a long-term Mac user who has, in recent years taken up the iPad while also using his Mac. He seems to have a balanced practice and view of the two devices and I really appreciate and enjoy his Apple commentary based on that long term perspective.
His take was as thoughtful as Iād expected and I found myself is agreement with most of it.
Whatever happens it seems likely that it is at least a couple years off and during that time Iād expect that Apple will continue improving iPadOS. My expectation/hope is that with iPadOS 17 and 18 weāll see continued improvements to Stage Manager and all the stock iPadOS apps. Maybe a larger 15" iPad Pro. I can imagine that using the 13" iPad Pro or a 15" iPad Pro in a Magic Keyboard case (but improved) with iPadOS 18.
- Files is so close to the Finder at this point that 2 years of additional refinements will make them indistinguishable. Iād really like them to just rebrand Files as the finder and let us have the cute icon.
- 2 years of refinements to Stage Manager and the new windowing of iPadOS16 and the āProā mode of the iPad could be nearly identical to a Mac.
- 2 years of further refinements to stock apps and they too could be nearly indistinguishable from the current stock Mac apps. Mail, Contacts, Safariā¦ just bring in features like small folders, true, 100% Desktop Safari, improved Shortcuts.
- The Mac Menu Bar? Thatās the last remaining UI element that would be missing. Is that the last bit thatās wanted/needed? I donāt miss it or feel that I need it but would I be disappointed if it were added to some future āProā mode? Shrug. I donāt think Iād care.
Iād rather see the iPad āProā mode brought closer to the Mac as itās already headed that direction. Even though I rarely use my Mac these days it seems like macOS is just so right. Maybe not perfect, but it is the best itās ever been. It would seem to me that making the elements big enough to work properly with a touch interface would be quite a step to take.
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I miss the Menu Bar, tooltips, and an easy Undo facility on the iPad (and I bought an iPad the first day it came out in 2010).
Macs still are the clear choice for running the most powerful apps and getting a lot of work done fast, but menus, tooltips, and Undo make all that power accessible to new users.
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Yeah, Iām going to be that guy 
Well actually . . .
Steve Jobs: The iPad Came Before The iPhone : Planet Money : NPR
Iām in full support of that name change. A new larger, 16" iPad Studio in a new keyboard case. It would mostly live attached to a newly improved Magic Keyboard (with itās own battery that could extend the life of the iPad when connected) but could be removed and attached to a heavy duty dock for artists/creative endeavors. I can imagine a very expensive Apple Dock type base that would include ports of all kinds and some very well done Apple positioning possibilities. It would also have its own integrated battery. Imagine going mobile with a dock that could add 40 hours to the iPad for extended travel.
This is not news. And Steve Jobs made the right decision. The iPhone was much more important than an iPad.
A lot of Appleās hardware history is dependent on what could be built at the time and not just as a āreleased prototypeā but as a product that could be built well, produced in great quantity, and supported for years.
Yeah. And even though the focus was solidly on phones, there were a lot of interesting experiments early on. Back in Android days I had an early Droid that offered a $200-ish ādockā. Chunk your phone into the dock (which had keyboard + screen built in), and you had a somewhat-clunky Android laptop.
Apart from the screen size and input methods, all of these current devices would put any decade-old computer to shame. Itās just a matter of striking the balance.