One of the advantages of this type of touchpad is that you get the same level of feedback, no matter where you click. It is not deeper in the front and there are no strange dead zones. Mac users are already familiar with this, but haptic touchpads are still very rare in the PC world. The feeling of using the Sensel keyboard is not terribly different from Apple’s Force Touch. However, it lacks the level of integration that opens up a world of secondary functions on a MacBook. On the other hand, the actual “clicks” on the Sensel pad are much more satisfactory. The Apple trackpad may look a little hollow and shallow.
Of course, Sensel’s high-resolution touch grid and force sensors are also on board. At the moment, its use is limited to a handful of viewers and a CAD demo. In the CAD demo, applying force to the edges of the trackpad rotates a 3D model, while using differential force explodes it so you can see inside. It’s easy to see how this can extend to, say, video editing, where you can go through a clip faster based on the force you press. In other words, paired with a stylus, similar to a Wacom tablet.
Like a simple, old touchpad, the prototype is perfect. It has a smooth glass finish and perfectly recognizes multi-finger gestures. Honestly, it’s undeniably better than my two-year-old Dell XPS 15’s trackpad. However, it is a little smaller.
No one knows whether or when we will see a Sensel touchpad on a production-ready machine. But I would be lying if I said that I am not intrigued by the prospect of having a small Morph built into my laptop.