Right now, at least on my machines, Linux/X11 is better than Windows.
I think that on macOS, the hardware is also miles ahead of what you can get on a pc. This isn't to downplay the software because I remember my MBP's touchpad being wonky under windows a few years back.
But things have improved. My HP EliteBook 845 G8 is fine under Linux/X11. Still somewhat worse than the 2013 MBP, but not nearly as horrible as the HP two generations back. I'd rate it as comparable to my 2012 unibody MBP.
Under windows, it's fine, too, but it has a weird lag if you pay attention.
Mac trackpad keeps getting mentioned as something that is leagues above the rest. I recently had to use MacBook air M2 and the trackpad was horrible. It was big but hard to use and it couldn't handle simple click and drag style of gesture that works on both windows and Linux. The buzzing feedback was random and confusing. I had to get a mouse after a few minutes struggling with it. For me experience on 15yo Dell with trackpad 1/4 the size feels superior to Mac.
Where are you encountering buzzing feedback? I don't think I've experienced that in any Mac laptop I've used in the past 20 years. There's the haptic feedback from clicking but that's singular, distinct, and non-repeating.
Could be the electrical nature of the case? When I used a Macbook for work, if it was plugged in (original charger and cable and all) then dragging my finger over the chassi or trackpad could be described as a "haptic buzz", it felt like there were ridges on it, like corrugated cardboard. When unplugged and on battery, it would feel smooth.
Yep, that's probably because the power adapter wasn't grounded.
Here in Europe, at least in 2013, the adapter had two ways of plugging into an outlet: a cable and a plug that could be clipped on. The plug only had two prongs, while the cable had a ground connector. I'd get the "buzz" if the adapter wasn't grounded.
This also happens with my HP laptop if I plug it into an ungrounded usb-c adapter, so I'd expect the same thing to happen to iPads.
To me the acceleration of the touchpad of macbooks feels unnatural, even after prolonged used. And this is coming from a linux user on an XPS. It's so rare to find this opinion being shared though.
I actually like the acceleration, and when I switched from the mac to linux, I spent a long time trying to reproduce it. Never quite got there, though.
Nah. I was used to Dell trackpads for years, but I immediately felt the Macbook's was superior immediately.
We have many Windows laptops in the family, and everyone uses mice most of the time. I only use a mouse on my Macbook when it's hooked up to an external display. Even then, I sometimes wish I had a Magic Trackpad.
> We have many Windows laptops in the family, and everyone uses mice most of the time.
Yup, at work we have "high end" enterprise HP Elitebooks. We've had a general refresh 1.5-2 years ago. Basically, everyone lugs around a mouse. And they're not "nice" mice, either, so it's not like they're getting any extra fancy ergonomics or what not. Hell, generally they're the basic 3 button Logitech, without even a back button (don't know how people can go without this today).
I've never had a problem getting good mouse performance on Windows, under what circumstances are you noticing any lag?
Windows, like X11, uses a hardware mouse cursor. It sends a sprite to the GPU along with coordinates and it is drawn by the GPU outside your compositor's pipeline.
My wired mouse always worked as expected. Ditto for my wireless mice when using their own adapters. My MX Master 3s had some very noticeable lag at one point, but it got fixed by some windows and/or Bluetooth driver update.
The touchpad, though, has a bit of lag that's noticeable when making sudden changes. For "regular" use it's not much of a problem and not really noticeable if you don't pay attention. But I only rarely use Windows, so whenever I do, I see it for a few minutes at first. It's a bit like moving to a Bluetooth mouse after using a wired one.
My main gripe with the touchpad under windows, though, is that I can't get the "tap and hold" behavior of macOS/Linux. Meaning that if a double tap and drag, say to select text, it will "hold the tap" for a short time if I lift my finger. Since the touchpad is of the hinged variety, it's impractical to actually press on it and move the finger while pressed. Bonus points for pressing near the top not exactly doing anything.
I think there is a setting to tap and hold, but that'll hold the tap indefinitely (or at least very long) until you tap again.
I think that on macOS, the hardware is also miles ahead of what you can get on a pc. This isn't to downplay the software because I remember my MBP's touchpad being wonky under windows a few years back.
But things have improved. My HP EliteBook 845 G8 is fine under Linux/X11. Still somewhat worse than the 2013 MBP, but not nearly as horrible as the HP two generations back. I'd rate it as comparable to my 2012 unibody MBP.
Under windows, it's fine, too, but it has a weird lag if you pay attention.