laptops - touch screens; cost; power consumption; disabling

[ingear]

I hear that laptops with touch screens do not have SUCH long battery life because touch functionality consumes substantial power

can anyone point to exact figures? is it really that much?

and do ALL manufacturers let the user disable not just so that the OS ignores input BUT on a level so that it doesn't draw power?

and how much manufacturing cost does a touch screen add? again any link to exact figures?

looking forward to an interesting discussion ...

 

[mikeymikec]

Comparing these two desktop monitors (which use the same display tech, except one is touch-screen):

http://www.iiyama.com/gb_en/products/prolite-t2235msc-b1/
http://www.iiyama.com/gb_en/products/prolite-x2283hsu-b1dp/

2W difference in typical usage, so I think the idea that touch-screen tech is power hungry is bogus.

Laptops are more power hungry than say tablets for a number of reasons:

1 - general purpose processors that (in general) are far more capable
2 - A screen size of at least 15.6" compared to say 10"?
3 - the battery size on average uses up nowhere near as much volume relative to the size of the overall laptop
4 - more complicated OS
5 - hard drives and optical drives (where applicable) use more power
6 - more input devices

There are probably more reasons than that.

 

[dullard]

and how much manufacturing cost does a touch screen add? again any link to exact figures?

The touch part is just a simple overlay. You can buy them 1-off for as little as $14.95 and the price drops 20% just going to 100-quantities.

https://www.adafruit.com/products/1676

I don't have exact touchscreen overlay costs in the millions, but, the entire screen in the iPhone 7, including the touchscreen overlay is estimated to be only $43. I assume the touch portion was maybe $5 of that.

http://press.ihs.com/sites/ihs.news...kit_Apple_iPhone_7_Top_Cost_Drivers_Rev3.xlsx