Linux touchpad like a Mac update: Firefox gesture support live in nightly (opens in new tab)

Such non-Apple laptops with high-quality touchpads exist. Ever used a good Chromebook? The segment making up most of the Linux-using crowd is either ignorant to the problem (not having used good hardware with MacBook-quality touchpads, so not knowing that touchpads don't have to be bad), or is unwilling to actually commit to the machines that come with them. Loud fans are another thing.

I ordered a laptop from a prominent Linux laptop vendor, and it already seemed overpriced at the time of purchase, but I got assured by someone that it would be worth it. When it arrived, the fan noise and the fact that the touchpad was not just bad but actually the worst I'd ever used led to me wondering, "is this a joke?" (I sent it back after a week of dread and misery.) The fact that this was a flagship product is evidence of the wildly different standards of quality that come from personal experience, like people who just assume that things like their bathroom habits or their childhood upbringing are normal and shared by everyone.

Agreed. Gestures are only part of the experience. The input device itself matters too.

Apple's touchpad works natively out of the box on Linux and has for many years. I use a magic touchpad 2 on Archlinux for my daily driver.

If you run Gnome and Wayland it's possible to configure universal 3 finger gestures using an extension, e.g. I have back and forward configured via extended gestures, this works in Nautilus, Firefox and any other apps that have bindings for back and forward.