For a long while, before precision touchpads came into play, Windows laptops were known for being terrible when it came to trackpads, and that was because each hardware maker had their own way of building and fine-tuning the tech used to control the trackpad. This made it so every laptop running Windows had a slightly different, and very bad trackpad that was a pain to use.

That was the case for almost a decade, until Microsoft unveiled a standardized technology called "Precision Touchpads" which give hardware makers everything they need to build the best trackpad on Windows. Microsoft use it in their Surface Pro 4 type cover and Surface Book, and 3rd parties like Dell use it in their XPS line. It truly is the best kind of trackpad you can buy on a Windows machine, and it's noticeable when compared to other, order trackpad tech. Best VPN providers 2020: Learn about ExpressVPN, NordVPN & more As it currently stands, that technology from Microsoft is optional for hardware makers, meaning they still have the option of using whatever trackpad tech they like in their machines. What this means is the likes of HP, who are now building amazing, premium devices, are still using trackpads powered by Synaptics, which arguably aren't as good. HP claim that Synaptics allow for more control over the different options their trackpads offers, but at the end of the day, Precision is just better.