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I'm in exactly the same spot with a (reasonably old 2017 model) Dell XPS. Wayland with libinput has been a JOY to use compared to basically anything I've used

I'm in exactly the same spot with a (reasonably old 2017 model) Dell XPS. Wayland with libinput has been a JOY to use compared to basically anything I've used in linux before. I tried running an X based DE about 2 years ago on this machine and actually went back to running it in a VM in windows because the touchpad felt so shoddy. No problems at all with the current setup. Can barely tell the different between my work Mac and the XPS. From my view, this whole issue is resolved.

michaelmrose 6y ago
What is the difference between wayland + libinput and X + libinput precisely?
- horsawlarway 6y ago
  Maybe it's just time and continued development on libinput, but the differences I found are: Two fingered scroll works by default Sensitivity/Acceleration curves basically match OSX out of the box Right click on two finger tap is easily enabled and feels good Support for multi finger swipe (3/4 fingers) easily enabled and feels good Palm detection is MILES better (I have huge hands and this is a serious problem) --- Each of those was a serious issue 3 years ago trying to get things working through xinput (although again, I migrated to wayland about 1.5 years ago and have never looked back so maybe it's better now) X and xinput give folks a TON of options, and in certain situations that's great. But most of the time (all of the time in my experience) it led to bad defaults and consistently broken settings after upgrades. I genuinely enjoy the zero configuration approach Wayland has taken here with libinput. I'm on a mac for work, and while I really disagree with Apple's philosophy, I can't argue that they provide a simple and fantastic touchpad experience. I get that by default on my current setup and it feels nice. I genuinely enjoy most aspects of system management, but trial and error editing of magic numbers in an xorg conf file for my touchpad just sucked.
CoolGuySteve 6y ago
Yeah I don't have a problem with either my Asus Zenbook or my HP Envy. Reading through the comments it sounds like the real problem is Thinkpad trackpads suck for whatever reason and this is somehow getting extrapolated to "Linux trackpads suck".

michaelmrose 6y ago

What is the difference between wayland + libinput and X + libinput precisely?

horsawlarway 6y ago
Maybe it's just time and continued development on libinput, but the differences I found are: Two fingered scroll works by default Sensitivity/Acceleration curves basically match OSX out of the box Right click on two finger tap is easily enabled and feels good Support for multi finger swipe (3/4 fingers) easily enabled and feels good Palm detection is MILES better (I have huge hands and this is a serious problem) --- Each of those was a serious issue 3 years ago trying to get things working through xinput (although again, I migrated to wayland about 1.5 years ago and have never looked back so maybe it's better now) X and xinput give folks a TON of options, and in certain situations that's great. But most of the time (all of the time in my experience) it led to bad defaults and consistently broken settings after upgrades. I genuinely enjoy the zero configuration approach Wayland has taken here with libinput. I'm on a mac for work, and while I really disagree with Apple's philosophy, I can't argue that they provide a simple and fantastic touchpad experience. I get that by default on my current setup and it feels nice. I genuinely enjoy most aspects of system management, but trial and error editing of magic numbers in an xorg conf file for my touchpad just sucked.

CoolGuySteve 6y ago

Yeah I don't have a problem with either my Asus Zenbook or my HP Envy. Reading through the comments it sounds like the real problem is Thinkpad trackpads suck for whatever reason and this is somehow getting extrapolated to "Linux trackpads suck".