Why Do Some Laptops Have Touchpads On The Left Instead Of The Center?

Browse through the list of popular laptops by reliable brands, and you'll likely notice that most models' touchpads are centered in the middle of the chassis. It's a design choice that most people simply don't register until they run into a specimen with the touchpad located off-center. For some, this may seem like a flaw. Funny enough, someone even complained on a Lenovo forum about their shoulder hurting because of the location of the touchpad on their computer.

Why do some laptops have touchpads on the left side, though? There's a strong rationale behind this, despite how off-kilter it may appear to you if you're used to centered touchpads. Take that Lenovo complaint as an example. Another commenter clarified that the touchpad's alignment is actually correct, noting that the orientation point is the keyboard (more precisely, the spacebar) and not the body of the laptop itself. This makes sense because the idea behind the placement is to prevent your wrists from dragging across the touchpad when using the keyboard.

As a rule, most laptops with a dedicated numpad will compensate by moving the touchpad off-center. Just imagine if the touchpad remained dead in the middle of a laptop with a numpad: your right wrist would inevitably come in contact with a touchpad as you're typing. So, regardless of how "wrong" it may look, keeping the pointing device aligned with the spacebar allows you to pull off all the nifty touchpad tricks and use the keyboard without making a mess.

There are plenty of misunderstandings online about some laptops having touchpads on the left. For instance, some users ask why this happens when most people are actually right-handed. Naturally, this orientation would provide right-handed people with more room for their dominant hand, but, as we mentioned previously, it has nothing to do with what hands you're using. In fact, many lefties have no issues using trackpads.

In another thread, others debated if an off-center hand position would impact their posture. Though it may seem like a niche complaint, plenty of people seemingly avoid laptops with numpads for this exact reason. One Redditor hated the experience and said that the off-center touchpad caused physical pain, as they would inadvertently shift their entire body to the left while their eyes were focused on the display's center.

At the same time, numerous users say they got used to it quickly. If the touchpad position bothers you and is turning you off from purchasing a particular model, it doesn't hurt (no pun intended) to try the laptop in person. Many of Consumer Reports' top-rated laptops have a centered touchpad anyway, so, in most cases, you don't need to worry about it unless you're specifically looking for a model that has a numpad.