HN user
Optional touch-based interface is possible. A mandatory and exclusive one - highly unlikely.
And if we're to bring about the Experience, it also tells us that Apple doesn't really care about any surrounding momentum. They set the trends.
"I predict that Mac OS X 10.8 or 11 – whichever number they choose – will also remove this, and all Apple devices will only ship with touch screens." - this does not make sense.
There was a quite recent keynote where Steve said this precise solution is impossible for usability reasons, and won't be implemented. You can't comfortably operate a vertically aligned touchscreen. That's why they went with huge trackpads.