I'll usually be driving with a visually impaired passenger, so it'd be more like "lean up close to the screen to try and find where the little selection highlight is and then reach backward to try and use the knob to move it around" so for us in particular a touchscreen would be easier. Realistically I would just end up doing everything myself instead, but a touchscreen option would be nice.
Apparently the Japanese market version for 2024 is getting a 10.25" screen which I'm guessing is the same part as the CX-50. That could mean adding touch for CarPlay, but none of the articles mention it one way or the other. Maybe I'll wait and see about the US update before making any buying decisions.