Can we wait another 10 hours before complaining? I'm sure they though of the escape key
No! Those 10 hours are precious for me to complain!!!!
Apple may as well have an "out" for this issue, or they might as well have good reason to do it. But IMHO...changing such a fundamental usage pattern that has been around for almost as long as keyboards have is frustrating. It would be akin to them finding a different layout for the keys on the keyboard.... they could have all the research to support the change, all the good intentions, etc... but would it warrant such a disruption for users? "Just because they can do something, doesn't mean that they should".
I suspect such "features" are the product of the "yes men" culture of the post-Steve Apple.
I am eager to see how the thing works. but so far i see it as a gimmick, an unnecessary complication and expense on the product (like 3D touch on the iPhone). If they need to "highlight" touchID when its waiting for a fingerprint to read, they could have had a pulsating light on the powerbutton with TouchID, they dont need an additional screen to get a user's attention, which removes existing functionality(keys) IMHO.
Worst case for users, is they buy an external USB keyboard(and additional dock to USB-C) to try and ignore that bar. I was fine with them getting rid of the floppy, the CD/DVD drive, etc...but the escape key and power button might be too far IMHO.... we'll see. /end rant