Should Apple make a 13 inch MBP Pro/Max, with the Touch Bar?

[SoldOnApple]

I think I'd miss the touchbar if I upgraded from a 13 inch MBP. Which makes me think maybe apple should keep it exclusive to the 13 inch MBP but make Pro/Max/Ultra variations of the 13 inch.

I know this will never happen and the form factor of the 13 inch will change soon, leaving the TouchBar behind forever. But I'll still miss it and would buy a 13 inch Max if it meant I could keep the touchbar.

 

[Basic75]

First, I dislike the Touch Bar and am happy that it's gone. Second, how well would a hardware feature be supported by developers when only a small fraction of the product lineup is equipped with it? Methinks it's time to say goodbye, sorry.

 

[SoldOnApple]

In PyCharm it gives you the run and debug button right there on the keyboard. And no silly shortcut to remember, the debug button is a little image of a green insect.

 

[bnumerick]

My wife feels the same way about the touchbar. I got her an M1 Air when they first came out and she hated not having it so we returned it in favor the 13" Pro. When we bought her the M1 13" I figured it'd be the last time she'd have it. It was nice to see they came out with an M2 variant so at least there would be one more upgrade path for her. Hopefully the rumors are true and they do come out with a M3 version.

 

[dmccloud]

I thought I would miss the touchbar when I went from the 13" M1 Pro to the 14" M2 Max Pro, but in actuality I haven't missed it in the slightest. I prefer the physical function keys, larger row of keys and especially the larger TouchID/Power button.

I think the main reason Apple still has the 13" Pro with the touchbar is to exhaust their supply of remaining parts, along with having a machine to fill the perceived gap between the MacBook Air and the 14" Pro.

 

[dizmonk]

no

 

[SoldOnApple]

I know I'll miss it. It's the only way to see the playback bar on YouTube shorts. if I bought a Mac without a TouchBar I'd have to get the virtual touchbar, and leave it permanently at the bottom of the screen.

 

[chrono1081]

I would buy it. I loved the Touch Bar. I used it all the time.

 

[kasakka]

To me the Touchbar was always a bad feature. Most more advanced users are not looking at their keyboard when typing, so having a whole display capable of doing things there is not very useful. Something like an Elgato Streamdeck is a far more palatable solution for those users.

To me the 13" Macbook Pro doesn't need to exist as it's mainly there because Apple had spare parts. They could remove it from their lineup with no major loss.

 

[SoldOnApple]

To me the Touchbar was always a bad feature. Most more advanced users are not looking at their keyboard when typing, so having a whole display capable of doing things there is not very useful. Something like an Elgato Streamdeck is a far more palatable solution for those users.

To me the 13" Macbook Pro doesn't need to exist as it's mainly there because Apple had spare parts. They could remove it from their lineup with no major loss.

The Elgato is great and all but it's so big. And you need to add profiles manually instead of them just appearing automatically in the TouchBar.

You know if the MacBook had a touchscreen, and I know Jobs was deadset against it for good reason, but if it had a touchscreen then a virtual touchbar at the bottom of the screen could become an actual touchbar. And we could touch the apps in the dock we want to open, or long press them to get the right click options.

 

[kasakka]

The Elgato is great and all but it's so big. And you need to add profiles manually instead of them just appearing automatically in the TouchBar.

You know if the MacBook had a touchscreen, and I know Jobs was deadset against it for good reason, but if it had a touchscreen then a virtual touchbar at the bottom of the screen could become an actual touchbar. And we could touch the apps in the dock we want to open, or long press them to get the right click options.

I can agree with that. The main issue with Touchbar is where it's located. I currently have a 2019 Intel MBP with touchbar and a 2023 M2 without it and haven't missed it one bit.

On a touchscreen MBP it would make more sense if you could bring it up easily eg. swiping from an edge.

 

[darknetone]

I love the touch bar on my M1 MBP, I use it in some custom scenarios as well as using POCK. Sad to see it go, though.