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skids929

macrumors 6502a
Mar 24, 2011
629
355
I've had the touchbar for almost 6 years on my current MBP, I don't get the beef with it. I have no issues with it at all. I kind of like it to be honest. Tactile would be nice I suppose but it's not this awful failure folks here portray it to be. For an everyday user it's fine, I generally don't even think about it as any sort of problem.

Also, I'd suggest getting used to it, since this is likely where Apple is headed with the entire keyboard.
 
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jdb8167

macrumors 601
Nov 17, 2008
4,859
4,599
Yes it is still there. :-(
Not for me.
Screen Shot 2020-11-30 at 10.59.41 PM.png

Edit: It occurs to me that might be because I'm in clamshell mode... Let me check.

Edit 2: Nope. The same as the above without the Keyboard battery level. Weird.

Edit 3: Just for completeness. This is an M1 MacBook Air 16 GB/1TB.
 
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jqc

macrumors 6502
Jun 30, 2007
394
204
I’ve used HandBrake and ffmpeg to do video compression on my M1 MacBook Air for over an hour at a time and didn’t notice any throttling or excess heat. I’m sure it does throttle when running full out over time but it isn’t particularly noticeable.

On the other hand, reliable reports say that the MacBook Pro fans are normally off and even when on, are nearly silent.
strange because my M1 MBP's fans went full blast after about 3 mins fo encoding some MKV files (1080p fast setting), and it for noticeably warming. Was super fast though.
 

jdb8167

macrumors 601
Nov 17, 2008
4,859
4,599
strange because my M1 MBP's fans went full blast after about 3 mins fo encoding some MKV files (1080p fast setting), and it for noticeably warming. Was super fast though.
Probably finished faster than the Air which is throttled. But even throttled, the M1 MacBook Air was faster than my 2013 6C/12T Mac Pro.
 
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Zazoh

macrumors 68000
Jan 4, 2009
1,516
1,121
San Antonio, Texas
Not for me. View attachment 1683992
Edit: It occurs to me that might be because I'm in clamshell mode... Let me check.

Edit 2: Nope. The same as the above without the Keyboard battery level. Weird.

Edit 3: Just for completeness. This is an M1 MacBook Air 16 GB/1TB.

I’m on Base MBA. United States as location and English as language. I’ll test in Clamshell mode later to see if mine changes like yours. I don’t recall seeing battery indicator previously.
 

the8thark

macrumors 601
Apr 18, 2011
4,628
1,735
It's been 5 days since I got mine and I think Apple knocked it out of the park with the M1 laptops and the MacBook Air in particular.
The main point is this.

In the past every low end computer had to have some pretty serious compromises to have all day battery life and be whisper quiet.
Today M1 requires a lot less compromises to achieve this. So few compromises in fact that it rivals PC in a class above their own (low end ultra portable PCs)

This as we all know is a huge achievement.
 

Zazoh

macrumors 68000
Jan 4, 2009
1,516
1,121
San Antonio, Texas
I’m on Base MBA. United States as location and English as language. I’ll test in Clamshell mode later to see if mine changes like yours. I don’t recall seeing battery indicator previously.

Okay, put MBA in Clamshell mode and checked. Touch Bar Settings still there.
Restarted in Clamshell and they Touch Bar settings went away.
Opened Laptop and rebooted no Touch Bar settings, but battery was there. D'oh, turned off Bluetooth keyboard.
Rebooted and now the Touch Bar settings are gone.

So, definitely a bug after install. I seldom reboot my machine. So apparently bug fixed after reboot? Or, was it because I rebooted in Clamshell?

We'll never know .... ;)
 

skids929

macrumors 6502a
Mar 24, 2011
629
355
Okay, put MBA in Clamshell mode and checked. Touch Bar Settings still there.
Restarted in Clamshell and they Touch Bar settings went away.
Opened Laptop and rebooted no Touch Bar settings, but battery was there. D'oh, turned off Bluetooth keyboard.
Rebooted and now the Touch Bar settings are gone.

So, definitely a bug after install. I seldom reboot my machine. So apparently bug fixed after reboot? Or, was it because I rebooted in Clamshell?

We'll never know .... ;)

Glad you got it fixed, gremlins for sure. I always reboot my machine like once every few weeks or so. Contrary to popular belief all Apple devices benefit from it.
 
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jdb8167

macrumors 601
Nov 17, 2008
4,859
4,599
Glad you got it fixed, gremlins for sure. I always reboot my machine like once every few weeks or so. Contrary to popular belief all Apple devices benefit from it.
If you use an external monitor in clamshell mode with bluetooth peripherals, I doubt you will make it a few weeks in this version of Big Sur. It works well enough for a x.0.1 OS version but it isn't really stable yet.
 

wxnats

macrumors 6502a
Sep 10, 2014
920
617
Northern Virginia
I am going to be using my MBP primarily on my lap while sitting in the recliner/couch watching tv. Do I need to worry about it overheating? Seems like from what I’ve read the answer is no.
 

rui no onna

Contributor
Oct 25, 2013
14,916
13,260
I am going to be using my MBP primarily on my lap while sitting in the recliner/couch watching tv. Do I need to worry about it overheating? Seems like from what I’ve read the answer is no.

Not at all. I'm using the MBA which doesn't have a fan and it's cooler than my skin.
 
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spiderman0616

Suspended
Aug 1, 2010
5,670
7,499
Can M1 Air owners comment on heat? Does it get too warm to use on your lap for productivity tasks? (MS Office, zoom, a few browser tabs)
When I originally gave up on laptops as my main machines and switched to the iPad Pro full time, the main reason was the heat and the loud fan. I could not use my MacBook Pro in bed or on the couch on my lap, because the heat would get crazy. In the summer months in the midwest it's just unbearable. I also couldn't effectively record audio with it because the fan was so loud and I would spend half my editing time ducking out that fan noise.

I've been using my M1 MBA for over 2 weeks now in various situations. At the table, on my desk, and in my lap. Never once has it gotten more than slightly warm to the touch, even while using Affinity Publisher or Designer. The benefit of this alone has made me say, "iPad Pro? What iPad Pro?" Can't even talk about fan noise, because it doesn't have one to complain about.

I see a lot of people calling the M1 MacBook Air "good enough for most standard things" but that's really selling it short. It's good at everything I've thrown at it so far, including games.
 

rui no onna

Contributor
Oct 25, 2013
14,916
13,260
When I originally gave up on laptops as my main machines and switched to the iPad Pro full time, the main reason was the heat and the loud fan. I could not use my MacBook Pro in bed or on the couch on my lap, because the heat would get crazy. In the summer months in the midwest it's just unbearable. I also couldn't effectively record audio with it because the fan was so loud and I would spend half my editing time ducking out that fan noise.

Same reason I ditched the laptop for the iPad Pro 9.7 for personal use. Plus I actually do prefer the tablet form factor over clamshell. At home, I use the iPads with just the onscreen keyboard all the time.

I did still use desktops for work and I had a couple of desktops at home that was used as server and for quick web browsing for sites that still don't play nice with the iPad.
 
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wxnats

macrumors 6502a
Sep 10, 2014
920
617
Northern Virginia
That’s exactly why I ditched my old MBP for the 12.9” IPP — it was too hot to use and the fan was obnoxious. Glad to hear no issues with the heat.
 

KShopper

macrumors member
Nov 26, 2020
84
116
I've had the touchbar for almost 6 years on my current MBP, I don't get the beef with it. I have no issues with it at all. I kind of like it to be honest. Tactile would be nice I suppose but it's not this awful failure folks here portray it to be. For an everyday user it's fine, I generally don't even think about it as any sort of problem.

Also, I'd suggest getting used to it, since this is likely where Apple is headed with the entire keyboard.
Shut your dirty mouth! lol.

I think Apple learned a valuable lesson with the massive and costly blow back to their terrible Butterfly keyboard experiment. If you want terrible typing on glass, use an iPad. The macbook will always have a nice physical keyboard. I regard the Touchbar as a design failure from the same era (I mean, screw Jony Ives - am I right??) that Apple was too proud to remove when they should have with the release of the Magic keyboard.

Glad you like it, there's one in every crowd... ;)
 
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spiderman0616

Suspended
Aug 1, 2010
5,670
7,499
Shut your dirty mouth! lol.

I think Apple learned a valuable lesson with the massive and costly blow back to their terrible Butterfly keyboard experiment. If you want terrible typing on glass, use an iPad. The macbook will always have a nice physical keyboard. I regard the Touchbar as a design failure from the same era (I mean, screw Jony Ives - am I right??) that Apple was too proud to remove when they should have with the release of the Magic keyboard.

Glad you like it, there's one in every crowd... ;)
I've always thought they'll at least try to do a haptic keyboard. But I don't think they'll put it in a real product until it feels/sounds like a real keyboard. And maybe they'll never get it good enough to feel/sound that way and won't release it. Like if they can't make it seem like a real moving set of mechanical keys just like they got the trackpad to sound and feel like a mechanically clicking trackpad, they won't do it at all.

As far as the Touch Bar--I have it on my work MacBook Pro. It's so crazy because I always like how it LOOKS but I don't particularly love using it. I'd much rather have the static function keys like on the MacBook Air.
 
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skids929

macrumors 6502a
Mar 24, 2011
629
355
Shut your dirty mouth! lol.

I think Apple learned a valuable lesson with the massive and costly blow back to their terrible Butterfly keyboard experiment. If you want terrible typing on glass, use an iPad. The macbook will always have a nice physical keyboard. I regard the Touchbar as a design failure from the same era (I mean, screw Jony Ives - am I right??) that Apple was too proud to remove when they should have with the release of the Magic keyboard.

Glad you like it, there's one in every crowd... ;)
you might eat those words once haptic takes hold. ??
 
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