Except for the ESC key, generally agree. It just kind of faded into 'who cares' once they added the ESC key back in, but it just didn't add real value <for many> as it panned out.
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Touch Bar Fully Discontinued on New MacBooks After Seven Years
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to allow for the slider functions and for buttons with variable width for helpful labelling.
Issue with touch bar was the first iteration, especially, the escape key was part of the touchbar so no tactile feedback. Awkward for touch typing.
The touchbar should have migrated over to Apple's external keyboards too, that would have helped with the uptake and 3rd party support - Mini, iMacs, Pros machines, as well as those who use external keyboard with their laptop.
The concept of the touchbar was good, unfortunately, Apple couldn't get broad appeal...
The touchbar should have migrated over to Apple's external keyboards too, that would have helped with the uptake and 3rd party support - Mini, iMacs, Pros machines, as well as those who use external keyboard with their laptop.
The concept of the touchbar was good, unfortunately, Apple couldn't get broad appeal...
Dang...glad I missed it! I used a 2012 MBP from 2012-2020 so I missed the whole touchbar (and butterfly keyboard) era.
Thanks Jony & co. I always felt they designed that MBP thinking in the vision Steve had for the MBP and it was amazing in all regards. Thanks from the bottom of my heart.
It would’ve been much better if Apple released a top row of keys that were mini OLED display keys. Basically what stream decks are.
That way, it’s the best of both worlds. You would have physical keys that could update to be macros, function keys etc. Then on the far right, they could’ve had one larger key which is the size of three combined keys so that you could use it as a scrubber, volume, whatever suits that type of function.
Then of course Apple should have released a Magic Keyboard with it for iMacs and Mac Minis.
It would have had a battery to power it for a couple of weeks at a time. USB-C charging and job done.
Oh well....
That way, it’s the best of both worlds. You would have physical keys that could update to be macros, function keys etc. Then on the far right, they could’ve had one larger key which is the size of three combined keys so that you could use it as a scrubber, volume, whatever suits that type of function.
Then of course Apple should have released a Magic Keyboard with it for iMacs and Mac Minis.
It would have had a battery to power it for a couple of weeks at a time. USB-C charging and job done.
Oh well....
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That would have been a nice feature. The video scrubber is a pretty useful tool, and I know there were some neat touch bar functions for Logic Pro X too. I ended up just setting it to display the old control strip instead on my 13" though, I found it too inconvenient to always have to tap around to get to the volume and brightness controls.
The Touch Bar was an answer to a question nobody had. Developer support was lacklustre, and it violated many basic principles of UX/UI. I barely ever used it for what it was designed to do, and missed having a physical ESC key. Although I did enjoy the sliders for volume and screen brightness, nothing about it was worth redeeming. I was happy to get a 2021 MBP with conventional (and non-******) keys.
Yeah i'm gonna miss it for video scrubbing and some application specific functions.
I don't have an issue with it. I wrote a long email to Cook years back giving him a 'life in the day with a touchscreen Mac' - but I do understand those that do NOT want one, and I'd argue that even with a touchscreen Mac/MBP, unless the screen detached (this would be fun engineering, now in 'touch MBA mode' or was fully convertible (flipped over screen flat onto case), the trackpad 'touchbar and pencil input' could still be useful or as a partial step in that future direction.
With the screen in a typical MBP vertical position, touch is less ideal, so 'more changes' would be needed.
To dream a much bigger dream would probably require them to nearly abandon 'iPad' as a product line, although they would effectively be merged. Make the display a bit thicker, and the base thinner. Magnetic connection not only holds and charges the pencil like iPad today, but also triggers the base fans, and possible extends cooling into a heat pipe in the base. Display has battery in it like iPad but the base may add additional battery in parallel. The base provides the majority of ports, along with the touchpad, with both the display and touchpad having pencil support, and can charge apple devices via the palm and touchpad areas. Runs MacOS, but can load iPad and IOS apps and leverage touch/pencil input.
Have a meeting or white boarding session, or need to do some diagramming or drawing on the couch - grab the 'display' with pencil and off you go. CPU/GPU may downclock a bit but that's OK. Back onto the 'keyboard/port/base station' when done, and the added cooling, CPU/GPU upclock resets, display battery starts charging from the base or base mains power.
There's some redundancies in there, e.g. some level of speakers in the display and possibly more/better in the base, but yeah - I'm not someone arguing for 'omg not a touch/pencil' Mac
Yeah that entire era was disastrous. So many Macbook Pros just straight up did not work. If it wasn't performance issues due to an insistence on extreme thinness it was the butterfly keyboard breaking from a single spec of dust.
My Pro has the physical Esc key with Touch Bar. The first Touch Bar release was total *****.
Fair - it was the ~2016-2019 'thinner at all costs and we'll call it being brave' era in particular that gives me beef.
ETA: lol, I have my years all screwed up - but the whole butterfly keyboards, lack of ports and ... touchbar era.
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trying to make everyone happy is a great way of making no one happy. Good ridence.
Thought it was pretty neat until I didn't.
I just handed my touch bar MBP down to my wife when I got a new MBP last year. The new form factor is superior in every way, IMHO.
I thought the touch bar was pretty neat when I first got the unit. It wore off quickly.
The technology itself was really interesting, but the usefulness was meh. I prefer a physica set of keys at the top of my keyboard.
I just handed my touch bar MBP down to my wife when I got a new MBP last year. The new form factor is superior in every way, IMHO.
I thought the touch bar was pretty neat when I first got the unit. It wore off quickly.
The technology itself was really interesting, but the usefulness was meh. I prefer a physica set of keys at the top of my keyboard.
Me too and I have stretched the life of my 2017 15inch MBP to the limit. And when my sleek new space black MBP arrives I’m sure I will not miss it after a week!
It’s just a trend… we I’ll look back at this time in ten or so years and think rounded corners on screens are so old fashioned. To be honest I never really liked it. It’s unnecessary.
Like a blackberry yeah?
I think we could see the return of physical keyboards in one form or another. Like an adaptive screen that has physical input… then we will look back and think it was so horrible ergonomically to be tapping away at a solid fixed screen
The Touch Bar is AFAIK the only way to jump to a random slide in a Keynote presentation while it's actually running. I don't think there's any other way to do this.
I rarely used it myself, but I hope they save all of the work that went into this. Adding dynamic LED display to physical keycaps is something that I believe is already becoming more and more prevalent. Having a context-based keyboard that has the same quality as Touch Bar display would make a very productive keyboard. Although I can see the need for the hardware be completely replaced by say Vision Pro overlaying virtual displays onto the keys themselves.
The problem with the current Touch Bar is that I just can't feel what I'm pressing. There's no physical context to the action so it just isn't something I naturally want to use. Car manufacturers take note! Disclaimer: I believe tactile touch for a control that is always in the same place irregardless of context and near your hands resting place is an adequate experience for 2023 (Tesla's indicators as an example)
By the way there is some incredible tech coming our way in the future. Check out this patent for some idea of what's possible: https://www.patentlyapple.com/2023/...s-base-that-supports-a-virtual-keyboard-.html
The problem with the current Touch Bar is that I just can't feel what I'm pressing. There's no physical context to the action so it just isn't something I naturally want to use. Car manufacturers take note! Disclaimer: I believe tactile touch for a control that is always in the same place irregardless of context and near your hands resting place is an adequate experience for 2023 (Tesla's indicators as an example)
By the way there is some incredible tech coming our way in the future. Check out this patent for some idea of what's possible: https://www.patentlyapple.com/2023/...s-base-that-supports-a-virtual-keyboard-.html
I loved the touch bar.
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It was particularly helpful for so many auto fill things that I have to do online when filling in forms. It instantly gave you a nice choice of several addresses, for example. I don’t know why so many people hated this so much.
Yeah, not going to argue with that one!
It was hard to go from swapping out batteries in my 2009 Unibody to "what do you mean they're GLUED IN?" of my 2012 MBP.
People are stupid and spoiled and like to make a big deal out of small things because it’s the internet where people make the smallest thing seem like someone ran a couple of planes into tall buildings. That’s pretty much it. 🤷
And I always crack up when people say “iM gLaD wE aRe PaSt ThE iVe ErA” like all of his designs and influence just magically disappeared when he left Apple, when it’s actually in every single piece of Apple hardware and software to this day, and like he isn’t one of the major reasons why Apple are where they are today. I refuse to believe people are this dense.
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