But what about us stubborn Safari lovers? ✨ Probably an extension for that, or cash out for YT premium.
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Who’s hoping the new MBP will retain the Touch Bar?
- Thread starter The Cockney Rebel
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
I found the Touch Bar to be rather useless to me. I am glad I got rid of it.
Honestly I’m glad it’s going away. I never used it and I’m sure it adds a significant expense to making those laptops (as in, they can now spend that money on something more useful — a MiniLED display in particular 
).
I’ve never really been a fan of text prediction but also have not given it a fair chance. I got used to always disabling it because I always disabled it immediately on Google services due to privacy concerns, but that habit carried over to Apple services which are more privacy-respecting and do a lot of stuff on-device. Can you explain what apps you used it with and why you like it?
).I’ve never really been a fan of text prediction but also have not given it a fair chance. I got used to always disabling it because I always disabled it immediately on Google services due to privacy concerns, but that habit carried over to Apple services which are more privacy-respecting and do a lot of stuff on-device. Can you explain what apps you used it with and why you like it?
I don’t really have a strong opinion. Im ok with the Touch Bar, but it’s not like I will be really upset if it’s gone. I do find it more useful than the function here though, so if it gets replaced I hope Apple will come with something with more utility.
What I do find surprising is how it’s taken for almost a given that the Touch Bar is to be canned. Sure, there were rumors, but those rumors got everything else wrong. What I find more suspicious is that MacOS 13 does not bring any improvements to Touch Bar APIs - but then again there are some things in SwiftUI that utilize the TouchBar, so there is that.
What I do find surprising is how it’s taken for almost a given that the Touch Bar is to be canned. Sure, there were rumors, but those rumors got everything else wrong. What I find more suspicious is that MacOS 13 does not bring any improvements to Touch Bar APIs - but then again there are some things in SwiftUI that utilize the TouchBar, so there is that.
Apple should just add it as a BTO option. I personally love the Touch Bar. Could as well live without it, but if it was an option, I would certainly pay for it.
I'm curious if people are basing their prediction on the designs from the ReEvil leak. Apple reportedly did not pay them, and yet they gave up leaking documents. One theory I think makes some sense is that they were decoy documents as part of a honeypot.
So, if one removes those documents from consideration, the picture looks different to me-- the 13" M1 MBP has a touchbar, so why wouldn't the 16"? I guess a major redesign of the 16" is on the way; would there also be a 14" in the new design to replace the older 13" w/ touchbar?
For the record, I do not find the touchbar on my 2016 MBP particularly useful, and it has annoyed me on occasion.
So, if one removes those documents from consideration, the picture looks different to me-- the 13" M1 MBP has a touchbar, so why wouldn't the 16"? I guess a major redesign of the 16" is on the way; would there also be a 14" in the new design to replace the older 13" w/ touchbar?
For the record, I do not find the touchbar on my 2016 MBP particularly useful, and it has annoyed me on occasion.
It doesn’t make any sense as a BTO option. Too much hassle. Also, Apple is not in habit of offering experience-changing BTO options, for a good reason.
I sold my MPB 15" 2017 and bought a M1 Air. I never minded the TB, until now that I don't have it. Jeez I missed having fixed volume keys. And the escape key which was still a softkey on my MBP.
Wouldn't let TB be a deciding factor, but I haven't missed it one bit since I sold my MBP.
Jeez I missed having fixed volume keys. And the escape key which was still a softkey on my MBP.Wouldn't let TB be a deciding factor, but I haven't missed it one bit since I sold my MBP.
I like both. It should be a BTO option, so that way everyone is happy!
I had a 2019 macbook pro with a touchbar prior to my m1 macbook air, and i can’t say that i especially miss the touch bar. I thought it was kinda cool while i had one but i always felt that adjusting speaker volume and display brightness was inconvenient, even if you do the continuous motion swiping thing. I feel like the sum of those million paper cuts outweighs that of some of minor novelty that the touch bar allowed. I’m very happy with the function keys on m1 mba: tactility and permanence are great features for ease of use.
I love Touch Bar, much more useful and dynamic than fixed keys. But I suppose it is dead, even if much more people than we think like it, but haters are much more active in comments.
I would buy it as an option BTO but there is no sense to have it on few machines, why devs should do more work to support a very little of the user base.
I would buy it as an option BTO but there is no sense to have it on few machines, why devs should do more work to support a very little of the user base.
Last edited:
all they had to do to make people like the Touch Bar is to have the Touch Bar above the regular (hardware) function keys and make it optional in addition to the fn keys. Best of both worlds. I'd like the Touch Bar on my laptop, but not at the expense of physical function keys.
So given this, I'm glad it's gone.
So given this, I'm glad it's gone.
You could always just stay on current models with the touch bar for another five or ten years.
Inconsistent implementation plus inconsistent experience kills Touch Bar easily, especially considering the dev would hesitate to support it given the small user base. If back in VIC-20 days, devs liked to target 3.5K stock system rather than those with ram expanders, same thing applies here: instead of wasting time and resources to develop a feature that won’t benefit all users, develop something else that everyone can take advantage of. 3D Touch dies pretty much in the same fashion, which is sad cause I kind of like it, and my iPhone XS Max becomes the latest device that could do force sensitive markup or notes taking. Instead, that feature was moved to iPad with an expensive Apple Pencil.
My father can’t touch type and he loves the TB on his M1 MBP. I use mine mostly on the Fn key setting but also find it useful for Autofill on Safari (when pressing the Fn key) and emoji usage. Also, I love that I can press “Pause” on my music while my MBP 15” is still waking up from sleep.Really? I don't really quite understand that. You're writing something, and instead of just continuing to write, you remove your eyes from the display, crane your neck down to look at the Touch Bar, move your hand/fingers up from the keys you're typing with to pick a text prediction? Feels like that'd be significantly slower, more cumbersome and not very ergonomic, honestly. But ey, if it works for you, happy for you
I would honestly be incredibly sad if the next model has an obligatory Touch Bar though. I really want the next 16" but I really do not want a Touch Bar. I use function keys quite a bit and I do not like looking away from the display. Having to actually look down to change volume or brightness would also really irritate me. Can't just quickly do it with the click of a tactile button.
My preferred solution is an optional BTO Touch Bar so you and I can both get what we want
Overall, though, give me dedicated brightness/volume/play/pause buttons with physical keys and I’ll be just as happy (sorry, dad).
The Touch Bar represented the worst kind of innovation -- looking to improve on things that were never a problem. The regular functions keys worked (always), were durable, did not get in the way of workflow, were relatively cheap and did not create unnecessary distraction. The Touch Bar was the exact opposite amounting to little more than a gimmick supposedly intended to show off Apple's ability to innovate. It is in the same vein as the failed butterfly keyboard. I am glad it is gone and that Apple is now embarking on some real innovation and creativity with its M-1 based computers.
I will never ever buy a MB with touchpad ever again. Turned it off in my 16" as I kept accidentally hitting it. The whole idea is so beyond stupid I can't even....
As a touch typist and when I step through code, I previously used the function keys. With the touchbar, I resorted to mouse clicking because I would always need to look down at the keyboard otherwise.
I've gone through a 2016 MBP and two 2018 MBPs never caring about the Touchbar. I vaguely remember that the 2015 $2499 MBP ended up being $2699 on the 2016 MBP w/ touchbar. Maybe if Apple removes the touchbar, they'd pass the cost reduction to customers
I've gone through a 2016 MBP and two 2018 MBPs never caring about the Touchbar. I vaguely remember that the 2015 $2499 MBP ended up being $2699 on the 2016 MBP w/ touchbar. Maybe if Apple removes the touchbar, they'd pass the cost reduction to customers
The 2016 Macbook Pro:
- $400 higher starting price than 2015
- Touchbar replaced Function keys and made basic functions such as changing the volume harder
- Removed ESC key which gave developers anxiety
- Removed commonly used ports and forced everyone to carry a hub/dongles
- Your new iPhone that came with a USB-A cable could no longer be charged on your new Macbook Pro without a dongle/dock
- Butterfly keyboard low travel and malfunctioning
- Worse battery life than 2015
- Ran hotter than 2015 due to smaller chassis
And yet I loved, LOVED my 2017 MPB until the M1 machines came along. I had a 2015 MBP before the 2017 and loved the smaller footprint of the 2017 for traveling. If it weren't for the M1 Macs I would have kept my 2017 Mac for several more years. But I'm still a bit marked from the last Apple CPU transition, and I refuse to be left behind this time too.
Durability wise the 2015 machine was a tank and a great laptop, but the 2017 felt like such a step forward. In the end we all knew about the major fault - the keyboards (although I never had any problem at all, and I'm not babying my computers).
But I never really cared for the TB. Not minding it, and it was cool in the beginning, like all new shiny baubles are. But I didn't realize until I got my M1 Air how much I've missed physical ESC and volume buttons.
It's easy to be critical about the 2016 era Macs in hindsight. But could you imagine the outcry here and elsewhere if Apple stayed on the old form factor for so long? It would be immense. You have to innovate and take risks to gain something big. I doesn't always turn out to be the best decision, but at least a decision is made.