![]() Apple patched this later on, but this didn’t make the Touch Bar’s start any better. The result was often a nuisance, causing website refreshes and the closing of files. Before MacBook Pro users got used to the placement of it, many ran into issues with accidentally brushing the Touch Bar while typing something on the upper half of the keyboard. The awkwardness of the Touch Bar was especially bothersome in its early years. In addition, the combination of typing and touch control was just awkward to use for some, further putting them off the technology. But the fact is, during daily use, our hands are rarely near where the Touch Bar was. Most of us have learned to use keyboards a certain way, though laptop users adapted to the use of a trackpad, as well as its usual location on MacBooks. Part of it may be the lack of advertising and support from Apple, but another part is the fact that the Touch Bar was simply annoying to use for most people. This made it easy for it to slip away unnoticed, and most people who own a MacBook Pro never even bothered to use the Touch Bar. Too bad the Touch Bar vision didn't win out over the more disappointing reality.The brand also didn’t really advertise the feature much beyond its initial release. Apple's vision served us well with the Macintosh, iPod and iPhone. Vision isn't everythingĪpple co-founder Steve Jobs famously disliked focus groups, believing consumers lacked the vision to know what they really wanted. Adobe cooperated with Apple to build Touch Bar abilities into Photoshop in time for the MacBook Pro's launch, but never bothered with Adobe Lightroom, the photo editing tool that I use most of the time. There simply isn't much incentive for developers to invest in supporting it. Macs already are a small part of the laptop market, and Touch Bar-equipped MacBook Pros are an even smaller part. Weak software support also undermined the Touch Bar's potential. Apple has publicly pooh-poohed the idea of touchscreen Macs for years. It's natural enough that afterward, I find myself tapping and swiping my MacBook screens. In contrast, I use the touchscreens on Windows laptops and Chromebooks all the time to position my cursor, check checkboxes and scroll through documents. Call me old-fashioned, but keyboards are for typing and screens are for displaying information. In practice, that just didn't work for me. Apple/Screenshot by Stephen Shankland/CNET Welcome back, physical MacBook Pro function keys. (It's clear Apple was listening to feedback, a pleasant surprise for a company that can be imperious.) The company fixed that problem with its 2019-era MacBook Pro models, which also ejected the despised "butterfly" keyboard. ![]() Turns out that escape key is usefulĪnother widespread Touch Bar complaint, particularly among programmers, was the sacrifice of a physical escape key for the first three years of the Touch Bar's existence. The Touch Bar handles this function just fine, though it's hardly revolutionary. ![]() The only bright spot for me is occasionally scrubbing through video. Still, I find it harder than ever to get the volume and brightness controls to respond quickly on the latest Macs. To its credit, Apple updates eased these problems. When typing numbers into a web form, my fingertips sometimes overshot and brushed against some Touch Bar button to launch some disastrous process like reloading the page. Even ardent fans would be dispirited to learn how much the Touch Bar shortens battery life and increases the MacBook Pro's already considerable cost.Įspecially in its early years, the Touch Bar was prone to false positives. ![]() Read more: How to buy Apple's new MacBook, but it may cost you a lot So yes, I'm delighted that Apple ditched the Touch Bar in the new MacBook Pro 16-inch and 14-inch laptops with upgraded Apple silicon, which it announced at an October product event where it also unveiled the AirPods 3 and new HomePod Mini colors. When Apple announced it, then-design leader Jony Ive told CNET the Touch Bar is "the beginning of a very interesting direction." Now it's the merciful end. It's an overengineered doodad that caused problems I never had with keyboards, and it offered features I never used. It was a chance to try something new.Īlas, after months of daily use, I concluded that for me, the Touch Bar is far worse than the function keys it replaced. The narrow touch-sensitive display along the top of the keyboard certainly offered a surprising new user interface option. When Apple debuted the Touch Bar on its new MacBook Pro laptops five years ago, I was willing to give the technology giant the benefit of the doubt. ![]()
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