Goodbye Touch Bar

We first saw the Touch Bar in 2016. Its release coincided with a major redesign of the MacBook Pro body. The 2016 model turned out to be rich in innovations – in addition to the new touch panel above the keyboard, the notorious butterfly keyboard soldered to the SSD card, a USB-C port and more came to professional MacBooks.

The Touch Bar has been criticized from day one: it replaces a set of function keys (F1, F2 and others) that a large number of users need. The panel allowed software developers to view various settings, menus, and requests on this screen. The buttons changed depending on which programs or specific functions were open at the time. For example, in graphics editors you can access the color selection slider or save format settings.

Choose file save format in Touch Bar / Unsplash photos

Touch Bar / Adjust volume on Unsplash photo

Touch Bar expands the features of the function keys, providing faster and easier access to functions; All you have to do is tap the button you want. However, users did not accept this. They did not get the predictability and tactile feedback desired for blind pressing. So MacBook Pro owners are forever divided between those who love the Touch Bar and those who hate it.

Apple could never convince users to like the Touch Bar; Although it was very functional, it never became popular. Sensing the trend, the company slowly started to give up on this:

• In 2019, the MacBook Pro 16 with a reduced touch panel was released.
• In the 2021 redesign, the touch bar is completely gone, remaining only on the younger 13-inch Pro.
• Now, with the release of laptops with M3 processors, we say goodbye to both this outdated model and the Touch Bar.