Do you think touch bar should be limited to top-end MBPs?

[groove-agent]

So my 2012 cMBP is starting to die and I'm really trying to convince myself to buy one of the new MBPs. However, I agree with the most popular complaints: 1) the touch bar is gimmicky/ counter-productive and 2) the laptops are too expensive for what you get.

Subsequently, I was thinking that Apple should limit the touch bar to the highest model 13 and 15". This would bring the price down and satisfy most people who don't want or won't use the touch bar. I personally would rather have physical keys, esp the escape key which I use more than I thought.

What do you think?

 

[jerryk]

I think they need to commit to it or abandon it. Put it everywhere, or nowhere. The current situation feels like it was to placate two opposing groups on the design committee.

 

[Fancuku]

I think the TB should be optional. For example, I wanted the i7 and the Iris 550 graphics of the late 2016 model but without the TB.

 

[marcos8]

It's just a way to up sell Touch ID. I think Touch ID should be on every device as to be able to use Apple Pay from anywhere.

 

[TofSanity]

I am ok with mine. I never use the function keys. I have only ever used the volume on any of my old MacBooks. I find myself using the touch bar a bit more now that I have one. is it worth the extra price, probably not, but one can't buy a 15" MacBook Pro without.

 

[ZapNZs]

I would prefer it be optional. It isn't something I have much use for, and I could put the money saved towards a RAM, processor, GPU, or SSD upgrade. But I don't make decisions on Apple's behalf so my opinion is not worth much.

My opinion would be different if the touch bar had hepatic feedback - I would be much more enthusiastic towards it.

 

[falcon511]

I am okay with the TB. I like it for the volume controls, pausing itunes, activating siri. I hope they redesign the Keyboard they sell separately but I think that is a ways off.

 

[groove-agent]

I think they need to commit to it or abandon it. Put it everywhere, or nowhere. The current situation feels like it was to placate two opposing groups on the design committee.

They probably do both to test the waters. Let the sales determine which way to go.
[doublepost=1499490574][/doublepost]

I think the TB should be optional. For example, I wanted the i7 and the Iris 550 graphics of the late 2016 model but without the TB.

Yes, like antiglare or glossy screens back in the day.
[doublepost=1499491246][/doublepost]

I am ok with mine. I never use the function keys. I have only ever used the volume on any of my old MacBooks. I find myself using the touch bar a bit more now that I have one. is it worth the extra price, probably not, but one can't buy a 15" MacBook Pro without.

I'd buy a MBP without the touch bar it had TB3 but unfortunately it does not.

 

[caramelpolice]

The only reason they have a non-TB Pro right now is because the 13" Pro is traditionally one of their best selling machines and they need a model that doesn't start at $1799, which would price a significant portion of the traditional buyers out of the market for it.

There's no 15" Pro with no TB because they expect 15" Pro buyers are already used to paying $2K+.

 

[groove-agent]

The only reason they have a non-TB Pro right now is because the 13" Pro is traditionally one of their best selling machines and they need a model that doesn't start at $1799, which would price a significant portion of the traditional buyers out of the market for it.

There's no 15" Pro with no TB because they expect 15" Pro buyers are already used to paying $2K+.

There is a 15" with no TB:

https://www.apple.com/ca/shop/buy-mac/macbook-pro?product=MJLQ2LL/A&step=config#

Unfortunately it still has thunderbolt 2.

 

[maerz001]

There is a 15" with no TB:

https://www.apple.com/ca/shop/buy-mac/macbook-pro?product=MJLQ2LL/A&step=config#

Unfortunately it still has thunderbolt 2.

Unfortunately it is the 5y old design

 

[caramelpolice]

There is a 15" with no TB:

https://www.apple.com/ca/shop/buy-mac/macbook-pro?product=MJLQ2LL/A&step=config#

Unfortunately it still has thunderbolt 2.

That's just the 2015 model, which they still sell. There's no 2016/2017 15" Pro with no Touch Bar.

 

[Hadron]

They probably do both to test the waters. Let the sales determine which way to go.

Except it's not a good test, since the available configurations differ in other ways. In particular, the non-TB models only have 2 ports, which in the traditional Apple style are on the same side and very close to each other so that an accessory in one can easily block the other - a piece of stupid design that my 2010 15" MBP also suffered from. And the 15" doesn't even offer that option. So if I buy one as my next replacement it will be because of other reasons, and despite the touch bar rather than because of it.

Hence I don't think that sales figures are a good measure of the desirability of the touch bar itself, and if they read them as such they would be kidding themselves.

 

[Trey M]

I think you can make an argument that it should be optional on every configuration. People in certain fields (developers, accountants, etc) are very reliant on Function keys, and I don't think you can really say that the Touchbar would be a superior solution for those users. It's just not.

That being said, I do enjoy my Touchbar and I would opt-in for one, given the choice. For myself, it IS an upgrade since it can do everything it did before plus much more (I hardly ever use Function keys). My particular favorites are the iTunes/music scrubbing as well as the volume/brightness sliders. TouchID is also amazing; it's the one feature which I feel users of a non-Touchbar model would really miss.

It is still early for this technology, though, and the developer community still has a long way to go with the Touchbar. BetterTouchTool has shown the true potential of the Touchbar, however it requires a lot of manual configuration. Apple needs to find a way to customize this thing in a user-friendly way.

 

[winterny]

I've had a a touchbar a few weeks now since I got my 2017 15".

My opinion:
1) They should have at a minimum kept the physical escape button
2) The touch id is fantastic
3) The touch bar is otherwise 'meh'
4) It should be all or none, if apple is committed, it should be on all systems so that developers have a real incentive to develop something that, in the current situation, does not work on the Mac Pro, iMac, Macbook, and probably 25% of the Macbook Pro's still sold today.
5) Apple's current level of commitment is going to lead to it being a gimmick unfortunately.

 

[WhiteWhaleHolyGrail]

Do I think that the TB should be restricted to 'top end MPBs' to allow for the return of the anitiquated FN button strip for a paltry saving on what is, whichever way you spin it, a premium priced product? No. To me, the suggestion is a little ridiculous.

Some people really do hate change. Personally, I embrace it.

 

[The Mercurian]

On the contrary OP, I would only buy a top end MBP if it was available without the touchBar.

And lest ye think I'm a crank. I like the new keyboards as it happens. But TB - no, no way.

 

[Trey M]

Some people really do hate change. Personally, I embrace it.

Life's a bit more enjoyable that way lol.

 

[glhughes]

Do I think that the TB should be restricted to 'top end MPBs' to allow for the return of the anitiquated FN button strip for a paltry saving on what is, whichever way you spin it, a premium priced product? No. To me, the suggestion is a little ridiculous.

Some people really do hate change. Personally, I embrace it.

I use the function keys a lot (programming / debugging). I really need the physical keys so I can access them without looking at the keyboard all the time. The touchbar is nothing but a gimmick, IMO. I get the purpose of the touch ID and that should be on all of the machines, but not the touchbar. If anything make it an option -- maybe even a free one. I would have no problem paying the same price for the non-TB version as the TB version (which I practically did anyway as I maxed out my non-TB 2016).

 

[ulfertg]

I could imagine that the TB is beneficial for users wich don't do touch typing and don't use shortcuts.
I do both and I'm not very happy with the TB. I like the scrubbing feature while watching videos or surfing the net while listening to music, but in the majority of my use cases I consider it useless if not annoying.

I would've paid extra to get the new MacBook Pro without TB.

I really like the new keyboard though and the extended gamut of the screen is a major benefit for me.
And I absolutely love Thunderbolt 3, one plug for everything I currently need to connect is incredible.

So all in all I can live with the small TB-drawback

 

[Super Xander]

Touch Bar should be implemented in every Mac - with no option to get functions keys.
My point is not to let people spend more on Macs, but if they need Touch Bar to be a serious innovative product, they need to implement it everywhere.

The more people having it -> The more they use it -> Developers spend more times on Touch Bar -> Better and more important ideas for Touch Bar -> Touch Bar starts to make sense.
The iPhone and iPad were not any special product at all if developers did not make apps for it - just like Windows Phone at the time.

People who don't like the idea of Touch Bar could just turn the function keys on in settings.

 

[glhughes]

People who don't like the idea of Touch Bar could just turn the function keys on in settings.

There's no substitute for a physical key that you can feel without looking (and without unintentionally pressing). If Apple can get to that point with the TB then maybe. But as it is right now it's an unusable gimmick for pretty much anybody using the machine for professional workloads (e.g. development).