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I like the Touch Bar

mikethebigo

mikethebigo

macrumors 68020
Original poster
May 25, 2009
2,433
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Basically title. I've seen a lot of hate for this thing, and I appreciate that some people like predictable and tactile keys in that area. But now, having owned a MBP with it, I've found I really like it. The touch controls are intuitive, and doing such things as sliding through videos or sliding the volume/brightness bar, or filling in forms/passwords in Safari, etc are all really nice. Of course it's fun to use for emojis as well. Just saying, I know it's hated by many, but I find it to be a really nice addition to the MBP :)
 
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I have a 15" 2017 MP and I love the TouchBar, especially for writing. it seems to anticipate what I'm going to say, and of course it remembers key phrases that I use. having the emojis handy is also fun for me.
 
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I reckon it seems like a great idea, my laptop is pretty much always hooked into a large monitor with a seperate keyboard though so I’d never be able to use it. :(
I really hope they release a keyboard with it one of these days.
 
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I love using it to scroll through photos in the Photos app; I can scroll much faster via the touch bar than I can the trackpad.
 
touchbar itself (by apple) is quite useless, atleast for me, but with bettertouchtool it is useful and i actually use it. able to add scripts etc. is a big bonus.
 
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I know, that I'm early on in my Touchbar ownership, but I've not used it. I still find using combination keys or the mouse to be more efficient then reach across the keyboard.
 
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My 2018 MacBook Pro is also my first experience with the touchbar. I can for sure see why some aren’t a fan / don’t use it.. but I personally like it. It looks pretty high tech and I like how it adapts to whatever you’re doing.
 
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I’ve liked it from the start. I don’t use it religiously, but when I do, I find it to be a useful addition for the reasons described here. The slider through various apps, the toolbar when using word processing and excel spreadsheets, the extra window when web browsing multiple sites, and the fact that I can customize it on the fly to be what I want it to be. I’d say the only thing they should had done is install a haptic engine.
 
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I like it as well. Check out BetterTouchTool for some custom mods you can do with it. It won’t be for everyone, but it definitely adds some very useful functionality in a lot of areas.
 
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I love the Touch Bar... when I can use it in the Apple Store. :p What a dream it would be to own one, I can see a lot of uses for it. Especially that force touch trackpad.
 
Thank you. Over the last two years I have read so many negative reports, it's universally panned in the reviews. I was actually cringing over trying it for the first time with my 2018 MacBook Pro. I wanted to ignore it, I was so prepared to hate it and have to agree with the haters.

But then I found once using it so many reasons I actually like it. Caught me by surprise. No innovation can be for everyone, some will have legitimate reasons why it doesn't fit their work flow, but still, I really really like the Touch Bar. So maybe its like the notch? easy to hate the idea, but in practice not what one thought?

Maybe I am the ideal touch bar person, I never really liked function keys, never could remember what they were for. This just seems so much more intuitive.
 
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maflynn said:
I know, that I'm early on in my Touchbar ownership, but I've not used it. I still find using combination keys or the mouse to be more efficient then reach across the keyboard.
Click to expand...


It is but there is times where I am just using it because its easier. I love the word predictions like with the iPhone keyboard does on iPhones.
 
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I must not understand the software vendor market. I would think that the more touch bars out there, the more incentive there would be for software vendors to support it. They should release a TB keyboard.
 
kohlson said:
the more incentive there would be for software vendors to support it.
Click to expand...
Its a feature on small set of computers. So do you want vendors to dedicate time and money on those few laptops owners ignoring, Mac Pro, iMac and Mac Minis.
 
maflynn said:
Its a feature on small set of computers.
Click to expand...
My point exactly, though apparently not very clear. Create standalone TB keyboards and then Minis, MPs, iMacs - even older MBPs - can use them. This would increase the total addressable market to a point where more software vendors would be interested.
 
I also love the touchbar. Its a welcome addition in my case because I can't remember the last time I used a function key for anything. When I had my MacBook Air the only thing I used the function keys for was for the pictured function of changing brightness or volume lol. So the touchbar to me is great as it adds a lot of functionality. it's great for writing, and I like filling in passwords on Safari.

I can see how some wouldn't like it, but I almost don't see how it can be a dealbreaker item. Even if you don't like it you can just set it to function buttons. To each his own though I suppose...
 
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maflynn said:
I know, that I'm early on in my Touchbar ownership, but I've not used it. I still find using combination keys or the mouse to be more efficient then reach across the keyboard.
Click to expand...

Likewise... loving the TouchID feature for Pay and have installed BTT ... but still trying to figure it all out. I really want to like it.
[doublepost=1533174537][/doublepost]
kohlson said:
I must not understand the software vendor market. I would think that the more touch bars out there, the more incentive there would be for software vendors to support it. They should release a TB keyboard.
Click to expand...

I would like to see it for my iMac... but Apple would need to find a way to protect the Secure Enclave between a detached keyboard and the iMac itself. I'm sure it could be done...
 
I absolutely hated the touch bar, it just made all the actions twice as long (like brightness/volume). Lack of physical ESC key is infuriating. Word prediction unless I am typing with one finger blindfolded is absolutely useless. Emoji swiper - I only use around 10 or so, don't need it. Running in the background 24/7 and eating up the battery life. Also more high tech components = more stuff that can break.

Also if the touch bar is so great why didn't they install in on the iMac pro keyboard? Oh wait, it's cause everybody would buy a $40 Logitech instead that is actually designed for work.

Overall, I am really hoping it's gonna go away. Remember how "A touch of genius" was all over Apple's website and all ads? Well, in this update there was not a single word about the touch bar. Probably because they realize what a disaster it is.
 
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