Don't miss 3D touch either. Have never tried touch bar, so will stay neutral. But remember when it was introduced, it felt like Apple was trying to hard to be different just to be different and not going touchscreen like every other laptop manufacturer.
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Why do people hate the Touch Bar?
- Thread starter antisomnic
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I have to agree with the OP, I like the touch bar(TB). Now I did have to take Siri out of the TB because she was all too easy to bring up but the fix was quite simple. I current version of the TB with the physical ESC key is pretty nice, it is used by Apple apps and some third party app more often than when it was introduced and it does provide some nice functionality. It does not slow down my typing at all and it provides easy access to functions. You can do some very basic customizing of the TB in settings, otherwise you can grab a third party app for cheap and do some pretty nice things with the TB. I hope the TB remains an option, I also would like to see Apple do more with it.
I also must admit that I'm a fan of the Touch Bar (as well). I haven't noticed any defects or bugs with mine, although I am glad to have a physical esc key now.
My 2016 has a touch bar and to be honest I really don't use it at all. I find that the lack of consistency in terms of what it displays, which is the great selling point of the idea, actually means I have to look at it if I am looking for a function. This isn't a bad thing in itself, but since I use (mostly) standard keyboards with function keys on other Macs and PCs, and the MBP is the only system I have with a touch bar, it doesn't really fit my pattern of use or needs.
When I decided recently to add an M1 to my laptops, I decided on the Air, because there was to me, no advantage in having another touch bar.
It isn't hate though, it's simply that in my case at least, it doesn't do anything for me in a world otherwise filled with function keys.
When I decided recently to add an M1 to my laptops, I decided on the Air, because there was to me, no advantage in having another touch bar.
It isn't hate though, it's simply that in my case at least, it doesn't do anything for me in a world otherwise filled with function keys.
No tactile feedback. I have to look at it in order to use it. It results in a different workflow when using an external keyboard/mouse since no external keyboards have it (nor should they). It's a waste for me since I usually use my laptop docked. I hate changing the volume with it; it's much faster to just use function keys. It forces developers to update their software to do something with it. It's a waste of tech/money since it slows me down. I especially hated that they took away the physical escape key but at least they brought it back. It's a perfect example of trying to fix what's not broken.
I use function keys all day long in my day job and I'd much rather have the regular fn keys back. I'd even pay more to not have the touch bar. I really hate it. I really hope the rumors are true and that they're getting rid of this stupid gimmick.
I use function keys all day long in my day job and I'd much rather have the regular fn keys back. I'd even pay more to not have the touch bar. I really hate it. I really hope the rumors are true and that they're getting rid of this stupid gimmick.
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The Touch Bar is a solution for a problem that never existed in the first place. It's a answer to a question that nobody ever asked, a pill for an illness they had to invent first to justify its existance, an antidote for a poison that doesn't exist.
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I'm one of them, though I really wish I had gotten the MBP Pro instead. Not for the touchbar, but for the active cooling.
I would argue against the "inferior specs" of the MBA... for my purpose the MBA is an awesome machine...
Just like butterfly keyboard. No one had asked or wanted a flatter keyboard and less keytravel.
Oh why, it is sooo nice not to have a fan. It was my primary reason to go with air after many years of downclocking my machines, to minimize noise. I just wish they had revived the 12" model, since I prefer the physical size of my old 11" MBA.
It is nice not having a fan, and for light stuff, the MBA is just as fast. I tend to hit a machine, processor-wise, pretty heavily, and the MBA really can't cool itself well enough.
I'm also the type that never downclocks my PC's. In fact, I just added a new i9 Workstation with a good GPU to my home menagerie because my Windows's PCs were getting a bit old and slow, like me.
The Touch Bar takes longer to use the basic function keys I and many others use most frequently: brightness, playback and sound. I want to adjust those immediately, not click the Touch Bar first to expand the menu.
The scissor switch keyboards we all love are flatter and have less travel than the powerbook keyboards they replaced.
Touch typists rely on tactile feedback for the muscle memory to work properly. While I never touch-typed F keys (although volume/brightness were tucked in memory), there's another issue with touch typing on a Touch Bar mac: with a traditional keyboard, stray grazes of neighboring keys doesn't activate them, but minuscule grazes on the Touch Bar does --- the number of times I've accidentally activated a function on the touch bar while coding is non-trivial. Not only do we now need to look at the keyboard to perform certain tasks, accidental grazes can cause destructive changes to what you're working on. It's annoying.
This is one of the main reasons I chose an M1 MBA. I had the first 15” MBP with the touch bar, I quickly grew to hate the Touch Bar. Partly because I am a touch typist, so having to look what you are doing slows you down. As others have said it was too easy to touch the virtual esc key and lose everything you just entered. I had 1/2 drafted emails that accidentally got sent by brushing my hand over the virtual send button.
If you use an external keyboard, then the Touch Bar is wasted, if you have a desktop Mac as well then you have to learn two different typing workflows. Apple never expanded the Touch Bar to any other Mac.
The whole subject is probably moot anyway now as all rumors point to Apple ditching the Touchbar on the next MBP release. Thank god I can now consider a MBP again if they do.
Prove where it adds cost. Nobody has been able to prove that claim. I've been using Macs exclusively for the past 28 years all the way up to my current 16" MBP and the prices have been the same.
@antisomnic I happen to love the Touch Bar. I use it often to scrub my Final Cut Pro X videos and I love how it frees up valuable screen real estate when photo editing because the pallets are in the Touch Bar. There's only a few people who feel the need to trash it and much of these same people have never owned a Mac with one.
I've had the 2016, 2018 and my 2019 16" MBP. It's never broken. Don't make stuff up. 🙄
Where did Apple state they were killing off the Touch Bar. First I've heard of this.
If you love it, that's fine. If you go back to everymac.com and check out prices, they did go up with the TouchBar models were released. That isn't uncommon though with a redesign.
I do use a 16" MBP. I mind less now that the physical escape key has returned. Before, having to use the touch version was extremely frustrating. There are some situations where it is useful. But for me, the cons of the TouchBar outweigh the benefits. I do also spend a fair amount of time using it with external peripherals, and as others have noted, it then goes away, it's an inconsistent user experience.
I've grown to like it. Once I installed Pock and a Haptic Feedback utility to add haptic feedback to the TouchBar, it became useful. Being able to control Spotify with a quick touch, or open an app is useful for me. There are some useful shortcuts in a few of my apps too.
Game-changer? Hell no.
Has it become useful? Yes.
Game-changer? Hell no.
Has it become useful? Yes.
I LOVE the touchbar
Literally use it 100x per day.
But the software I use has adapted to it and it will be seriously missed in the workflow when it’s gone.
The F keys were always useless to me. They are a relic.
The funny part is most people are in the “I hate it because I never use it” camp. That’s such a strange mentality to me.
…just because I have never used the cupholders in my car doesn’t mean I think everyone should lose them. I mean it’s “just another thing to break” right?
Literally use it 100x per day.
But the software I use has adapted to it and it will be seriously missed in the workflow when it’s gone.
The F keys were always useless to me. They are a relic.
The funny part is most people are in the “I hate it because I never use it” camp. That’s such a strange mentality to me.
…just because I have never used the cupholders in my car doesn’t mean I think everyone should lose them. I mean it’s “just another thing to break” right?
Obviously, they didn't. But enough rumors weren't pointing in that direction and apple's own indifference towards it gave me the confidence there wasn't about to be major investment in it at very best. I think it'll surprise most if it makes it to the new generation M1 MBP's.
Wow. Don't give up your day job. Predicting what Apple will do is NOT your strong suit.