I disagree strongly that the Touch Bar is a mistake. My work machine has the touch bar and it's been a big revelation. Much prefer it, and going back to my personal laptop (last gen MBA) I often miss the Touch Bar, as the function keys feel so limited. That said, I've also had zero issues with the removal of the headphone jack on my iPhone and in the two months I've had a phone without one, haven't had a single instance where I wanted or needed it. But I do have an external keyboard with Cherry MX Blues that I often hook up when I want to do some serious typing. Laptop keyboards are fine for email and the like, but if I'm gonna sit down for 2-3 hours at a time and really put some words on a page, I want something with more tactile feedback than any laptop can or will ever give me.
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Will Apple Abandon Touch Bar with next generation MacBook Pro?
- Thread starter bballers29
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I disagree strongly that the Touch Bar is a mistake. My work machine has the touch bar and it's been a big revelation. Much prefer it, and going back to my personal laptop (last gen MBA) I often miss the Touch Bar, as the function keys feel so limited. That said, I've also had zero issues with the removal of the headphone jack on my iPhone and in the two months I've had a phone without one, haven't had a single instance where I wanted or needed it. But I do have an external keyboard with Cherry MX Blues that I often hook up when I want to do some serious typing. Laptop keyboards are fine for email and the like, but if I'm gonna sit down for 2-3 hours at a time and really put some words on a page, I want something with more tactile feedback than any laptop can or will ever give me.
roland.g
Suspended
Interestingly, we all have opinions. And while there may be quite a few other users who dislike the TouchBar and might similarly dislike a particular keyboard or miss the headphone jack, that is still just opinion. Not necessarily a mistake. There’s nothing to admit. You just don’t agree with those changes. Your prerogative.
MacNut
macrumors Core
The biggest mistake was removing MagSafe.
Quite frankly USB-C is terrible. I wish Apple open-licensed Lightening several years ago.
That being said, there are MagSafe options available, e.g. https://www.vinpok.com/products/bolt-usb-c-magnetic-cable-for-macbook-pro?variant=8062065639468
filmbuff
macrumors 6502a
When they first announced it I thought "I can't believe they're getting rid of Magsafe!" Then after thinking about it for a bit I realized magsafe is actually a pain. Especially using my laptop on the couch or in bed, just constantly falling off. Any time I get up, magsafe falls off. Times I've actually tripped on the cord and needed Magsafe: 0 times. So I'd much rather have a small connecter that I can plug into either side of the laptop and also charge from my monitor.
ssmed
macrumors 6502a
At least you wouldn't get stuck keys then - would be quite good in dirty environments. Not that I want that!
MacNut
macrumors Core
I've tripped onto cord plenty. Or the dog walks by and knocks it out. It's saved me plenty of times.
LogicalApex
macrumors 68000
I think 2020 is the absolute earliest there might be a MacBook Pro redesign, and that it’s unrealistic to expect one in 2019. I also think it’s very unlikely that Apple would introduce the Touch Bar in one generation and then remove it the next. It would be too much of a waste of the design and engineering effort that went into it, and too much of an admission of failure.
In my view, if Apple thinks that people don’t like the Touch Bar, they will work to improve it and do MORE with it, not remove it.
In my view, if Apple thinks that people don’t like the Touch Bar, they will work to improve it and do MORE with it, not remove it.
roland.g
Suspended
Incompatible with 2018 MBP but works with 2016/2017? Hmm.
45% discount. Seems like a problematic solution.
And who wants a nub sticking off the side of your laptop all the time.
I said there are MagSafe options available, I didn't say they were good 😛
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The connector for starters. Lightening design is far better than USB-C. On Lightning, it's a male connector that goes into a female port. On USB-C, it's the worst of both worlds because it's basically male-to-male because the connector is hollow. (Not sure which one of the 9 genders this cable identifies with.) Because of its design, the connector does not sit snug either. On a brand new cord/USB-C port, there is too much free play if you wiggle the connector up and down with your thumb and index finger. If you compare that to a Lightening cable/port you'll know what I mean. I've read many stories from people complaining about USB-C ports not holding up over time. I am super careful an OCD about looking after my electronics, and I even feel like this connector is not going to last several years.
Then you have USB-C standards, which is undoubtedly the most confusing of all time.
https://www.digitaltrends.com/computing/usb-c-implementation-messy-and-unclear/
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LogicalApex
macrumors 68000
The connector for USB C is very robust. Apple also ensures that the plastic piece sticking out on the USB port is reinforced with metal which should help keep it robust over time. I don't think we'll see a repeat of the mess from MicroUSB where the plastic piece was super thin and easily broken. I also don't think a little play in the connector is a bad thing. It reduces the stress the port is under if it has a little play. So long as the play doesn't interfere with the operation of the port. I'm also sure that the USB C port having no pins on the walls of the inside of the port greatly reduces damage from wiggling and dust.
USB has always been a complicated standard. It was originally envisioned to be the sole port on a computer connecting to external devices and it was confusing from day 1 as it was replacing a hodgepodge of ports. There used to be a time where you needed a Parallel Port for your printer and a Serial port for your mouse! Universal standards always have added complexity as they try to cover all basis. USB C is a return to the original intent of USB, but done right from the port perspective (one port on both sides and the cable can be connected in any way). The user side is a bit more complicated and always will be. As not all USB C ports and cables will be capable of everything (this was true in older flavors of USB as well!).
Lightening wouldn't have worked as a universal standard as it doesn't support a lot... It was heavily geared toward giving Apple a smaller connector for their mobile devices, but it doesn't have enough pins to cover things such as Power Delivery (regulations get a bit more involved when you're pushing 100W of power through a cable compared to 12W). Adding this stuff to lightening would have resulted in a changed port with older cables supporting some, but not all functionality, and users needing to potentially upgrade devices and cables. If you're going to do this might as well go where they went and adopt a better port which USB C is.
I don't know anything about the technical capabilities between the two....just saying I much prefer the Lightening connector's design. Even if USB-C was more that style; flat male connector on the cable it would have been better.
jlc1978
macrumors 604
Ah yes, the old RSC-32 port. RSC - Relatively Standard Connection. Gender changers. Pinouts. The good old days when you could (had to) make your own cables.
LogicalApex
macrumors 68000
Why would this be better? The USB C connector is a solid piece of metal on the edges that should allow the port to be very strong without having pins that would be damaged. The protruding piece of the USB C connector on the device is flat similar to the male piece of a lightening connector with all pins on the USB C cable which is far easier and cheaper for the user to replace when damaged. The last place you want damaged pins are on your expensive device.
For instance: https://forums.macrumors.com/thread...o-anyone-with-any-experience-of-this.2029598/
roland.g
Suspended
Transgender connector. That’s awesome.
My laptop has hermaphrodite ports!!
The Touch Bar is like iPod 3rd gen with those bastardised touch buttons, a one off generation that was immediately replaced by superior and more logical touch+click wheel. Good old tactile KB keys are like the 1st/2nd gen click wheel, where the 4th gen touch wheel did successfully fully mimic. In retrospect the 3rd gen layout was clearly out of norm if not straight out bad in ergonomics context.
This Touch Bar gen of MBPs are the same, they are like transitional prototypes, users and devs are beta testers to help the eventual touch/haptic based interface that will likely come later.
For those who don't know, from left to right:
iPod 2nd gen (touch wheel with tactile buttons out ring)
iPod 3rd gen (touch buttons on top row, almost need visual confirmation to find)
iPod 4th gen (touch+click wheel with buttons embedded under wheel)
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antonis
macrumors 68020
Absolutely, maybe technology will surprise us, but it's nowhere near it yet (e.g. a glass that will gently subside under pressure in order to absorb a part of the force applied by fingers during typing in order to protect them). However, we need to keep in mind that typing on a phone screen has nothing to do with the keyboard typing on a computer. On the latter you might type constantly for hours because of coding, text writing etc etc. It's a different beast.
Siri was the first thing I removed from it.
Actually I never touch it by mistake. But if you have a problem with that, I suspect in the corner near the Touch ID/backspace key, one solution is to use something like BetterTouchTool to customise it yourself and put something that doesn't respond in that corner (a clock or battery widget, or just a blank tile with no actions).
I actually have a lock button there, because with confidential information on the laptop and closing the lid not locking it because it's attached to an external display this is important to me, and lock next to unlock seems logical to my mind. But as I say, I don't have a problem with accidentally hitting it myself. And yeah, I've customised it in ways that Apple's limited options don't allow, making it semi-useful, but it's really only the lock button and desktop switchers I use, plus battery and clock widgets (which are handy since they allow me to auto-hide the menu bar without losing instant access to that information). But it's not exactly revolutionary and I doubt I'd miss it if my next laptop didn't have it.
Well I don't think that they will ever remove this touch bar. If the touch bar has a problem, they will it. They are going to fix it until the customers are satisfied and used to its existence. They do not remove a function just because their customers feel strange about it. Look at the 3D touch on iPhone and how it still manages to survive until today. They never stop improve a function until it is at its peak of performance, and the touch bar will live the same life as the 3D touch.
Some may consider this is wasting time and much bothering, but I do consider this as a sign that Apple is responsible for their products and decisions. They do not remove or drop a feature out halfway just because the customers do not like it when they have not tried it at its best yet.
Look at Microsoft. They have been telling, advertising, forcing its users to use the browser Edge which is barely completely finished, and now Microsoft is ditching it, starting to built another browser. Look at its Groove music service, they killed earlier this year after just more than 1 year developing, and tons of other things.
I am so glad that Apple never works in that way.
Some may consider this is wasting time and much bothering, but I do consider this as a sign that Apple is responsible for their products and decisions. They do not remove or drop a feature out halfway just because the customers do not like it when they have not tried it at its best yet.
Look at Microsoft. They have been telling, advertising, forcing its users to use the browser Edge which is barely completely finished, and now Microsoft is ditching it, starting to built another browser. Look at its Groove music service, they killed earlier this year after just more than 1 year developing, and tons of other things.
I am so glad that Apple never works in that way.
Trusteft
macrumors 65816
I hope they remove the touch bar from future generation(s) of their laptops.
Just one more thing that can go wrong without adding anything important.
Plenty of room for a touchbar that most people use just for volume control, but no room for a sdcard...right.
What I find hilarious is when in some videos some youtubers claim the touchbar is very helpful for video editors. I laugh and laugh and laugh. That's what video editors love, taking their eyes off the screen and on a touchbar on the keybard.
The sooner it is removed, the better.
Just one more thing that can go wrong without adding anything important.
Plenty of room for a touchbar that most people use just for volume control, but no room for a sdcard...right.
What I find hilarious is when in some videos some youtubers claim the touchbar is very helpful for video editors. I laugh and laugh and laugh. That's what video editors love, taking their eyes off the screen and on a touchbar on the keybard.
The sooner it is removed, the better.
MrGunnyPT
macrumors 65816
I agree 2020 for the new redesign without a doubt.
Touch Bar might involve into something else.. Who knows besides them tbh
Touchbar seems like something you would put on a kids toy, not on the most powerful laptop in your lineup. It is a gimmick in the long list of things apple has screwed up post 2015. That they have not put this in any other device and barely even mention this in their events gives me hope they will kill it eventually.
Mythos99
macrumors regular
I know they want get rid of it, cause god forbid Apple admits making a mistake... but, can't they just put back the f-keys, and put the touchbar above the normal f-keys? I wouldn't mind this gimmicky thing then that much, although i'm paying more for a MBP because of the stupid TB. I have it, and it's just so damn annoying.
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