MacBook Pro M2 No Touch Bar Tragedy

[DeviJ]

I see there's no touchbar on the new MacBookPro M2 16"/15", only on the 13". I'm not a gnome and want to buy an equivalent screen size to my present MacBookPro 16" Intel Core!
What are Apple doing? Back to dumb old function keys in this day and age?
If you feel as gutted as I am, I'm inviting you to use the official Apple feedback form at Feedback - MacBook Pro - Apple
to let them know your views.
Devi

 

[pigoo3]

I see there's no touch bar on the new MacBookPro M2 16"/15", only on the 13".

The new M2 MacBook Pro's are 14" and 16".

The Touch bar was removed with the introduction of the M1 14" and 16" MacBook Pro's 18 months ago...thus is is not new news.

Also...many users did not like the touch bar (on top of the fact they were "buggy")...thus Apple removed the Touch bar.

- Nick

p.s. Removal of the Touch Bar is NOT a "Tragedy". A "Tragedy" is:

* War in Ukraine.
* Not having something to eat.
* Being homeless.
* Someone in your family passing away.

Removal of the Touch Bar on a MacBook Pro is NOT a tragedy.

 

[DeviJ]

I take your point about 'tragedy' but ask you to remember that feelings are relative. I'm fortunate not to be experiencing any of the four possibilities you mention, and trust that you, too, are fortunate in the same way. I respect your opinion; we simply differ in our metrics, and so I ask you to respect mine.
Anyway, it'll be interesting to see what people make of the poll on the issue.

 

[Raz0rEdge]

The touchbar was not received well and virtually no 3rd party developer really embraced it to make it an effective tool. It never left the realm of a gimmick and any smart company will evaluate things that work and remove things that don't..

The same thing with the removal of the magsafe charger and its return.

Your opinion is indeed yours and we are neither going to refute it or support it.

 

[pigoo3]

Since I purchase all my computers used...I unfortunately have a 2017 15" MacBook Pro with a touchbar. The 2017 15" MacBook Pro itself is great...the touch bar I could do without (I mostly use it to change display brightness or volume level).

With the touchbar it takes 2-3 steps to do these adjustments...when previously with older MacBook Pro models using the function keys...display brightness or volume adjustments were much more direct, less complicated, and simply easier.

Personally I'm pleased the MacBook Pro touch bar was removed.

Nick

 

[MacInWin]

Personally I'm pleased the MacBook Pro touch bar was removed.

I as well. Good riddance to a bad idea.

 

[DeviJ]

The touchbar was not received well and virtually no 3rd party developer really embraced it to make it an effective tool. It never left the realm of a gimmick and any smart company will evaluate things that work and remove things that don't..

The same thing with the removal of the magsafe charger and its return.

Your opinion is indeed yours and we are neither going to refute it or support it.

It's odd, if the touchbar is so pointless, that Apple continue to provide it in the new 13" M2 machine.
And of course there are many reputable 3rd parties that have embraced it:
Google Chrome, Firefox, DuckDuckGo
Videoconferencing such as Zoom
MsWord, MsExcel, Outlook Express
Databases such as Endnote, TapForms, MacFamilyTree
Useful? Perhaps that depends on whether people have moved out of their comfort zones and used it enough to become familiarised.

 

[Raz0rEdge]

I've had a few MBP's with the touchbar and I don't find it to be much better than the function keys.

Zoom gives you a couple of buttons on there to mute and disconnect. But to do anything useful, you'll have to use the trackpad/mouse to be productive.

Like the dynamic island on the new iPhones, the touchbar should likely have been an informational bar that changes with the app that's active.

Now compare the level of use of the touchbar with Apple native apps like iMovie to what others are doing. You can use the touchbar to scrub nicely within those apps.

This has nothing to do with comfort zones. The question is about utility. If it provides it, we keep it, if it doesn't, we lose it.

 

[pigoo3]

It's odd, if the touchbar is so pointless, that Apple continue to provide it in the new 13" M2 machine.

The 13" M2 MacBook Pro was released June, 2022 (6 months ago)...thus it is new (newest 13" MacBook Pro model)...but not exactly as "new" as the 14" and 16" M2 MacBook Pro's announced yesterday (January 17, 2023).

Redesigning a computer model takes a lot of time, money, and retooling of the factories where the computers are produced. The 13" M2 MacBook Pro (as well as the M1 13" MacBook Pro)...probably need to be redesigned to before the touch bar is removed (other items redesigned as well).

The 14" & 16" M2 MacBook Pro's are more premium products. If Apple removed the touch bar from them...the touch bar in the 13" MacBook Pro probably won't survive the next redesign.

And that's if the 13" Macbook Pro isn't discontinued altogether...since it's sort of silly to have both a 13" and 14" MacBook Pro in the same lineup.

Nick

 

[DeviJ]

I've had a few MBP's with the touchbar and I don't find it to be much better than the function keys.

Zoom gives you a couple of buttons on there to mute and disconnect. But to do anything useful, you'll have to use the trackpad/mouse to be productive.

Like the dynamic island on the new iPhones, the touchbar should likely have been an informational bar that changes with the app that's active.

Now compare the level of use of the touchbar with Apple native apps like iMovie to what others are doing. You can use the touchbar to scrub nicely within those apps.

This has nothing to do with comfort zones. The question is about utility. If it provides it, we keep it, if it doesn't, we lose it.

Yes: as you'd expect, the touchbar is put to good use by Apple themselves: Pages, Numbers, Music, Mail App etc., and the interactions between Apple software and the Finder. All very useful just for that.

My point about comfort zones is that it takes a little while to see what's on offer between and within all the third-party as well as the Apple apps when using the touchbar. I know it took me a while! Now that I'm used to it, I'll deeply regret its passing. Ah well: each to their own.

One thing that puzzles me, though, is your comment about changing with the app that's active. Perhaps I misunderstood you? That's exactly what it does do.

Oh and as a forum Admin: perhaps you could let me know how to access the outputs of the poll I started on this topic? I don't see it. Many thanks!

 

[Raz0rEdge]

Yes: as you'd expect, the touchbar is put to good use by Apple themselves: Pages, Numbers, Music, Mail App etc., and the interactions between Apple software and the Finder. All very useful just for that.

My point about comfort zones is that it takes a little while to see what's on offer between and within all the third-party as well as the Apple apps when using the touchbar. I know it took me a while! Now that I'm used to it, I'll deeply regret its passing. Ah well: each to their own.

I was very intrigued by the Touchbar when it was announced, and used it with apps that supported it. But in my workflow it didn't really add a lot of value. For example, while developing code in IDEs, the Touchbar is largely useless. What actually is required for my is the function keys, so after a while I ended up having to switch to function keys and negate the entire use of the Touchbar.

One thing that puzzles me, though, is your comment about changing with the app that's active. Perhaps I misunderstood you? That's exactly what it does do.

What I meant was that if the Touchbar functioned as an informational bar, then depending on what app I'm actively using, it could change to show something useful. I'm not talking about what it currently does.

Oh and as a forum Admin: perhaps you could let me know how to access the outputs of the poll I started on this topic? I don't see it. Many thanks!

The poll was removed.

 

[pigoo3]

The other important point regarding the Touch Bar (whether someone liked it or not)...is it was "glitchy"/"buggy".

Also there were many reasons the touch bar was not liked (both by average users & professional users):

Apple removed the Touch Bar

But Why?

medium.com

Nick

 

[DeviJ]

I was very intrigued by the Touchbar when it was announced, and used it with apps that supported it. But in my workflow it didn't really add a lot of value. For example, while developing code in IDEs, the Touchbar is largely useless. What actually is required for my is the function keys, so after a while I ended up having to switch to function keys and negate the entire use of the Touchbar.



What I meant was that if the Touchbar functioned as an informational bar, then depending on what app I'm actively using, it could change to show something useful. I'm not talking about what it currently does.


The poll was removed.

Oh dear. This was developing into an interesting and informative thread, on what people do and don't find helpful in the touchbar; and the poll would have provided some summary information on the extent to which people in general agree with our views.

You don't give any reason for what appears to be a rather high-handed action, which leaves me free to speculate that you were uncomfortable with what the results might show.

There doesn't seem to be much point in a thread run in his way, and so I make my departure!

 

[Raz0rEdge]

Interesting sure, informative, hardly. As I said, I have no fascination with the Touchbar. I have it on my MBP and barely use it. You like yours, good for you. Don't need a poll to know that people have different opinions about it.

Hopefully you came to the forums beyond just to discuss something that we would have no way of influencing Apple one way or other...

 

[pm-r]

There doesn't seem to be much point in a thread run in his way, and so I make my departure!

Before you leave and head off to greener pastures, if you would like to get some of the features back that the missing touchbar provided, there are certainly a good number of utilities that you could use that would get you some very similar things, some even faster and quicker to use I might add.

Have a look at some of the hits that a Google search provides:

mac touchbar equivalent - Google Search

No I don't have a Mac that has the touchbar built-in or available. But I can do many things that it could do and do some of them even better using various utilities and keyboard shortcuts Etc...

I just thought I would mention that many functions are available if you would like to look into using them. Heck, you could probably even use some that are voice activated if you wanted.

PS: there are lots of old polls regarding the Mac's touchbar, and maybe some that are still ongoing if you are interested. No sense in attempting any re-inventing the wheel type surveys:

Mac touchbar survey - Google Search

- Patrick
=======

 

[IWT]

@DeviJ

It would be a great shame if you left us.

You have every right to be here and express an opinion. Thankfully, in my view, there is rarely if ever a hundred per cent consensus about anything. And that's good because those who don't like something find other ways and that's how new ideas develop.

We are lucky here in that there is a wide diversity of opinion and experience. Out of that, some learn something new whilst others choose a different path and from that discover alternative ways of doing things - then share them.

Ian

 

[Rod]

I think Elvis has left the building but there were some good points raised. DeviJ said, "One thing that puzzles me, though, is your comment about changing with the app that's active. Perhaps I misunderstood you? That's exactly what it does do."
Very true, my wife has one and it does exactly that and for those that have learnt to put those controls to good use I can fully understand them lamenting its removal from the larger MBP's.
It was as pigoo3 said, "glitchy"/"buggy" I recall a recent topic on a flickering touch bar. After a little research into that issue I was surprised to find out how common and how hard to fix it was with Apples only real solution being complete replacement of the keyboard.
It seems to be a love it or hate it relationship for users dependent on their personal experience.
I didn't want it myself so for me it was a bonus that it was not a feature of the 14" M1 MBP while the MagSafe 3 power connection was.

 

[Groovetube]

I waited til they got rid of it before I updated my mbp and yeah the addition of the MagSafe (and hdmi/memory card slot!) was bonus.

the screen in the 16 is incredible too

 

[pigoo3]

...yeah the addition of the MagSafe (and hdmi/memory card slot!) was bonus.

Definitely two good improvements (especially the mag-safe). Apple never should have gotten rid of mag-safe. Lol

the screen in the 16 is incredible too

Lucky dog. The 16" MBP's are awesome. I was always a 17" MacBook Pro person before Apple discontinued them in 2011 (I continued using my 2011 MBP until it died around 2018/2019).

Nick

 

[Groovetube]

I had a 17 in 09 but traded it for a 15, I loved the screen but found the thing just too big for a portable. The 16 is pretty much the same size as my old 15 but the screen is wow.

not to mention the M1max 32 1tb is what makes it really wow. Everything flies on it.