After seven years, the second largest mobile phone manufacturer in the world, Apple Inc is doing away with one of its most controversial MacBook features.
Apple Discontinuing Its 13-inch MacBook Pro With Its Touch Bar
Media reported that the Cupertino headquartered technology giant is discontinuing the 13-inch MacBook Pro, and with it, the love-it-or-hate-it Touch Bar.
Basically, this touch-sensitive OLED display above the keyboard replaced physical buttons for functions like volume and screen brightness.
It also offered things like typing suggestions and shortcuts to emoji and Siri.
Besides this, it helped in displaying different options specific to the apps or systems you had open at the time.
For instance, showing your different tabs when you’re using Safari.
Moving ahead, Apple will replace the laptop with the 14-inch MacBook Pro with the new M3 chip, as the company announced at the “Scary Fast” Halloween-themed event Monday night.
It is noteworthy here that some of the 13-inch MacBook Pros didn’t have a Touch Bar.
Nevertheless, Apple will no longer sell new 13-inch MacBook Pros.
How Did This Happen?
It appears that the Touch Bar has been a divisive feature since its first launch in 2016.
Basically, some users liked the variety of different options it could offer in one panel at the same time other users felt that it was unnecessary or too prone to accidental taps.
Some of the users also just missed the tactile buttons that the dynamic touch-screen strip replaced.
Considering the feedback, the world’s biggest company by market capitalization took a step toward nixing the Touch Bar in 2021.
The American technology company got rid of the Touch Bar from the 14- and 16-inch MacBook Pro and went back to tactile function keys.
While talking about the same during a media interview that year, Apple’s senior vice president of worldwide marketing, Greg Joswiak said, “There’s no doubt that our Pro customers love that full-size, tactile feel of those function keys, and so that’s the decision we made. And we feel great about that.”
