What is a touch bar. Touch Bar in the new MacBooks: what kind of beast is this. Bring back old functionality
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Apple is scolded for lack of innovation, Apple is scolded for innovation… Well, the absolute success that has haunted the company for years must have some flaws. The scrutiny from the public, including critics who, as they say, are “always ready” is one of them.
And, nevertheless, the "apple" giant lives under a lucky star and even its mistakes (and they, whatever one may say - oh, horror - happen to Apple) the company magically manages to present with such confidence in its rightness that you involuntarily think — and what, can, and the truth is better? However, the American company owes its success not only to luck and the ability to present itself. Add to these points - advanced hardware, perfect design, stable operating systems ... and, of course, the notorious innovations and ... get the magic of Apple.
However, magic does not apply to everyone. Indeed, this company can either be loved or hated. And, as soon as it is difficult to find fault with hardware, design and platforms, critics cling to innovations or their absence. If Apple's innovations are secondary and/or in some way a variation of competitors' innovations, critics say - "Well, it was already", "Too small", "Apple is not the same", etc. Well, in the case when the innovation is uniquely declared - “Well, this is so unusual! How embarrassing, wow!" Agree, objectivity in such assessments is not enough. No, of course, innovations are unusual, this is their essence in general, another question is what is the sign of this unusual?
In this review, we will try to deal with this issue regarding the latest of Apple's unique innovations - the Touch Bar on the Macbook Pro. Well, let's talk about other characteristics of the laptop.
Since the TouchBar is a completely new thing, you have to start from the very beginning. What is it and why is it necessary ...
Concept
Look at the top row of your keyboard. What's there? Basically, keys that the average user rarely uses (well, unless he knows the art of "hot" combinations). And so Apple engineers decided - damn it, why do we need a whole series of unnecessary keys and removed it.
How was it removed? At all? No, of course, instead of the almost unpressable F1-F12, Page U, Page Down, etc., which usually occupy the top row of the keyboard, they created a thing called the Touch Bar, designed to rethink computer control.
But this is logical!
However, this is Apple saying to rethink, and we would say - finally make the management logical. Open any program. For example, Word and start working in it. Here you have typed text and now you want to format it. All formatting tools are located at the top of the document, and to “poke” one of them, you point your hand down and find the trackpad, now using it to control the cursor, the hand again “goes” up and, finally, the desired tool is clicked.
So what happens. You need a tool on top, but the hand goes down to the trackpad first, and only then up. Is it logical? No, not really. Everyone is just used to this pattern.
Now imagine that you have a Macbook Pro with Touch Bar. Of course, you can use the above scheme to edit the text, because the trackpad has not been canceled. Or you can do it more logically. You need a tool on top, and you move your hand up to the touch bar and select what you need through it. And here's the paradox - it's so logical, but the force of habit says the opposite.
What is it?
Well, now, in fact, about the main thing, what is the Touch Bar and how to manage it.
The Touch Bar is a "piece" of the touchpad - narrow and long - it takes up about the same amount of space as the top row of keyboard buttons occupied. How to manage it? Well, of course, “poke” your finger like in any touch panel.
When you turn on your Macbook on the Touch Bar, you will see the inscription - "Unlock with Touch ID" and a right arrow pointing to the button in which the fingerprint scanner is built (we will talk about it in more detail below). After unlocking, the panel will transform - the Esc button will appear on the left, a group of brightness and volume controls, a Siri shortcut key, and a small arrow, tapping on which will open access to other classic mac OS functions, will appear on the right.
If you go into applications, the Touch Bar will be supplemented with new options - they are distributed between Esc and other controls. When editing text in Pages or Word, you will see buttons that allow you to make the text bold, underline, enter numbering, highlight the fragment with color; and if you go to Safari, the Touch Bar will allow you to quickly switch between tabs, access the address bar, go to frequently visited sites. Not only that, the panel will change depending on the content you are working with - for example, when playing a video, the Touch Bar can be used, for example, to rewind.
However, such “goodies” await the user only when working with applications adapted from the touch bar, and there are not many of them yet. If the developer has not yet implemented support for this Apple innovation, then when working with his program, only the classic options that we voiced above will be displayed on the Touch Bar - volume control, Esc, etc.
Subtleties of settings
The location of the classic options is adjustable. If you want to change something on the panel, you need to go to the "Settings" menu, then select "Keyboard" and - voila! You will discover huge opportunities for personalizing the Touch Bar! Literally in one click, you can add the desired button or remove the extra one.
Customization of Touch Bar features within applications is also supported. But you need to look for the corresponding item in the application menu. For example, in Safari, you need to click "View", then "Customize Touch Bar".
User experience: do you quickly get used to the good?
So, at first glance, you will agree that the Touch Bar looks like a very useful thing. And, I must say, Apple laptop users have previously noted that, thanks to the trackpad's support for multi-touch gestures, they practically do not remember the mouse. And what will they say now that the Touch Bar has appeared and further reduced the need to interact with the mouse?
There is no single opinion here. Macbook owners with the Touch Bar are divided into two camps. In the first one, everyone is happy, happy with the progress and is exploring the possibilities of a new chip with might and main, quickly coming to positive results. In the second, they buzz about how uncomfortable everything has become. However, in our opinion, this is only a matter of attitude to innovation in principle and the inquisitiveness of the mind.
Here is a very clear example for you. Volume control circuit. Previously, to quickly add or subtract the sound, you had to press the corresponding button several times, but now the button has become touch-sensitive and when you click on it, a special slider appears that controls the sound level.
One journalist wrote in his review that this is wildly annoying, because where there used to be a couple of blind actions, it is now difficult to navigate blindly, because first you need to call the slider, then “catch” the current level and take it to the desired side.
And here is another review and another journalist who decided - what will happen if you press the adjustment button and hold your finger. And here's what - a slider will appear and it will be possible to control it without taking your finger off, simply by moving it to the left or right. That is, the movement turns out to be only one, and blindly performed simply. Eureka!
And, in fact, this example can describe the whole concept and the whole perception of the Touch Bar. The mood itself is important here, the desire to develop along with progress, and if you are on this wave, great, the Touch Bar will open up a lot of new opportunities for you. Otherwise - alas and ah, because the Touch Bar is an innovation that requires some effort. And if now you are dissatisfied with it (you never know the device was first bought, and only then you decided to read the review on it), spend a couple of days actively mastering it and, most likely, you will change your anger to mercy.
What else is new?
Agree, it would be strange, having talked enough about the main innovation of the new Apple Macbook Pro laptop, not to say a word about its other innovations and parameters. So now let's talk about them.
Not all that glitters is gold
Since the days of the first Macbook, the design of Apple laptops has hardly changed. No, of course, some innovations were introduced, but in general, the design initially turned out to be so successful that its main trump cards - an all-metal aluminum case in a noble gray color and a neat "apple" on the lid that glowed in the dark - remained unchanged all this time. But here comes the Macbook Pro with the Touch Bar and - oh, horror - the "bull's eye" decreases in size and stops glowing. Why Apple deprived the new MacBook of such a cute chip is unclear, but the company's fans were unanimously upset.
However, this is not the only change in the design of the new Macbook Pro - they gave it a new mechanism for attaching the lid and screen, changed the location of the speakers - they are now located on the front panel, but the ventilation holes, on the contrary, have moved to the back cover. And yet - the body has become thinner and it's impressive. The Pro-series was already very thin for its parameters, but here the hardware was upgraded (about it a little later) and the case became even thinner. Bravo Apple!
Butterflies in the stomach
And here's some more great news - the keyboard and touchpad, which have always been comfortable with Macbooks, have become even more convenient.
As for the keyboard, the butterfly mechanism continues to improve here, which Apple recently switched to in its laptops. The key travel is clear, but short. At first, it is unusual, but after a couple of hours from the printing process, you start to catch a downright aesthetic pleasure. Fingers not so much knock as slide over the keyboard, the text is typed with a “light movement of the hand” and much faster than on classic keyboards.
The touchpad, which was already huge, has become even larger. Of course, it has become more convenient to work, especially those who often work in graphic editors will appreciate it. In short, Apple did a great job with the controls on this Macbook!
Break for tar
However, let's stop pouring honey for a minute - because it's time to discuss the Macbook Pro connectors with the Touch Bar.
Apple has never been particularly for a large number of ports, but recently the desire to make fewer “holes” has turned into some kind of manic thought. The hero of our review has only four USB ports and one classic audio jack. Everything! For a laptop, this is downright disastrously small, and in order to fully work with peripherals, you need to have a bunch of adapters. Uncomfortable! And here anyone will agree - it’s better to have a “leaky” Macbook, but without a garden with adapters, than supposedly elegant according to Apple with a minimum of ports and constant hassle about how to connect this or that device.
And you know what's the funniest thing? Imagine that you are all right with prosperity, you own a Macbook Pro with Touch Bar and the flagship Apple smartphone iPhone 7, which, as everyone remembers, was deprived of a standard audio jack. You listen to music on your iPhone with the headphones that came with your smartphone, but now you suddenly want to plug them into your laptop. Nothing will come of it! The iPhone 7 headphones end with a Lightning jack, while the Macbook Pro with Touch Bar does not. And, yes, you understood everything correctly - there are either other headphones or an adapter! Curtain.
And honey again...
Well, unfortunately, Apple's strange "port" policy can only, as they say, be understood and forgiven, because the company is not going to deviate from the path of reducing connectors. On the contrary, it is worth preparing for the fact that every year there will be even fewer of them. Fortunately, there will be no more tar, only good news.
Let's talk about the display ... We've seen the Macbook Pro Retina not for the first time. However, the laptop with the Touch Bar does not just have an ultra-clear retina display, in comparison with previous indicators, the picture is basically improved on all fronts. The most important innovation is the extended color gamut - the display now displays even more shades, which will surely delight designers.
As for the screen sizes, the hero of our review is presented in two models of Apple Macbook Pro with Touch Bar 13 and 15 inches. It's up to you to decide which one to buy, Macbook Pro 13-inch Touch Bar, of course, is lighter and more compact, you can even carry it under your armpit and it will be comfortable. However, there will be no trouble with a 15-inch device either, it just needs a slightly different approach. You can, for example, buy a cover for Macbook Pro 15 inches Touch Bar in the form of a case and put there not only a laptop, but also all documents.
Faster than your thoughts...
Depending on the price, the user can get a Macbook Pro with Touch Bar with an i5 or i7 processor in different versions, 8 or 16 GB of RAM and 128/256/512 GB or 1 TB of internal memory. However, rest assured, even in the simplest assembly, the laptop will just fly. This is what Apple promises, as many review authors and real users write in their reviews.
This device is really always ready to work - it comes out of standby mode in an instant. For example, you are at home, having a quiet dinner, and suddenly a brilliant working concept has come into your head and you urgently need to formalize it, otherwise both thought and inspiration will go away. And so you run up to the Macbook, open it and that's it - by the time you open the lid, it has already woken up and is ready for quick work. And it's really cool! Any applications are instantly launched, no matter how heavy they are.
Now let's get back to Touch ID - we promised to talk about it when we talked about the Touch Bar. The hero of our review is the first Macbook with a fingerprint scanner. When you turn on the device for the first time, the scanner is prompted to be configured, so that it can then be used to unlock the laptop. There is nothing unusual here, everything is like on the iPhone and iPad - you can add several fingers, each one needs to be applied n-th number of times until the system completely reads and remembers the fingerprint. The scanner works clearly and quickly, no problems.
...and sometimes louder
Macbook Pro with Touch Bar sounds really cool. Even unexpectedly cool, so cool that I want to give advice to manufacturers of "musical" laptops to take a master class from Apple engineers. There is both volume and depth, and a chic panoramic sound, which especially “plays” in instrumental and calm compositions. And separately it is worth mentioning the volume - its range is more than sufficient - enough to even piss off the neighbors.
Long enough?
And finally, another important point is autonomy. And this is a very controversial point. On the one hand, Apple announced 10 hours of work without recharging in office and entertainment mode. On the other hand, the battery capacity was reduced by 30% (!) Compared to the previous model - something had to be sacrificed to make the case thinner. However, at the presentation they noted that the decrease in capacity will be compensated by new energy-saving technologies.
What's up? The authors of tests and reviews cannot come to a consensus, however, in most cases, the hero of our review does not pull out 10 hours, but he does not work less than 8 either. And, whatever one may say, even such a figure for an ultra-thin and super powerful laptop with an ultra-clear screen is a very good figure.
To sum up: how much is a revolution for the people?
And now for the "bad" numbers - the prices of the Macbook Pro with Touch Bar. Of course, no one expects an Apple product to cost a budget, especially when it comes to the most sophisticated device in the laptop lineup.
The minimum configuration of a Macbook Pro with Touch Bar will cost 102,990 rubles (this is the price of the official website), the maximum configuration for Russia is 207,990 rubles. However, for some reason, a version with a terabyte drive is not currently available. So 207,990 is not the limit. And, yes, the Macbook Pro with Touch Bar is currently the most expensive Apple laptop, but the point here is not in the innovative panel, or rather, not only in it, but also in the fact that the hero of our review, we emphasize again, today Apple's newest and most advanced laptop.
In general, you can talk a lot about the fact that Apple asks too much for its products, but if speaking about the company's smartphones and tablets, you can still argue, then with the Macbook the situation is as simple as possible. Does the Macbook Pro have competitors? No. Even if we discard the Touch Bar, you will not find a model on the market that would so successfully combine excellent design, advanced hardware, a great screen, and ... further down the list.
However, within the framework of this review, it is important to answer not so much the question of whether to buy a Macbook Pro, but rather whether to buy a Macbook Pro with Touch Bar. And here it is necessary to take into account at least three features - the "apple" will no longer glow, from the ports at your disposal there will be only an audio jack and USB, and, of course, you will have a Touch Bar. Want to keep up with progress? Buy! Today everyone criticizes the Touch Bar, and tomorrow similar assistants will appear among competitors. But if, nevertheless, you want to work the old fashioned way - take a look at other Macbook Pros that are officially on sale on the Apple website today - there are devices in the lineup that are inferior in hardware to the hero of our review quite a bit.
If the latest iPhone update was a bit of a mixed bag, then the MacBook Pros have received the most significant update in the history of the line. And it's not just a significantly updated case design, a new set of connectors and improved performance, but also the appearance of an innovative control element: the Touch Bar with Touch ID fingerprint scanner. Like any other product, the new 2016 MacBook Pro has both pros and cons. What impressions did the professional Apple laptop leave after three months of use, further in the MacDigger article.
The hallmark of any MacBook is its design. Whether you're a Mac or PC fanatic, it's hard to deny that the look and build quality of the MacBook is unmatched by many manufacturers. In terms of design, Apple has always been impeccable.
The look of the new MacBook Pro has been radically updated from previous models. We can say that Apple has made a hybrid of the old MacBook Pro and 12-inch MacBook. The screen resolution has not changed compared to the previous generation, but its quality has increased significantly and in direct comparison with its predecessor, the difference is immediately evident. Higher maximum panel brightness, saturation and contrast. You can now use your MacBook Pro outdoors in bright sunlight.
The 2016 MacBook Pro has updated the keyboard mechanism, and now the key travel is barely felt, which at first seems uncomfortable. But once you get used to it, other computer keyboards will seem terrible to you.
As before, the all-metal body of the laptop looks flawless, but it's not too scratch resistant. Over time, marks may appear on it, so it is better to get a cover.
A feature of the new generation of MacBook is a huge touchpad. Traditionally, the trackpad in Apple laptops is unrivaled, but the need to increase it to such a size is questionable. The touchpad is really big, comparable to the iPhone 7 Plus. It does not bring any additional benefits. The fact is that even before the touchpad did not seem small at all, and there is no feeling that increasing it gives some significant increase in comfort of use.
But the main complaint may be the transition to USB-C. At first, this can really be a problem, and Apple should have at least left a memory card slot. But if you think that you will have to carry a bunch of adapters with you, then you are mistaken. In most cases, one single adapter with "classic" USB ports and an SD card slot is enough. In addition, devices for wireless data transmission are on the market. For example, MobiLite Wireless Pro with built-in battery. It allows you to transfer data wirelessly from any device.
Apple is striving to establish the USB-C format as the only and universal one, and in principle there are chances to force a general transition to it. Accordingly, if today for owners of MacBook Pro 2016 and MacBook 12″ connecting a USB drive becomes a headache, then after some time, owners of laptops with old connectors will experience the same torment, because the industry will gradually switch to USB-C .
There are only two weaknesses in this concept. Firstly, Apple for some reason does not move to USB-C in the iPhone and iPad, although most competitors already use USB-C in smartphones and tablets. And secondly, even if this universal adoption of USB-C as the main and universal format ever takes place, it will definitely not happen in the next two years. This means that by the time the “happy future” comes, the current “proshki” will already be obsolete.
I am glad that the MacBook Pro can be charged from an external battery, but the proprietary MagSafe port is not enough. What's more, the 15-inch model consumes 85 watts, so it won't charge from a normal portable charger while in use. The 13-inch MacBook Pro draws 65 watts so you can use the gadget and charge the battery.
What I definitely like is the stereo speakers to the left and right of the keyboard. They give a fairly good and loud sound, as far as it is possible in principle in this form factor.
On the Web, you can often find complaints about the poor autonomy of new MacBooks. Unfortunately, the actual battery life is really far from Apple's claimed 10 hours. When performing complex tasks like video editing, a 15-inch laptop "lives" 1-2 hours, with normal use - 3-4. Things are a little better with the 13-inch model, which gets 5-6 hours of battery life, but that's not even close to 10 hours.
The advantage of the new MacBook is certainly speed, which exceeds all expectations. Despite the fact that the laptop does not have the latest hardware, the MacBook Pro 2016 performs better than the top Windows machines. There are no problems when editing 4K video when it comes to Final Cut Pro.
The 16 GB RAM limit is disappointing, which is especially felt when editing large videos. The laptop supports connecting an external 5K display via USB-C. The Mac transmits an image and charges the battery at the same time, but the overall impression of such a bundle is mixed. In normal tasks, everything works fine, but under significant workloads, performance may not be enough.
As for the Touch Bar, you can doubt its necessity in terms of everyday use as much as you like, but this is an innovation that can justify an upgrade and immediately distinguishes the MacBook Pro 2016 from all other models. It is logical to assume that other manufacturers will also begin to experiment in this direction.
The Touch Bar is an attempt to come up with another control besides the touchpad and keyboard. But at the same time, this is a rethinking of the keyboard, because the Touch Bar replaces the top row of keys and can imitate them.
Although, for all its innovativeness, the Touch Bar is a rather controversial solution, hardly capable of significantly increasing productivity and greatly facilitating interaction with a laptop. If you set a goal to learn how to use it at 100 and unleash the potential of the Touch Bar, then you will be able to find optimal scenarios where the touch panel is really much more convenient than the usual methods of interacting with a laptop. But to say that after using the MacBook Pro 2016 it will be hard to return to a regular MacBook Pro without the Touch Bar is not.
The last thing worth noting is the fingerprint scanner. Well, in fact: in the top tablets, which most use as toys, there is a fingerprint scanner, and in professional laptops, where the user has important documents, projects, an email archive and other things that should not fall into the wrong hands, there is a fingerprint sensor is still new. But now Apple will most likely build it into every laptop, which means other vendors will have to too. Again, a big plus for all users - even those who would never buy a MacBook.
Technically, the Touch ID sensor is not part of the touchpad, but is located to the right of it. Using a fingerprint scanner for quick authorization and online shopping is very convenient.
The most important question - is it worth buying this laptop? The answer depends on your budget and personal preference. Apple has relied on thickness and dimensions, innovation and the “wow factor”, which put the user in front of a difficult choice: it seems that, according to the logic of things, you need to buy the latest model, if you have money, the more it is so cool, but if a laptop is taken to make money with its help, then doubts about the appropriateness of such a decision creep in.
It is clear that Apple laptops have always been expensive, especially top ones, but when buying a classic MacBook Pro Retina 15″, we clearly understood what we would get: a top-end device for all occasions, absolutely understandable and predictable. MacBook Pro 2016 is something new, an experiment, and here everyone must decide for himself: is he ready to spend money on this experiment and get used to the features of the novelty, or is it better to wait until the innovations that Apple has implemented here become the standard de facto.
I regularly come across messages on the Internet that the Touch Bar in the latest generations of MacBook Pro is a useless thing and it would be better if there were familiar buttons in its place.
Everyone has the right to their own opinion, otherwise we would be bored. However, I want to give a few examples and show how the Touch Bar can be used at work and what benefits it brings.
What is Touch Bar
If in the old Apple MacBooks the top row was occupied by the function buttons from F1 to F12, then in the new ones there was a touch strip. In fact, it is a thin elongated touch screen, where the key assignment changes depending on the running application.
Touch Bar is easy to set up
You can rearrange the buttons on the touchpad, adding the actions you want and removing the ones you don't. The path is: System Preferences - Keyboard - configure the Control Strip.
In addition to system settings, icons in applications also change, but this already depends on the program. For example, I did not find any additional parameters in Word and Excel.
Choose your favorite tools in Pixelmator But in the Pixelmator graphics editor, follow the path View - Customize Touch Bar, and then turn on the necessary buttons so that they are always at hand. As you can see, so far everything depends on software developers. Laptops with the Touch Bar have been on sale for the second year, but so far, few people have paid attention to this useful feature.
F-keys can be returned
If you need a familiar layout with F1 ... F12 buttons, then you can return them to their place in the settings section or by pressing the Fn button.
Volume and brightness control
Quite by accident, I found out that by touching the key to adjust the backlight and volume, you can change the setting in one gesture. It is enough to attach a finger and, without lifting it, swipe left or right. It seems like a trifle, but convenient, you do not need to poke several times on the button.
What else does the Touch Bar show
If the Safari browser is open, you can see previews of open sites. This is cool, but useless - you still won’t be able to blindly switch between them, you won’t immediately understand where which site is.
But it is convenient to rewind the video. You start some video, after which you quickly move to the desired point, the exact time is visible on the touch strip. By the way, when you watch a video, the Touch Bar automatically turns off. This helps to save energy and does not irritate while watching a movie. If you use Continuity technology, then you can answer the call using the Touch Bar.
If you launch the calculator application, then the auxiliary keys will be right on the top line. It’s a pity, but they didn’t come up with a dedicated button for quickly calling the calculator on the Touch Bar.
While typing, hints appear - the system selects words that are suitable in meaning. Emoji are also displayed here, it is very convenient to choose emoticons, faces are clearly visible.
Touch Bar Screenshot
Shift + Command + 6 will take a screenshot of what you currently have on the Touch Bar. For example, I am now typing text in the Bear editor, I see various auxiliary buttons.
Additional Applications
Better Touch Tool
Here you can create your macros and actions by inventing new buttons. For example, the button for emptying trash from the trash, how do you like that, huh? The program is paid, a two-year subscription will cost $6.5, you can buy a lifetime subscription for $20. I think it's just a must have for everyone who loves pumping the system to the fullest, here you get what the developers did not do, add all the necessary actions.
touch switcher
A small program helps you quickly switch between applications right from the Touch Bar, rather than launching the task menu with Command + Tab.
Here you can find other examples of folk art. With a little imagination and effort, you can get a funny toy from the TouchBar, that's a fact.
User opinion
I asked, what do users think about the touchbar? Here is the opinion of those who work every day for a MacBook Pro with TouchBar.
I have two feelings about him. He hinders and helps. Apple's apps have a lot of help information and features that are displayed on the touchbar screen. For example, during a screencast in QuickTime, the touchbar runs timing, and also shows how much space is left on the SDD, you can stop recording from there, it's wildly convenient. There are a lot of such examples, but in normal work it often interferes. It seems that the technology is just being tested and it will have a big sequel.
Ivan Luchkov
blogger
I was always skeptical about TouchBar and tried to choose models without it. After my 13-inch MacBook Pro without TouchBar was stolen along with other devices from the studio, I thought about upgrading. I needed a MacBook with discrete graphics, and I got the TouchBar in addition to the new “fifteen”.
For my taste, the thing is cool, but useless, I practically use it, except that I change the brightness and sound. But do not forget that in models with a touchbar there is also a fingerprint scanner, but it is very convenient.
Unlocking a laptop has become convenient and fast, it is easy to pay for tickets or other purchases on sites, for this you can survive the presence of a touchbar.
I bought a MacBook 13 with a TouchBar for a girl - she uses it when watching a video, starts rewinding, the touch strip helps to control media.
The TouchBar is also very convenient when texting, because emojis appear there! Frequently used emoticons right at your fingertips.
I'm used to the physical F-keys, I thought that the TouchBar would not be very convenient. Over time, it turned out that I practically do not use these keys, in fact, as well as the touchbar.
The thing is cool, but in my opinion, absolutely stupid. You can get used to it, but I would not recommend choosing a laptop specifically because of the TouchBar.
Valentin Tunitsky
media manager Wylsacom Media
I got a MacBook Pro with Touch Bar for testing almost at the same time that sales began in the world - over the past couple of years I got used to the display above the keyboard, although I still can not relearn. Right now I’m typing on the standard iMac white keyboard and I get great pleasure from the familiar button stroke and the familiar functional row - no need to aim at the icon, no need to swipe to change the volume or brightness, just click instantly and here is the result for you.
But I saw how and what professionals do with the Touch Bar in programs such as Logic Pro X - there the “touch bar” turns into an evil tool for work, replaces iron remotes and there is no question of usefulness / uselessness.
For me, as for a more or less ordinary consumer, the presence of the Touch Bar is, first of all, a convenient fingerprint entry, the ability to quickly move between tabs in Safari, and, in fact, that's all. It seems to me that in vain Apple didn’t make a “fifteen” without the Touch Bar - after all, there is such an MBP 13 and this version is ideal, does not raise questions and is an excellent transitional model between the iPad Pro / MacBook.
On the other hand, the difference in price between the models is not so great, many people buy the MBP 13 with Touch Bar just “in reserve”, hoping to unlock the full potential of the feature later. But later - like mine, only basic things, logging in, making purchases, and maybe rare use in some programs.
Sasha asked me to briefly talk about the Touch Bar, but briefly, in one phrase, you can’t get rid of the task - I assume that Apple is well aware of how dual the thing turned out to be - in any case, I can’t imagine life without a MacBook Pro, these are the best laptops on the market in terms of value for money and, in addition, the best laptops for installing Windows.
Sergey Kuzmin
website editor-in-chief
What is the result?
I never got used to using the Touch Bar blindly, I have to watch where you click. It was easier with physical buttons, I won’t deny it.
Has my life changed with the Touch Bar? No, but it didn’t get worse either, new sensations appeared, a new experience of using a familiar thing. So far, everything rests on application developers: if they do not dive into the world of macOS and use all the features inherent in the system, we will not get the full return.
What's next? I think that the Apple experiment will go forward, one day we will be presented with macbooks without the usual buttons, instead of them there will be one huge touchpad. But we still need to wait for this exciting moment.
When describing the design, we paid a lot of attention to the main innovation of the model: the Touch Bar above the keyboard. But it is important that this is not only a hardware, but also a software solution. Moreover, the effectiveness of its use directly depends on the software and settings. In this article, we decided to look at the Touch Bar in all aspects and talk about the panel in terms of its application in various use cases.
To begin with - general information. So, the Touch Bar is an OLED touch panel found in the 13-inch and 15-inch 2016 MacBook Pro models. Touch Bar resolution - 2170×60. The panel replaces the top row of keys and can display different information - depending on the running application, user settings and actions.
Needless to say, the panel can only fully function in the macOS Sierra environment, and only if a particular application is optimized for use with the Touch Bar. Of course, all pre-installed macOS applications have this optimization, but third-party developers can use its functionality. In particular, we will see how this is implemented in Microsoft Office.
In order to take screenshots from the Touch Bar, you need to install the current beta version of macOS Sierra. Anyone can do this by enrolling in the Apple program, but you need to be prepared for the fact that the MacBook Pro will be rapidly discharged.
To the right of the Touch Bar is the Touch ID fingerprint scanner. Physically, it is separate from the Touch Bar and is not part of it, but when we open the lid of the laptop, the following message appears on the Touch Bar: "Unlock with Touch ID" and an arrow pointing to Touch ID.
As we noted in the first article, the 2016 MacBook Pro is Apple's first laptop with a fingerprint scanner. And its support first appeared in macOS Sierra. We'll walk you through how to use this feature on your MacBook below.
touch ID
So, when you first turn on and initially set up the MacBook, we are prompted to add a fingerprint.
The procedure is the same as for iPhone/iPad. We put our finger on the scanner several times, and the screen shows how the gray grooves are filled with red.
Once a fingerprint has been added, you can add another finger and also specify what types of operations you can use Touch ID for. In addition to unlocking your Mac, this can include using Apple Pay and verifying purchases from the iTunes Store and Mac App Store.
Touch Bar: standard options
Now back to the actual Touch Bar. We have already seen what the panel shows before unlocking the computer. And here is what we see by default after unlocking. The screenshot is on the right side. On the left - only the Esc button, between it and the one shown in the screenshot - a black space. Click to see the original screenshot.
So, on the right is the Siri call button. Starting with the Sierra version, Siri is supported on macOS, and Apple immediately decided to make its launch as visual as possible. Moreover, during operation, you often accidentally press this button, because earlier the volume up button was located in this place. And it turns out that we are, willy-nilly, deliberately pushed to use Siri.
The rest of the icons do not need comments. Except for the arrow. If you touch it, a row of touch buttons will open, identical to what we see in the top row of a traditional MacBook keyboard. Here is a screenshot divided into two halves: at the top - the left part, at the bottom - the right.
The decision seems rather controversial, firstly, to make this view not the main one, but available only after touching the small arrow (hit it again!), And secondly, to leave the Siri call icon in this row. However, if desired, all this can be customized. How exactly - we will tell further.
Touch Bar in Apps
Now let's see how the Touch Bar works in apps. Again, if the application is not optimized for the Touch Bar, the panel will always display what is shown above. However, in the case of its pre-installed apps, Apple has naturally made sure that each one actually takes advantage of the Touch Bar's capabilities. Take Safari for example. The screenshots below show fragments of Touch Bar screenshots, but the original screenshot is available by clicking.
As we can see, thumbnails of open tabs are displayed here. You can move between them by simply swiping your finger. Conveniently? Perhaps. On the other hand, not to say that it is very visual - the thumbnails are too tiny, and they do not always allow you to understand where which site is. Yes, and switching between tabs in the usual ways is no more difficult. But it certainly is a spectacular opportunity.
Another useful thing on this panel in Safari is “search” and “open a new tab”.
The panel can also change depending on what is open in the browser. For example, if a video is playing there, the video navigation bar appears.
And here we come to understanding the main quality of the Touch Bar: it is complete variability, that is, in one application there can be an infinite number of Touch Bar options. It all depends solely on the imagination of the developers. The main issue is that the functionality of the panel complements, and does not duplicate, the easily accessible application options.
A good option is in the "Calendar". There, using the Touch Bar, you can easily switch between different weeks.
Less successfully done in text editors Pages and Word. The problem is that, for example, it is much more convenient to mark some piece of text in italics just with the mouse, because we select this piece with the mouse. It turns out that in order to use the Touch Bar, we first need to make some kind of gesture with the mouse, then drop it, press the button on the Touch Bar, then grab the mouse again.
In general, despite the fact that the capabilities of the Touch Bar in text editors are very wide, in fact it turns out that you either need to relearn and get used to completely new movements while working, or simply perceive the Touch Bar as some kind of optional addition that we can , someday we will use it purely for the sake of fun, but for now we will do it the old fashioned way - with a mouse and keyboard.
This applies not only to text editors, but also to most other applications. For example, QuickTime Player.
Yes, we see the pause button, but in order to pause the video playback, just press the spacebar on the keyboard.
And this is the main problem of the Touch Bar concept and the main challenge for developers: how to make using the Touch Bar intuitive and easier than the usual keyboard shortcuts and mouse commands? It is clear that a lot here depends on Apple itself, because it is necessary to set an example for third-party developers, to show that the Touch Bar can really be used wisely. And there are such examples. We have already given several examples and we can give more.
Let's say Pages has pop-up word hints. This is exactly the option that is impossible or at least impractical without a touch screen, and the Touch Bar is just right for its implementation.
Customizing the Touch Bar
The Touch Bar can be customized, not only in general, but also for each application individually. General settings can be accessed through Settings / Keyboard.
You may notice that there is a button "Customize Control Strip". This is exactly what you need to customize the Touch Bar. At the top, you can also specify what should be displayed by default on the panel.
The Control Strip are the standard icons on the right side of the Touch Bar. An extended version of the Control Strip opens when you click on the arrow. But if you don't want to do this regularly, you can set the extended Control Strip to show up right away.
So, click "Customize Control Strip" and we see a window with icons, and above them - the inscription: "Drag frequently used objects to the Touch Bar at the bottom of the screen." Actually, from this it is already clear how exactly we can replace any icon on the Touch Bar with another one. Just take the desired mouse and drag it down to the edge of the screen, after which it “jumps” to the Touch Bar and trembles there, like on iOS after a long press.
Here the choice is quite large. There are some useful things too. For example, "Screenshot", "Sleep", Launchpad, "Show desktop", "Do not disturb"... So don't miss the opportunity to create the optimal set.
Thus, outside of applications, we have two levels of Touch Bar customization: the first level - what is displayed by default, the second level - what is the composition of the Control Strip (normal and advanced options). But besides this, you can also customize the composition of the Touch Bar icons in individual applications. For example, below is how it is done in Safari. In the "View" menu, we observe the line: "Customize the Touch Bar".
Click on it - and we see a window similar to the Control Strip settings window, but with a set of icons directly for the browser. Well, then we act according to the familiar scheme: we drag the necessary icons with the mouse and fix them in the right place in the Touch Bar.
Therefore, software developers should take care not only about the fact of using the Touch Bar, but also about the options for customizing the panel within their application and choosing additional icons. That is, on the one hand, there should be a clear relationship between the user's actions and the icons that appear on the Touch Bar, and on the other hand, the initial set can be adjusted by the user.
conclusions
The Touch Bar is one of the major innovations in recent years. This is a very interesting and promising solution that can significantly expand the user's interaction with a laptop and make it easier to perform a number of tasks. Hypothetically. In practice, a lot depends on how the Touch Bar functionality is implemented in a particular application and how easy or difficult it is for the user to customize it for themselves and start using it in real life.
While it is impossible to say that the Touch Bar is really useful. And expecting your productivity to increase if you upgrade from a previous generation MacBook Pro to a MacBook Pro with Touch Bar would be reckless. And given that most third-party software vendors haven't yet had time to optimize their apps for the Touch Bar, there's no reason to be under any illusions. But at the same time, the idea itself seems very promising, its implementation is as competent as it can be in real conditions, and the prospects are impressive, given that Apple has repeatedly demonstrated how it can convince the entire industry of the need to implement those or other innovations. Will it work this time?
The Apple MacBook Pro (Late 2016) deserves our Original Design award for pioneering the Touch Bar and deep integration of this hardware into the laptop's software.