Goodbye, Touch Bar, You held immense promise.

The Touch Bar was envisioned as the future of computing, but unfortunately, neither developers nor Apple exhibited sufficient interest, relegating it to the status of a mere proof of concept.

the Touch Bar was ahead of its time. This occasionally happens in the world of technology. Sometimes we reach a stage where a brilliant idea becomes technologically feasible, but still falls short of achieving widespread adoption. Examples of such ideas include 3D TVs and augmented reality headsets. The Touch Bar, which is no longer available on any Mac sold by Apple, suffered a similar fate. It was a genuinely cool concept, executed quite well, but it failed to gain popularity beyond a select group of enthusiasts.

when the Touch Bar was introduced, it felt like an interaction with the future. It featured an OLED strip that recognized touch and replaced the function row of keys on the 2016 MacBook Pro. It allowed users to conveniently navigate through video and audio files in QuickTime, select visually appealing bookmark buttons in Safari, and access a range of useful buttons in Preview. The Touch Bar itself comprised a set of beautiful buttons that adapted dynamically based on the context, bringing the contextual menus of iOS into the physical world.

the problem, however, was that the Touch Bar never quite transcended the proof-of-concept phase, despite being included in the majority of MacBook Pros manufactured between late 2016 and 2019. If it was intended to replace the entire function row, including easily accessible physical mute and volume buttons, it needed to offer more than just a proof of concept. It needed to provide genuine value.

adobe and a few other companies, such as Pixelmator, made attempts at creating sleek-looking interfaces for the Touch Bar. However, even the most elegantly designed attempts were rarely as customizable as desired, with the majority of efforts remaining rudimentary at best. For instance, comparing how Google Chrome handled the Touch Bar versus Safari illustrated the disparity. While Safari showcased visually appealing bookmarks, Chrome simply replicated its standard menu on the Touch Bar. Although some users may have found it useful to have a search bar and back button on the Touch Bar, the majority did not.

ironically, the worst offender was Apple itself. Although the Touch Bar in Apple's own applications often provided an impressive experience, it seemed to work well exclusively within the confines of those apps. For instance, it allowed for seamless navigation through complete audio files in QuickTime, but failed to offer the same functionality in the native Voice Memos app where the audio files were actually created. Furthermore, if one wanted to remove the Siri button, which proved to be a persistent annoyance, they had to navigate through the System Preferences app in macOS.

upon seeking customization options, I discovered that removing the Siri button was one of the few things users could actually modify on the Touch Bar. If I desired an easily accessible row of favorite emojis, an app selector, or even a useful widget displaying upcoming meetings, achieving these natively proved to be a struggle. Consequently, I resorted to purchasing BetterTouchTool, a remarkable application that provides control not only over the Touch Bar but also over various macOS inputs. Nevertheless, I don't believe I should have had to spend $10 on a standard license when many of BetterTouchTool's features should have been integrated natively into macOS.

the reason behind the lack of native customization options was the relatively smaller population of Touch Bar users compared to the broader macOS user base. The Touch Bar was exclusively available on the more expensive MacBook Pro models, rendering it inaccessible to those opting for the more affordable variants. As a result, the majority of people had to forgo the Touch Bar, while most developers disregarded it as well.

it became apparent to me, and perhaps to many others, that the Touch Bar had reached its end when it failed to make an appearance in any other Mac device. There was no full-size keyboard featuring an OLED strip of contextual buttons, nor was there an optional Touch Bar for the MacBook Air. As an ardent fan of the Touch Bar myself, it was clear right from the start that Apple was never truly invested in fully realizing its potential or encouraging other developers to take it seriously. Instead, it served as a selling point, introduced in 2016 during a time when Mac fans were clamoring for a laptop as aesthetically pleasing as the Dell XPS 13 and equipped with a modern processor.

the Touch Bar was Apple's way of reaffirming its commitment to laptops, a symbol of its renewed focus on design. Now, with the introduction of the M3 chip and a lineup of fast computers boasting some of the most impressive battery life in the market, it is evident that Apple once again prioritizes laptops. It no longer needs the attention-grabbing Touch Bar as a testament to its dedication to the future of computing.