Apple Waves Goodbye to the Touch Bar in Its MacBook Pro Series. Apple has officially announced the end of its experimental journey with the Touch Bar-equipped MacBook Pro variant. Initially introduced in 2016 as a modern substitute for the traditional function keys, the Touch Bar elicited mixed reactions from the user community. Concerns were raised about the less reliable keyboard, the absence of MagSafe, and the notable shift from USB-A to USB-C interfaces.
Although the Touch Bar was greeted with considerable initial enthusiasm, its exclusivity to the MacBook Pro lineup meant that it didn’t find its way into other Mac products. This limited scope reduced its appeal to third-party developers, making it predominantly a feature for Apple’s proprietary applications.
With Apple’s recent redesigns of the MacBook Pro, specifically in the 14-inch and 16-inch models, the company chose to revert to the tried-and-true physical function keys, much to the relief of many users. While Apple continued supporting the 13-inch MacBook Pro with the Touch Bar, introducing updates with the M1 and M2 chips, this model has now been officially phased out. Limited stocks of this Touch Bar variant can still be found with third-party retailers, but once these stocks are exhausted, the chapter of the Touch Bar in the MacBook Pro’s history will be officially closed.