What is the Touch Bar on the MacBook Pro?

There’s a new MacBook Pro in town and its biggest feature is the Touch Bar.  Is it really a big deal?

First, let’s discuss what the Touch Bar actually is and isn’t.  It is not a touch screen.  It’s not where you put your finger on the screen to navigate.  Nope, the screen is still a stagnant display screen.  Your fingers do not go there.

The Touch Bar resides on the top row of your keyboard.  In its glory, it can be customized to provide all touch-button functions for your favorite apps.  For instance, if you use Photoshop, you can program your mostly used options, such as lasso, scale, and select, on this top bar. For email, you can have your send, attachment, and calendar icons readily handy on the Touch Bar.  Your iPhoto library may be scanned easily with the Touch Bar, scrolling to old and new photos.  Spotify can showcase play, track forwarding and reversing.

When I first heard of the Touch Bar concept, I put my nose up in the sky and said of course Apple can’t make a full touch screen display.  That would put its iPad line out of business.  But, when checking out the Touch Bar, I became a fan.  I agree with Jony Ive, Apple’s Chief Designer, that laptops are not comfortable sizes to use for touch screens.  And iPhones and iPads are the right sizes.  Well, call it brain-warping or thought manipulation, but I’ve learned to enjoy my iPhone only as a touch-screen device and frown upon all touch screen laptops.

Overall, it’s a cool function, the Touch Bar, and it is going to be one of the only reasons why I’d recommend buying the new MacBook Pro.