While the company might be famous for its design prowess, even Apple makes the occasional mishap. From mice that charge upside down to the much-maligned new FineWoven iPhone cases, not everything "designed by Apple in California" hits the spot. But one design crime has been consigned to the history books.
The infamous Touch Bar has sat atop the keyboard of several MacBook Pro models since 2016. The small, digital touchscreen offered extra function keys – great in theory, but in practice it proved far more cumbersome than physical controls. And with the advent of the new M3 MacBook Pro line up, it's finally touched out.
The 13-inch M2 MacBook Pro was the last to sport Apple's older laptop design, complete with Touch Bar. The 13-inch model is now gone, and with it the Touch Bar – which anyone who has ever lost work by accidentally touching 'Back' on the Touch Bar (we're talking from experience here) won't be too sorry about.
The only thing I was scared about for in the #AppleEvent2023 but gladly they are sensible enough to keep that crap out. There are a few psycho designers, who don't really understand good UX nor HCI, concepting this nonsense... but for now, we're safe. https://t.co/fWVTxAcbPPOctober 31, 2023
The Touch Bar suffered from two issues: (1) developers never really pushed the concept to it’s full potential, and (2) it relied on the same flawed logic that is ruining car interiors, making a perfectly simple, easy to find in your sleep button into a nebulous digital control. https://t.co/auoY6N2IiOOctober 31, 2023
And so, just like the god-awful butterfly keyboard, the Touch Bar is consigned to the Apple design Hall of Shame. Now, if only Apple could do something about that mouse.
