End of the Line: Apple Discontinues Touch Bar After Seven Years

Apple has officially brought the curtain down on the Touch Bar, a feature that polarized Mac users for over seven years. This marks the culmination of a hardware era, one that was both celebrated by some and criticized by others.

The Touch Bar’s Genesis

The journey of the Touch Bar began in October 2016 when Apple introduced it as a novel addition to the MacBook Pro lineup. This marked a pivotal moment in the product’s history, as it was part of a controversial redesign that included a troublesome butterfly keyboard, the elimination of several ports (such as the SD card slot, HDMI, and MagSafe), and the removal of physical function keys and the Esc key in favor of the Touch Bar.

Rise and Fall

Apple initially hailed the Touch Bar as a “revolutionary” and “breakthrough” interface, but it soon became apparent that it failed to win over a substantial user base. Its discontinuation was a gradual process:

• In 2019, Apple made a significant concession by introducing the first 16-inch MacBook Pro, which saw the return of the physical Esc key. However, the Touch Bar persisted in place of physical function keys.
• In 2021, Apple took a major step by eliminating the Touch Bar from its higher-end MacBook Pro models, reverting to traditional full-size physical function keys.
• This week, Apple brought the Touch Bar’s journey to an end with the discontinuation of the 13-inch MacBook Pro, the last model featuring this divisive feature.

The Touch Bar’s Legacy

While the Touch Bar is no longer a standard feature on new MacBooks, it still lingers in the form of refurbished models available through Apple. As to whether the Touch Bar might stage a comeback in the future, especially if the 13-inch MacBook Pro re-emerges as a more budget-friendly option, the evidence remains inconclusive. Apple has yet to confirm any plans for its revival, leaving the future of this controversial feature shrouded in uncertainty.