I really really wanted to like the Touch Bar, but it just didn’t work. I value the tactile feel of buttons, which the Touch Bar lacked, but that’s the same argument the crackberry keyboard folks made about the iPhone keyboard. 

The Touch Bar didn’t feel better than the buttons. As an example, increasing the volume or display brightness moved from something I could do without looking to requiring me to tap and then intently look as I adjusted the bar with my finger, something that I can adjust on my phone with its button in my pocket. Great concept but it simply didn’t work.

That said, the keyboard remains one of the oldest and least evolved ways we use computers. Today, my keyboard should adapt to the app’s needs, like a tablet or phone updates the keyboard or input to what makes sense for the user. Our computer’s input is ripe for disruption, but the Touch Bar wasn’t it. 

Goodbye, Touch Bar, you held incredible promise

You just rarely delivered.