Apple MacBook Pro to ditch this controversial feature in future

While use cases have emerged in the past few years, there have been consistent demand for bringing back the conventional row of physical keys on MacBook Pros from various quarters over the year. Apple is expected to ditch the Touch Bar with its next generation of its high-end laptops, slated to launch later this year with new in-house Apple Silicon chips.

The Touch Bar made its first appearance on a handful of Apple MacBook Pro models in 2016. It is an OLED touchscreen placed right above the laptop’s keyboard. Users can customise and place shortcuts relevant to what application is running on the screen for easier control. It also offers quick access to system-level shortcuts, like volume control.

The response to this innovation has been mixed at best. While it’s not as hated as the fickle butterfly keyboard on older MacBooks, it was not liked by everyone else either.

According to Display Supply Chain Consultants (via 9To5Mac), Apple is removing the Touch Bar from future upcoming MacBook Pro devices, despite it being the third largest use of OLED displays.

“Touch Bars continue to be the #3 application with an 18 per cent unit share and 1.2 per cent revenue share in Q1’21,” DSCC explained.

“We expect Touch Bars to be exceeded by tablets when Apple starts the adoption of the 10.9-inch AMOLED iPad. Further, our sources suggest that Apple may cancel the Touch Bar in the future,” DSCC added.

However, this speculation should be taken with a pinch of salt. This is not the first time that rumours of the Touch Bar getting the boot have surfaced. Renowned Apple analysts Ming-Chi Kuo and Mark Gurman have made similar predictions in the pasy.

Other rumours about the upcoming MacBook Pro lineup include a clear HDMI port, a USB-C/Thunderbolt port, two USB-C ports, and an SD card slot.