Apple Is Discontinuing This Prominent Feature on All New MacBooks Going Forward

In announcing its new MacBook lineup at its "Scary Fast" Mac event this week, Apple inadvertently let it slip that the company is discontinuing its interactive "Touch Bar" feature after seven years. The new lineup will include a 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro. Meanwhile, the 13-inch MacBook Pro is discontinued; which was the last current model to feature the Touch Bar.

Apple unveiled the first MacBook Pro models with the Touch Bar on October 27, 2016. The feature was intended to replace the physical function keys and Esc keys using a Touch ID sensor integrated into the Power button, with a Siri icon situated on the right corner. The controversial redesign also included a defective butterfly keyboard along with the removal of several ports, including an SD card slot, HDMI, and MagSafe.

At the time, Apple described the "breakthrough interface" as "revolutionary," placing controls right at the user’s fingertips. In addition to adapting to apps such as Mail, Finder, Calendar, GarageBand, Final Cut Pro X and more; the Touch Bar had the capability to show Tabs and Favorites in Safari, enable easy access to emoji in Messages, and provide a simple way to edit and view images and videos.

But as MacRumors points out, the company has been slowly phasing out the Touch Bar, first with the release of the first 16-inch MacBook Pro in 2019 that brought back the physical Esc key, and then by removing the Touch Bar from higher-end MacBook Pro models in 2021.

But while Apple hasn’t officially announced that the 13-inch MacBook Pro is retired, it has removed the model from the online Apple Store with the specs moved from "Current laptops" to "More laptops." For those who still want to get their hands on a 13-inch Pro with a Touch Bar, they can be found discounted at Amazon for the time being, or you can get a refurbished model in the Apple Certified Refurbished store.