Had my first 13" Touch Bar experience today (okay, I suppose that could be taken any number of ways I never intended...).
I used my first Touch Bar-equipped MacBook Pro today, a 13" model.
There.
In some ways, I found it interesting and where it might come in handy. But a lot of it seemed to replicate stuff you could already do with these nice, large gesture-heavy trackpads on the notebooks. Not quite sure if it's something I'd use a lot, but I remember having a discussion here years ago where we talked about future Apple keyboards basically being large, glass surface iOS type things that could change based on the app you were in (if you're in GarageBand, you get a nice virtual music keyboard in place of the typing keys, in Photos you'd get all the retouching and editing/manipulation tools, etc.).
In some ways this hits on that, just in a much smaller way (a little context-sensitive sliver at the top of the keyboard, vs. the entire keyboard area changing)...I opened Photos and some other apps and the commands/tools/functions in the Touch Bar would change to provide relevant items to use. Kinda neat to use, but a lot of it was duplication and I figured if your hands are already on/near the trackpad, why travel elsewhere to rotate a pic, etc.?
But I see the potential, going forward...especially across certain applications and tasks.
Makes one wonder if/when that (and illuminated keys) will show up in the standalone keyboards?
Anyway, after all this time (a year or two now?), today was my first hands-on with this feature. Oh, and my first real-life time spent with a Space Grey MacBook Pro as well. I really liked how it looked! It isn't as dark and "almost black" as some online pics make it look. Chances are, my next Mac and iPhone buy will be Space Grey. I've done the white/silver thing for a good 15 years now (mice, keyboard, iPods, various AirPort devices, iPhones and even third-party devices like my JBL Creature speakers, USB hard drives, etc.)...time I change it up and go with something different. Today sealed that; a very sharp look, I thought. That means, of course, come 2020 and the next go-around of MacBook Pros, iPhones, etc. the color will be discontinued. Me saying out loud that I like something is almost always a sure-fire way for it to disappear (favorite Gatorade flavors, certain body wash brands/scents, various offerings from Nabisco and Keebler over the years, favorite menu items at restaurants, etc.)
