Apple introduced the Touch Bar during a recent press event showcasing the latest MacBook Pros. The strip replaces the function keys, and essentially keeps the user’s hands glued to the keyboard area, eliminating the need for a connected mouse. It’s powered by a modified version of WatchOS and monitored by a standalone processor that also handles the new Touch ID security feature on MacBook Pros.
The new Touch Bar supports 10-point touch input and features a resolution of 1,085 x 30. It’s divided into three regions, with the System Button area located to the left for important buttons like escape and cancel, a large App Area in the middle for extending an application’s functions, and the Control Strip on the right that provides virtual keys for adjusting the display’s brightness, adjusting the volume, and so on.
Late last month during Apple’s presentation, the company showed how users could move video forward and backward with the slide of a finger on the narrow OLED strip. Even more, images could be fully rotated with a simple touch, lighting could be easily adjusted, filters and affects could be applied, and more just on the Touch Bar alone.
Overall, Touch Bar support will be integrated throughout the MacOS system and into Apple’s first-party programs to make the MacBook Pro more accessible, productive, and manageable. That seemingly meant all Apple software would support the new hardware sometime around the MacBook Pro availability, but the recent confirmation from Apple over Logic Pro X indicates that the company’s music production software needs extra time to get full Touch Bar support just right.
Thus, as it stands now, Touch Bar support in Logic Pro X will arrive after many third-party developers update their software to include Touch Bar functionality. Photoshop will take advantage of the Touch Bar before the end of the year along with DJ Pro, Microsoft’s Office suite of products, and even Skype Pro for Business. The Affinity designer software and the Sketch professional design software will soon add Touch Bar support too.
Apple’s move to take time in adding Touch Bar functionality in Logic Pro X could be a sign that MacBook Pro users may have to wait a while before the new touch strip is fully utilized by all first-party and most third-party solutions. It’s a new concept, thus developers are likely trying to figure out the best way to take advantage of the new hardware without repeating the same functions on the screen. We can only assume the experience will be even better when Apple reveals the second-generation Touch Bar next year.
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