[AndrewStephens]

What a whiney, content-free blog post. The author complains about removing the function keys, MagSafe, HDMI, SD Card and the escape key but doesn't give any examples of how they used those in the past or how those features' absence will cripple their workflow.

Here are my thoughts:

Removing the function keys and replacing them with the touch bar is a step up. The function keys have been annoyingly inconsistent on macOS for a few years now, most programs don't make use of them like they could because by default you need to use an awkward chord with the fn key.

The addition of the fingerprint scanner alone is a win, but having proper context sensitive keys will be huge for discoverability and ease of use.

RIP MagSafe - it was such a great design. I would have kept it and ditched a thunderbolt port, but that's just me.

Having HDMI built-in was pretty good for connecting to projectors, but HDMI doesn't support many screen modes and is pretty out-dated these days. Buy a $10 adaptor if you need it.

SD Card readers are also not used much these days. Buy a $10 adaptor if you need it.

Lots of people are moaning about the escape key like it is their favorite member of One Direction. My guess is that the escape key will be available (as a touch bar icon) in any application that actually needs it.

I am not in the market for a new MacBook Pro, but I can see the appeal.

[TeMPOraL]

> The addition of the fingerprint scanner alone is a win

Interesting. Every other laptop has one these days, but I haven't really seen people using it much. It seems more like a gimmick.

Fingerprint scanner on a phone makes more sense, because it lets you to unlock it almost as quickly as if you didn't have any lockscreen security, which is a big convenience.

[AndrewStephens]

Every laptop I have seen with a fingerprint scanner has used one of those cheap swipe-your-finger-across-this-slit style devices. They are slow, unreliable, and insecure.

TouchID (at least on my iPhone) is 100% more usable and I would love to have it on my laptop as well.

[bbcbasic]

The phone finger print scanner is sweet. Can't live without it now. Can single handedly unlock the phone and browse HN. :-)

[reustle]

> It seems more like a gimmick.

Don't you use a password manager? Aren't you tired of constantly typing your master password in to unlock your keys?

[belovedeagle]

Because having your password manager unencrypted (so that biometrics can "unlock" it) is a great idea.

[r00fus]

What do you even mean by that? On iOS any app can request a TouchID authentication for upgraded privileges. Would be surprised if something similar weren't possible. 1Password on iOS uses TouchID. It's certainly not unencrypted at rest.

That's the goal - I provide my TouchID + maybe a PIN (or if for added security, combined with separate channel factor).

[deanclatworthy]

I work in an office of about 100 people and 8 meeting rooms. In each room is a tv or projector. Every room has a hdmi > DisplayPort adaptor. We have tried about 15 different adaptors. Every single one will break down within half a year to a year. Or sooner.

I've never had a single problem plugging in HDMI directly.

[TeMPOraL]

Your customers would be pretty annoyed at you if a display port in their $1000+ laptops broke after half a year of normal usage. On the other hand, $10 adapter is a throwaway item, so manufacturers have zero reasons to care.

Such is the disposable culture.

[falcolas]

> The addition of the fingerprint scanner alone is a win

I think security minded folks in IT are not going to be thrilled with these. A fingerprint being an identifier, not a authenticator and all that.

[1_2__3]

Calling HDMI outdated helpfully allows me to ignore the rest of your comment.

[jitbit]

It all comes down to this:

NOW I HAVE LOOK AT THE KEYBOARD.

For example, as a developer I press the ESC button zillion times a day. I'm used to "upper-left corner is cancel/close/undo".

Now with the new touchbar it can have an "OK" there. Or "Done". Or "edit". It's up to a developer now.

[dloose]

As a developer do you not use an external mouse, keyboard, and display?

[rorykoehler]

I use laptop and display. Laptop keyboard and trackpad are perfect. The mac trackpad is the best available and I will miss it now that this release has convinced me to go full linux.

[LnxPrgr3]

> SD Card readers are also not used much these days. Buy a $10 adaptor if you need it.

Photographers. Photographers were still using that.

You know what my mid 2009 MBP can still do? Pull images from my DSLR while charging while plugged into a wired network, transferring them to an external hard drive under the command of an external mouse and keyboard, using an external display. No daisy chaining required, and the cabling is only a minor disaster!

(If I bought a Bluetooth mouse and keyboard, I'd be using zero USB ports for any of this. External disk is Firewire.)

[iknowstuff]

On the other hand, the new MBP can do all that when you plug it into a big display at home with a single cable, avoiding the cabling discomfort. I like the Surface Book more than the new MacBook but I see its benefits.

[LnxPrgr3]

That requires that I buy a display that works like that, and still limits the subsets of that setup I can use. Which comes up for me a shocking amount these days :/

In particular it's nice when my computer is useful without a bunch of extra crap plugged in, and mostly progressively enhanced by new attachments.

I can do light photo work on site with a 2009 MBP and no peripherals at all.

[santaclaus]

> The addition of the fingerprint scanner alone is a win

1Password is going to rock on this machine.

[AndrewStephens]

Even logging on is going rock on this machine if it works as well as the iPhone Touch Id (I assume it is exactly the same device)

[extra88]

They said it was a second gen. Touch ID and it has the same sapphire surface as the iPhone's so I expect it's the same as the 6s & 7.