In Apple's announcement of the updated models of the MacBook Pro, one of the most prominent new features of the laptops was the Touch Bar.
The Touch Bar has been the subject of numerous rumors leading to Apple's Hello Again event, and it was officially confirmed to be an OLED strip located at the top of the new MacBook Pro's keyboard. The Touch Bar replaces the physical function keys and automatically displays either the most popular or the most relevant controls for users, depending on the app they're currently using.
From rumors to its official unveiling, developers may have already been thinking of projects that would take advantage of the unique feature. Unfortunately, the guidelines Apple released for developers in utilizing the Touch Bar appear to be very strict, perhaps too strict for any fun use to come to the new MacBook Pro feature.
Looking at the developer guidelines for the Touch Bar, there are a few that stand out as particularly limiting. The first one is the requirement for the Touch Bar to act as an extension of the keyboard and the trackpad, and not as an extra display. As such, the OLED strip should not draw the user's primary focus away from the MacBook Pro's screen, and should not show items such as messages, alerts, and other content that would distract the user from the main display.
Under the same thought, for the Touch Bar to function more like the keyboard instead of the screen, exquisite animations and big batches of color are also discouraged.
The guidelines also recommend that tasks launched on the Touch Bar should be finished in the Touch Bar as well, not requiring users to switch to the MacBook Pro's keyboard or trackpad. It is also recommended that the Touch Bar not be used to tasks that can be carried out through well-known keyboard shortcuts, including save, copy, cut, paste and many more.
Apple's rules for developers on utilizing the Touch Bar for their apps might be too strict to the point that a lot of possibilities for the new feature are blocked off. Among the possible uses that are limited by the guidelines include a scrolling Twitter feed or stock ticker, a progress bar for processes or simple games that can be played in the small space.
It remains to be seen whether or not Apple will rigidly enforce the guidelines, or if the company is willing to bend the rules depending on user demand. It'd be a shame to let all the creative ideas of developers for the Touch Bar go to waste, so hopefully it would be the latter.
