The Touch Bar lives on the M2 MacBook Pro

Turns out the tech world jumped the gun on declaring the Touch Bar dead. Apple dropped the embattled input device from the 14- and 16-inch versions of the MacBook Pro in late-2021, after several years of attempting to keep that fire burning. But it won’t go gently into that good night just yet. The bar made a surprise reappearance during today’s WWDC keynote, showing up above the keyboard on the 13-inch M2 Pro.

Why? Your guess is as good as ours at the moment, but the simple answer seems to be that the company wasn’t quite ready for a full-body redesign, in spite of the internal makeover. Does this mean the Touch Bar is set to rise like the proverbial phoenix and recapture the market?

Image Credits: Brian Heater

That’s gonna be a “probably not” from me. Certainly it won some fans over the years, but for most users, the additional, ultra skinny touchscreen didn’t do enough to justify its existence. For now, however, devotees rejoice, as it’s lived to see another day, showing up on one of only two M2 MacBooks currently in the world. Effectively, you’re trading a Touch Bar for the MagSafe found in the new Air and larger Pro. I know which one I’d take, personally.

The new Pro will start at $1,299 for the 8-core model, when it arrives later this month.