The Touch Bar is a really clever idea and the possibilities are endless. Developers can even use the Touch Bar API to integrate it with their macOS apps. In fact, Apple gave some early previews of what developers have been able to accomplish so far. But rather than have you read everything Touch Bar is capable of, why not see for yourself? Here are the best animated GIFs from Apple’s keynote that showcase tons of new features.
1. Old School It
Before you get extra creative, just remember that Touch Bar can do everything the keys that came before it did. That includes adjusting your volume, brightness, playback and more.
2. Get QuickType Suggestions
Craig Federighi apparently types “I’m totally stoked” often because it came up in his QuickType suggestions. That’s not weird at all.
3. Emojis are Finally at Your Fingertips
I rarely ever use emojis because I think it’s so ridiculous having to interrupt my typing to switch keyboards or go on screen to find one. It’s a jarring and time consuming process. That seems to get a little relief thanks to emojis now at my fingertips.
4. Scroll Through Your Bookmarks and Tabs
Your bookmarks and tabs colorfully appear on Touch Bar when you’re in Safari (and hopefully other browsers too eventually.) This probably doesn’t work too well if your bookmarks don’t have favicons though.
5. Pay with Touch ID
MacBook Pro finally has a fingerprint sensor for Touch ID. You can make purchases online with your fingerprint as well as use it to unlock your Mac.
6. Scrub Through Photos
In the Photos app, you can see quick actions like Favorite and Rotate. Plus, scrub through your photos by flicking through the thumbnails on Touch Bar.
7. Edit Your Photos
Touch Bar lets you crop, rotate, auto-enhance and more. Plus slider controls like the one for cropping lets you fine tune your adjustments from the keyboard.
8. Touch Bar is Surprisingly Customizable
Apple isn’t often a fan of customizability in software but it’s giving Touch Bar a break. You can drag, drop and rearrange different icons on your Touch Bar for various applications. It works similarly to customizing toolbars.
9. See Your Storyboard at a Glance
Final Cut Pro and iMovie give you quick access to your project storyboards. Pan through, select specific parts and even make edits.
10. Edit Your Movies
Yes, you can use Touch Bar to make edits from your keyboard. This is especially useful for performing common tasks that are often buried in menus. One tap is trimming this audio clip.
11. Use Touch Bar Even with Photoshop
Isn’t it adorable when Apple and Adobe play nice? Adobe demoed just how well Touch Bar works with Photoshop, coming soon. Access common tools and make adjustments like this one to your brush size.
12. Make Complex Edits in Photoshop
The Touch Bar slider to adjust brush color in Photoshop is a total beauty. You can just slide your finger across to change color and paint on screen at the same time. This really enables a new level of multitasking.
13. Become a DJ
The DJ on stage at the keynote went all out showing off the Touch Bar’s abilities. It can be a DJ of its own, providing effects, sliders and quick access to editing tools in GarageBand and more. The new MacBook Pro is available for order now in 13-inch and 15-inch configurations. They ship in a few weeks and start at $1799. The above article may contain affiliate links which help support Guiding Tech. However, it does not affect our editorial integrity. The content remains unbiased and authentic.
