That's what makes the 2021 MacBook Pro so peculiar. Related: Why Delayed iPad Pro With LTPO OLED Display Will Be Worth The Wait Users can still bring up virtual function keys if they wish, but the idea of the Touch Bar is that it can be more adaptive and interactive than laptops without it. In an app like Apple Mail, it offers quick access to compose, forward, and archive buttons. In Safari, the Touch Bar shows the URL bar, website shortcuts, and other helpful info.
The Touch Bar is a small OLED strip along the entire width of the keyboard that changes based on the application being used. It's a setup that's worked incredibly well over the years, but Apple envisioned a more modern approach with the Touch Bar. On most laptops, the top section of the keyboard has a set of function keys used for various shortcuts. It made the laptop considerably thinner, removed many of its legacy ports in favor of USB-C, and added the iconic Touch Bar above the keyboard. With the big MacBook Pro redesign in 2016, Apple introduced a few controversial design changes.
Apple's 2021 MacBook Pro brings a lot of good to the table, though it has one big missing feature that's been on the last few generations - a Touch Bar.
