Pour one out for the Touch Bar, besties, because Apple's latest MacBook Pro refresh just body-slammed it into the shadow realm.
The new 14-inch and 16-inch models dropped with M4, M4 Pro, and M4 Max chips, and the entire lineup is now Touch Bar-free.
That weird little strip of glass that nobody asked for?
Sent to the farm upstate. 🪦 Let's be real — the Touch Bar had a rough life.
It launched in 2016 to confused applause, survived seven years of people accidentally muting themselves on Zoom calls, and finally got phased out.
Now the function keys are back on every single MacBook Pro, which is the most universally celebrated "feature" Apple has shipped in years.
Apple's claiming some truly unhinged performance numbers, and early benchmarks suggest the top-tier chip is trading blows with desktop workstations.
For video editors, 3D artists, and anyone who renders things for a living, this thing is a monster.
Battery life is still stupidly good too — we're talking all-day-and-then-some territory.
Ports are back in a big way, because Apple finally stopped pretending we all live in a dongle-free utopia.
You're getting Thunderbolt 5 on the Pro and Max models, HDMI, an SD card slot, MagSafe, and a headphone jack that refuses to die.
The display is now brighter too, hitting up to 1,600 nits peak on HDR content, which makes Netflix look absolutely unwell in the best way. 📺 Here's the thing though — if you bought an M3 MacBook Pro last year, you're probably fine.
This is a solid spec bump, not a reinvention.
The design is basically identical, the keyboard is the same, and the webcam is still 1080p (Apple, we're begging you).
The people who should care are folks rocking Intel-era Macs or anyone still suffering on an M1 who needs way more horsepower.
Pricing starts at $1,599 for the 14-inch and climbs fast once you start upgrading storage and RAM.
And yes, the RAM upgrade tax is still very much alive and well. 💸 The smart move?
If you need a new laptop right now, this is a genuinely great machine.
If you can wait, Apple usually drops better deals around back-to-school and Black Friday.
Either way, the Touch Bar era is officially over, and honestly, we're not sad about it.
Our take: This is Apple playing it safe and nailing the fundamentals.
No gimmicks, no forced innovation — just faster chips, better ports, and a keyboard that works.
Final Thoughts
Sometimes boring is exactly what we need.