Apple’s new MacBook Pro models may have been controversial, but we can all agree that the Touch Bar is pretty cool.
The good news is that two enterprising developers have created a Touch Bar version that will work on your iMac and iPad, if you’re keen to try it out without paying an extortionate fee for the new MacBook Pro notebooks.
The Touch Bar is a new input method introduced on the more expensive variants of the MacBook Pro. It’s basically an OLED touchscreen that replaces the top row of function keys on the MacBook keyboard, and will present different controls depending on what software you have open at the time.
In a bid to extend this feature beyond the MacBook Pro, Andreas Verhoeven and Robbert Klarenbeek have uploaded an app to Github that exports the feature to other devices –and it's available to download on your Mac right now.
You can also download it onto your iPad, so that when you connect your tablet to a Mac, the app will run. However, this process is a little more complicated, as it involves side-loading the Github download. Head to this page for instructions on how to do that.
Despite the innovative Touch Bar, Apple’s new MacBook Pro has been mired in controversy. Most of the anger is directed at the high pricing, as well as Apple’s decision to remove the SD card port.
But Apple maintains that the new MacBook Pro is performing extremely well in terms of sales, with Senior VP or Worldwide Marketing Phil Schiller recently quoted as saying: “We are proud to tell you that so far our online store has had more orders for the new MacBook Pro than any other pro notebook before. So there are certainly a lot of people as excited as we are about it."
