Apple Design on the Decline (Premium)

There's been a lot of complaining lately about the declining quality of Apple design. For good reason.

To be clear, I am not adding my voice to a chorus of complaints that has suddenly arisen in the past year. In fact, I feel like I initiated this movement as I've been raising these issues for years. So welcome aboard the reality train, everyone else. What took so long?

OK, that was rhetorical. A combination of factors has led us to this point. Apple does generally deliver excellent products, and is thus often given a pass on the mistakes. But things have changed in recent years. And virtually everyone, even Apple's biggest fans, is finally taking notice of the decline.

Some of Apple's most recent design choices almost read as deliberate pranks, like a drunk Tim Cook and Jony Ive bet each other one night about how far they could go off the rails before their compliant user base finally woke up. But I bet no one is laughing now. And that even the most loyal Apple fan is experiencing what I feel is an overdue WTF moment.

A few examples.

In late 2016, Apple released an overdue new generation of MacBook Pro laptops. As over-priced as ever, these new computers were savaged by Apple's remaining pro customer base for being completely inappropriate for their needs.

Nit-picky arguments over individual features notwithstanding, many pointed to these devices' over-reliance on USB-C/Thunderbolt 3 for expansion. But that's silly. This technology is modern and forward-leaning, and I've already explained why the dongle argument is an invention by Luddites and the short-sighted. Instead, we can focus on the very many real issues with these laptops, and with the 2017 models that Apple hurried out to the door to address some of the concerns.

The biggest is the Touch Bar, a child-like and childish user interface that is available, paradoxically, on only the most expensive MacBook Pro models. (Many 13-inch models and all 15-inch models.) This interface is an affront to any professional, and while Apple, and some fans, might point to the benefits of a context-sensitive row of virtual keys, the presentation is ridiculous, embarrassing.

Worst of all, I think, is that you can't avoid the Touch Bar if you buy a 15-inch MacBook Pro, the most expensive versions. This would drive me nuts if I were in the market for such a device.

Related to the Touch Bar is the MacBook Pro's gigantic new touchpad, which has grown to ludicrous proportions. Apple has never provided a real reason for the massive growth of this peripheral, but the touchpad is now roughly twice as big as it needs to be. It's silly, and, like the Touch Bar, there is nothing "pro" about it.

But that's not really why the Touch Bar and the humongous touchpad are related. Instead, both of these features are cancerous design out-growths of an inane and indefensible Apple policy to not bring its vaunted multi-touch display capabilities to the Mac. Once Apple shut down that ...