January 2022 • Macworld 41Apple’s next input innovation could take
some cues from devices like Elgato’s
Stream Deck.
trackpad, which Apple has continued
to enlarge, is an interesting possibility
for a successor to the Touch Bar.
Imagine a larger trackpad surface
with a display underneath, allowing
portions of the surface to be mapped
to different functions with visual
feedback. It could happen, though
after a decade spent unwinding its
keyboard mistakes, I’m not sure Apple
wants to risk screwing up the trackpad.
There’s one area where there’s
recently been a lot of excitement
when it comes to key input,
though, and perhaps Apple could
take a lesson from it: macro pads
like Elgato’s Stream Deck and
Loupedeck’s Loupedeck Live combine
a button-driven interface with custom
software that allows the buttons to
display custom labels and change
appearance in different modes.
I wonder if there’s something
there that could combine
some of the appeal of the
Touch Bar with the tactile
feel of the traditional
function-key row. I use a
Stream Deck Mini, and while
I could attach all of the functions I’ve
assigned to its buttons to the function
keys on my keyboard, it’s much better
to be able to see exactly what I’m
going to get when I press the button.
Maybe Apple will get excited about
taking another crack at the traditional
keyboard someday. I’d love to see
Stream Deck-style programmable
labels in the function row. Or maybe
Apple will decide to put new focus
on the Touch Bar, as Macworld’s
Michael Simon has suggested. But
you know what? If the price we all pay
for Apple’s dalliance with the Touch
Bar and the butterfly keyboard in the
mid-2010s is that for the next decade,
Apple just focuses on shipping a
reliable traditional keyboard, it’s
probably worth it.
We’ve all seen the alternative.
Boring and traditional isn’t so bad,
after all.