It held no promise. It was clear that it was a dumb idea the moment the "touch strip" leaked in 2015
There is no potential there, or Apple would've pulled it off, and even they couldn't. The entire reason a keyboard is so functional is because A) the keys don't change, so you don't have to look down to type and B) the keys are physically there and you can feel them before clicking, so you don't have to look down and C) you have to apply physical force before activating them, so you don't have to look down
All so that you don't have to look down. The touch bar fundamentally defeats the entire purpose of a keybaord.
It looks cool in screenshots. But it's so, so dumb
THANK YOU, it's so dumb and I can't believe people are saying it was ahead of its time.
People get tricked by the fact that it looks cool and futuristic. It's a terrible idea and it's embarrassing that Apple tried it after everyone else failed