you can switch back to default F1... keys
> Removing all legacy ports necessitating the use of dongles for everything
Somewhere have to start the transition
> Prioritising thinness and weight over everything else
Batterylife is the same
Worst thing on the new rMBPs: No silent trackpad click option m(
I use OS X just as an client.
By removing every single legacy port long before there's anywhere near ubiquitous USB-C? Even USB-C cables themselves are more commonly sold as USB-A to USB-C. I love having usable DisplayPort/Thunderbolt, HDMI, and USB-A on my 2013 rMBP - I never need a dongle. If I went to a 2016, I'd need at least 3, every day.
> Prioritising thinness and weight over everything else
Battery life is certainly not the same, and the lack of a 16GB option or a faster processor is a well-missed loss.
Is it certainly not the same? It seems pretty much the same to me. Lack of a 16GB option? I have a 16 GB TB mac.
The FUD is getting old.
Quite a few folks including Consumer Reports would differ with you on that point.
For example when they re-tried with Chrome (instead of Safari) the found exactly the same, and in some cases better, battery life.
Not following... the physical key is gone, replaced by the touch bar?
Another problem with the touch bar is unintended touches. I constantly found myself accidentally resting a finger on the Esc key, which of course caused all sorts of weirdness in various apps.
Finally, as a touch typist the touch bar was simply distracting. I never look at the keyboard, but the touch bar really wants you to look down, which is a source of distraction, especially when it changes contents in the periphery of your vision.
If the touch bar brought lots of utility, I might have learned to deal with it, but it is really is of limited value. Emojis? There's cmd-ctrl-space for that (the touch bar doesn't have search so you'll be scrolling a lot to hunt down the right emoji). Safari tab previews? They're idiotically tiny. And so on.
I doubt anyone is going to remove CTRL or [ anytime soon, so getting used to that would future-proof you quite well.
I appreciated Apple's innovations in the past, but imho Apple shows little understanding of their remaining users in the "pro" market, or rather unwillingness to cater for them. Pro users want predictable work horses and a roadmap for their software purchases, not the new shiny and Apple doing away with basic functionalities of a computer system such as standard keyboards and ports.
Why didn't Apple make touch bar optional on the higher end Macbook Pros?
Why not just set Caps Lock to Esc? Works well with Vim and you don't wanna use Caps Lock anyway.
I use Karabiner Elements to set it that way. Karabiner doesn't work with Sierra.