14 DAY TRIAL // iOS 12 will be rolled out in September with several major new features, and just as it happens with every new release, users are still waiting for more, especially in terms of customization and usability.
While Apple has so far been quite reticent to changes in this regard, designers and developers around the world have proposed several ways to improve iOS in this regard. Including a concept envisioning what the MacBook Pro Touch Bar would look like on an iPhone.
As you can see on the project’s GitHub page, the Touch Bar would adapt to each app where it’s implemented and offers features that improve the way users interact with them.
For example, keyboard apps could use the Touch Bar for quick access to extra features like emoji, numbers, or punctuation marks, while also offering general purpose controls, like buttons for adjusting brightness and sound.
Third-party app support
The Touch Bar would technically add a new bar over the prediction toolbar already available in iOS, so the available screen estate within apps would be substantially reduced. Apple, however, could find a way to improve this idea and make it a more seamless implementation, though Cupertino is very unlikely to ever think of bringing the Touch Bar to iOS.
On the other hand, apps themselves can receive improvements in this regard, despite that their features would be limited due to restrictions that Apple has included in iOS. Adjusting brightness and volume, for example, may not be possible unless Apple specifically gives access to these features.
Microsoft’s SwiftKey features a similar keyboard, but its purpose is to offer access to extra capabilities bundled within the keyboard, like GIF and location sharing.
Certainly, this is an interesting idea, but given Apple’s typical reticence to adopting changes like this, it’s hard to believe iOS could ever get a Touch Bar-like implementation. Not anytime soon anyway.
