jkichline

OK I’m going to be the contrarian... it does come in handy at times. For instance...

1) When plugging in an external screen, it immediately gives you an opportunity to choose the mode for that screen (mirror or extend) without needing to find the display preferences.

2) I can easily start and control a video without moving the mouse on an external display that causes UI to appear. This is useful when using the Mac to play videos to a live audience.

3) Starting and controlling keynote presentations during live use.

4) Adjusting audio levels of video/audio live without any screen UI and fluidly.

You can’t charge your phone while using it without a Lightning or other connector. My wife has an iPhone X with wireless charging and at least twice a week her phone isn’t charged. It’s dumb. It requires a flat surface. It falls off. You can’t send high-res video or multi-channel audio... it would be assinine to remove it. Work on giving us complete wireless functionality first, and then when we no longer need wires, remove it.

I’m an Apple fan, but this is a legitimate problem. I had taken my 2016 MacBook Pro to the Apple Store five times (an hour drive each way) for this issue and others. But the keyboard issue was the most disheartening and impeded my work. They said it was dirt in the keyboard but most of time it sits on my desk connected to a hub. It’s not like I’m messy with it or use the built in keyboard often. Key presses and spaces wouldn’t register. I’d have it repaired and shortly after a different key would fail. I also had other issues with the battery going bad and the TB3 ports being loose.

They finally replaced it with a 2017 model and I haven’t had an issue since. I’m not sure if it’s a better design or if I’ve just lucked out.

My original MacBook Pro 13" with TouchBar was an absolute lemon.  I had to take it to the Apple Store 5 times (at a round trip of about 2 hours).  Had everything replaced.  The battery was "depleted" after 3 months of use... the keyboard was faulty, the TB3 ports were loose all around. Pretty much everything except the screen was replaced more than once.

They finally gave me a brand new 2017 MBPr/t with better specs and I haven't had an issue yet that isn't software related.

Seems to me this can be fixed with some well-placed IR beams/sensors and some lighting that illuminates the glass when you get too close. It would keep it clean looking, but warn you if you get too close.