【Watch Vanguard Online】

Although Apple's new laptop interface was leaked days before Thursday's event,Watch Vanguard Online the new Touch Bar nevertheless impressed with an array of new software-meets-hardware functions.

Offered in the new 13-inch and 15-inch versions of the MacBook Pro, the full color, multi-touch strip changes based on the application you're using, giving you a touch interface on a traditionally non-touch Apple device.

On stage, the company showed off three powerful examples of how the Touch Bar can be used in Photoshop, Final Cut Pro X and a music app called Algoriddim. In some ways mimicking the features of existing third-party hardware accessories, Touch Bar was shown as a tool to help adjust blending modes during precise Photoshop editing sessions (standing in for some mouse functions) and as a scrolling tool for moving through Final Cut Pro X footage (possibly killing the popular shuttle wheel).

In the case of Final Cut Pro X, Apple made a special update to the software and added Magnetic Timeline to make the scrolling feature on Touch Bar incredibly precise as well as mimicking the color coded features present in the desktop app.

During the music portion of the demo, a representative from Algoriddim put together short live DJ set that illustrated how the Touch Bar could, depending how an app is configured for it, replace some third-party hardware music controllers.

Other Touch Bar compatible apps include:

• Mail

• Finder

• Calendar

• Numbers

• GarageBand

• Messages

• Photos

• Pages

• FaceTime

• Apple Pay

The company's promotional video even showed off the ability to answer or decline phone calls by tapping two very familiar buttons (they looked straight from the iPhone).

During another demo moment, we also got to see dedicated Touch Bar buttons for Twitter, Facebook, Bing, Google and LinkedIn. However, it's not clear when those will be available (Apple didn't immediately respond to a request for comment). Also mentioned as a future app was Microsoft Word, with more third-party apps on the way.

Make no mistake, although there are some early doubters regarding the usefulness and ergonomic facility of the feature, the Touch Bar appears poised to make the workflow of MacBook Pro devotees a lot quicker and more seamless.

The new MacBook Pros with Touch Bar functionality are available for pre-order now, with delivery in two to three weeks.