'AirBar' Accessory That Gives 13-Inch MacBook Air a Touchscreen is Now Available

Tuesday July 18, 2017 6:30 AM PDT by Joe Rossignol
Neonode today announced that AirBar for the 13-inch MacBook Air is now available to purchase for $99 at select retailers in the United States, including Fry's Electronics and Evine.com. It'll also be available online through Amazon, Best Buy, and Staples, but it doesn't appear to be in stock on those websites yet.


AirBar, a CES 2017 Innovation Awards Honoree, is a thin aluminum bar that magnetically attaches below the 13-inch MacBook Air's display, connects to a USB port, and transforms the notebook into a touchscreen device.

AirBar projects an invisible light field on the surface of the MacBook Air's display. When a finger, stylus, brush, or other object breaks the light, users are able to interact with the screen without actually touching it, including gestures such as tap-to-select, swiping, scrolling, and pinch-to-zoom.


Neonode said AirBar requires 17mm of free space below the display, so it won't fit any MacBook Pro, 12-inch MacBook, or 11-inch MacBook Air.

AirBar is a plug-and-play sensor that "instantly activates" upon being plugged into any USB port on the right side of the 13-inch MacBook Air. Neonode also offers multi-touch software as a one-time installation to enable additional gestures.

AirBar is also available for select Windows laptops with displays sized 13.3 inches, 14 inches, and 15.6 inches.

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Tag: AirBar
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78 comments


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rp2011
29 months ago

This is absolutely useless. When will people learn that touch screen laptops don't work unless you are able to detach the screen in which case it's just a tablet...

For You. Useless for you.
Rating: 12 Votes
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CerebralX
29 months ago
This is absolutely useless. When will people learn that touch screen laptops don't work unless you are able to detach the screen in which case it's just a tablet...
Rating: 12 Votes
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v0lume4
29 months ago

This is absolutely useless. When will people learn that touch screen laptops don't work unless you are able to detach the screen in which case it's just a tablet...

Um, no.

I was using a Surface tablet last night (keyboard attached, on a desk) punching in numbers on Excel, and I found myself quite often moving around the spreadsheet with the touchscreen instead of using the trackpad. It was really nice to have the option. Read: option

An option that you can't get on the Mac. :rolleyes:
Rating: 8 Votes
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KaliPaige
29 months ago

All that touching makes that mac feel very unsafe.....


The Mac needs an adult!

In all seriousness though, awesome piece of tech. I'd love to see this thing make its way to the rest of the MacBook lineup. More input options are never a bad thing!
Rating: 6 Votes
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KaliPaige
29 months ago

They are if they do not offer any advantage to existing input options and come with a series of drawbacks (more expensive, drain battery life, added bulk to the device)


Then don't buy one. Simple as that.
Rating: 6 Votes
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Squirreladd
29 months ago

This is absolutely useless. When will people learn that touch screen laptops don't work unless you are able to detach the screen in which case it's just a tablet...

Speak for your own use case. I for one find a touch screen useful in many situations. Is it a selling point for me no but it is an added benefit I enjoy and use daily
Rating: 6 Votes
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Starflyer
29 months ago
I don't even like using my iPad sitting upright on a desk. This would be torture.
Rating: 5 Votes
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pat500000
29 months ago
All that touching makes that mac feel very unsafe.....
Rating: 5 Votes
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djeeyore25
29 months ago
I'm always looking for things to fill up the overabundance of USB ports on my MacBook Air.
Rating: 5 Votes
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melendezest
29 months ago
I don't think that all Macs need to come with touchscreens, but the fact that no Apple laptop does is a gap in Apple's portfolio (from the customer perspective).

Not that they care. Apple is flush with cash doing what they're doing, so I don't see ANY motivation for them to put out a touchscreen Mac. The (ridiculous) TouchBar is it, fellas.

What some of us could use is an iOS laptop (or 2-in-one) with filesystem access, mouse support, and multi-user accounts.

That way I don't have to buy a stupid stand, third-party keyboard, or flimsy type-cover for a single-lightning-ported iPad.
Rating: 5 Votes
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