Phil Schiller Discusses 16-Inch MacBook Pro, Says Virtual Esc Key Was Number One Complaint About Touch Bar

Apple's marketing chief Phil Schiller has spoken with CNET's Roger Cheng about the new 16-inch MacBook Pro, reflecting on the new Magic Keyboard, the Touch Bar, and many other aspects of the notebook.

touch bar esc key
When asked about the redesigned scissor keyboard on the 16-inch MacBook Pro, Schiller acknowledged that the butterfly keyboards on recent MacBook Pro models have received a "mixed reaction" due in part to "some quality issues" that could result in sticky, repeating, or nonfunctional keys.

Schiller says Apple carefully considered customer feedback and found that many professional users wanted the MacBook Pro to have a similar keyboard as the standalone Magic Keyboard for the iMac:

As you know, a number of years ago we started a new keyboard technology with this butterfly keyboard and began it with MacBook. It had some things it did really well, like creating a much more stable key platform. It felt more firm and flat under your finger -- some people really like that, but other people weren't really happy with that. We got sort of a mixed reaction. We had some quality issues we had to work on. Over the years we've been refining that keyboard design, and we're now on the third generation, and a lot of people are much happier with that as we've advanced and advanced it.

As we started to investigate specifically what pro users most wanted, a lot of times they would say, "I want something like this Magic Keyboard, I love that keyboard."

Another common request among professionals was to bring back a physical Esc key. Schiller said it was the "number one" complaint about the Touch Bar. To its credit, Apple listened and made the change:

There is a fairly large number of customers who use the Touch Bar and see great benefit in some of its features, but there were also some complaints. If I were to rank the complaints, No. 1 was customers who like a physical Escape key. It was just a hard adaptation for a lot of people.

We decided that rather than just remove the Touch Bar and lose the benefits some people get, we could instead add the Escape key. While we were doing that, we had already in the MacBook Air created a discrete Touch ID button. People really like that. So the decision was made to keep the Touch Bar, but also to create room on either side for the Escape key and Touch ID key. That is the best solution for the largest number of people we've dealt with who had complaints -- and kept something innovative that people were using with Touch Bar.

When asked if Apple ever plans to merge the Mac and iPad, Schiller insisted the devices will remain separate:

No, that's not our view. Because then you get this in-between thing, and in-between things are never as good as the individual things themselves. We believe the best personal computer is a Mac, and we want to keep going down that path. And we think the best tablet computing device is an iPad, and we'll go down that path.

Schiller also downplayed the possibility of a touchscreen Mac, as Apple always has.

At the very end of the interview, Schiller takes a shot at Google's Chromebooks in the classroom, describing them as "cheap testing tools" that do not allow kids to succeed. Naturally, Schiller said Apple thinks the iPad is the "ultimate tool" for a child to learn on and be the most engaged.

Chromebooks have gotten to the classroom because, frankly, they're cheap testing tools for required testing. If all you want to do is test kids, well, maybe a cheap notebook will do that. But they're not going to succeed.

The full interview contains several more questions and answers and is a worthwhile read.

Update: Schiller also sat down with YouTube tech reviewer Jonathan Morrison to discuss the 16-inch MacBook Pro. Notably, Schiller said that Apple is unlikely to bring an SD card slot back to the MacBook Pro. He also said the technology does not exist yet to bring all of the Pro Display XDR features to a MacBook-sized screen.

Related Roundup: MacBook Pro
Related Forum: MacBook Pro

Popular Stories

iOS 26 Feature

iOS 26.1 to iOS 26.4 Will Add These New Features to Your iPhone

Wednesday October 1, 2025 1:26 pm PDT by
iOS 26 was released last month, but the software train never stops, and iOS 26.1 beta testing is already underway. So far, iOS 26.1 makes both Apple Intelligence and Live Translation on compatible AirPods available in additional languages, and it includes some other minor changes across Apple Music, Calendar, Photos, and Safari. More features and changes will follow in future versions,...
john ternus on stage

Gurman: Major Apple Leadership Shakeup Impending With John Ternus as Next CEO

Monday October 6, 2025 6:21 am PDT by
Apple is entering its most significant leadership transition in more than a decade as multiple senior executives prepare to depart and CEO Tim Cook begins to shape the company's next generation of leaders, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. In the latest edition of his "Power On" newsletter, Gurman explained that Jeff Williams, who was viewed as Cook's potential successor for several...
iPhone 17 vs Air and Pros Feature

New iPhones See 'Stronger Than Expected' Demand With One Exception

Thursday October 2, 2025 7:26 am PDT by
Nearly two weeks after the iPhone 17 series launched, analysts at investment banking firm Morgan Stanley said demand for the devices has been "modestly stronger than we originally expected," based on a combination of extended shipping estimates on Apple's online store and information it gathered from Apple's supply chain. There has been strong early demand for the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro,...
iOS 26 Feature

iOS 26 Adds These 200 New Features and Changes to Your iPhone

Saturday October 4, 2025 8:19 am PDT by
Apple's website offers a list of nearly 200 new features and changes (PDF file) included in the software update, released last month. Apple also shared equivalent lists for iPadOS 26 and macOS Tahoe. iOS 26 is compatible with the iPhone 11 and newer. To install the update, open the Settings app on your iPhone, tap on General, and tap on Software Update. Below, we have highlighted eight ...
ios 26 1 slide to stop

Apple Fixes Alarms in iOS 26.1

Monday October 6, 2025 11:56 am PDT by
With the second beta of iOS 26.1, Apple updated the design of alarms set on the iPhone, making them harder to dismiss than before. Stopping an alarm in iOS 26.1 beta 2 requires a new Slide to Stop gesture rather than a simple tap. You can continue to tap to snooze an alarm, but if you want to turn it off entirely, you need to use a swipe. Transitioning from a tap to a slide gesture to...
ipad mini 7 feature blue

iPad Mini 8 on the Way: Expected Features and Release Timeline

Monday October 6, 2025 5:05 am PDT by
A new iPad mini is "absolutely" on the way, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. So what should we expect from the successor to the iPad mini 7 that Apple released a year ago? Processor and Performance Apple is working on a next-generation version of the iPad mini (codename J510/J511) that features the A19 Pro chip, according to information found in code that Apple mistakenly shared in...
macbook air prime day 2025

M5 MacBook Air: Release Date, Features, and Performance Predictions

Friday October 3, 2025 3:39 am PDT by
The MacBook Air is Apple's most popular laptop – a thin, fanless machine that wields quiet power thanks to the efficiency of Apple silicon. While the M4 model isn't exactly old, attention is already turning to its successor. Apple doesn't telegraph new product launches ahead of time, but we can draw a surprisingly clear picture of what to expect by looking at Apple's silicon roadmap,...
iCloud iPhone 17 Pro

Apple Highlights Five Perks for iPhone Users Who Pay for iCloud Storage

Monday October 6, 2025 6:29 am PDT by
After launching new iPhones last month, Apple is promoting iCloud+ with a prominent banner on its home page, in a bid to boost its services revenue. In addition to more storage, all iCloud+ plans include five perks for iPhone users. As a refresher, iCloud includes 5GB of storage for free. If you want extra storage, you need to subscribe to an iCloud+ plan. In the United States, prices range...

Top Rated Comments

fmcshan Avatar
77 months ago
Many of us would also like to see MagSafe rise from the dead as well?
Score: 79 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Smearbrick Avatar
77 months ago
The Touch Bar was a solution to a problem no one had, or needed. I would love to see the actual numbers on people who actually consider it useful.
Score: 68 Votes (Like | Disagree)
falkon-engine Avatar
77 months ago
I can imagine that several people's number one complaint about the Mac Pro will be its price. I wonder if Apple will listen and address the desktop market in the $2k to $4k range.

And another thing: Apple seriously needs to bring modularity back in some form, even if they don't offer it on all models. If I spend over $2k on a notebook, why on earth can I not upgrade it (SSD/RAM) when the time comes? Boggles my mind.
Score: 43 Votes (Like | Disagree)
WannaGoMac Avatar
77 months ago
What Touch Bar? Is that that thing at the top I never use because I don’t look down on my keyboard when I’m typing?
Score: 37 Votes (Like | Disagree)
aaronhead14 Avatar
77 months ago
And the number 2 complaint about the Touch Bar was the rest of the Touch Bar.

Nix it, Apple!
Score: 30 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ersan191 Avatar
77 months ago
Completely unnecessary shot at chromebooks.
Score: 25 Votes (Like | Disagree)