The Flexbar is a substitute for Apple’s Contact Bar that might give the Stream Deck a run for its cash — assuming the software program is absolutely hammered into form sooner or later.
The Contact Bar was a component of the MacBook Professional keyboard that provided the promise of productiveness. By giving customers the flexibility to the touch a row of context-aware buttons that carried out shortcuts or modified settings, they may doubtlessly do extra without having to navigate menus or keep in mind key mixtures.
Whereas the part had potential, it was typically derided and was finally changed by a row of bodily operate keys, following the dying of the 13-inch MacBook Professional.
Customers not have the choice of utilizing the Contact Bar in Apple’s present crop of {hardware}, and as a substitute they need to look elsewhere if the need one thing comparable. The Stream Deck is an apparent and well-tested possibility, however in case you wished an interface that is a lot nearer to the Contact Bar in idea, it is best to as a substitute flip to the Flexbar.
Created by Eniac, the Flexbar is a skinny OLED show that gives a set of software program buttons and controls to work together with your Mac and its apps. By touching the display screen, you may set off shortcuts, macros, or in any other case management the related Mac, all from a bar designed to sit down above your keyboard, like the unique Contact Bar.
Whereas it will not essentially supply the entire performance of Apple’s Contact Bar, it does supply plenty of what its predecessor promised.
Flexbar evaluation – Design
The Flexbar is, mainly, an OLED show in an aluminum alloy enclosure. It is a skinny bar of a show, and at 10.8 inches lengthy, 0.6 inches extensive, and 0.3 inches thick, it is virtually so long as a Magic Keyboard.
The aluminum alloy enclosure would not go amiss when surrounded by Apple {hardware}, so it should mix in with most individuals’s Mac setups with ease.
The guts of the gadget is that 2K AMOLED display screen, which has a decision of two,170 by 60 pixels. This clearly is not supposed for use as an precise show for content material, however it’s sufficiently big for tappable components to be seen.
Flexbar evaluation: The show is shiny and simply readable.
It is a touch-enabled display screen, however there are additionally two black display-less components on the ends. Whereas not used as a part of the seen show, they do nonetheless have makes use of, reminiscent of opening a small interface drawer or being the default “back” button.
It is also very gentle at 71.7 grams (2.5 ounces), so it is simple to hold round with a MacBook Professional. That’s, in case you can stow it away in a right-sized pocket in your bag.
When used as supposed on the prime of a MacBook Professional’s keyboard, it does imply you must elevate your fingers about half an inch to press components of it. When used on a desktop Mac, positioned on the desk behind the keyboard, it may be much more stage with the keys.
Flexbar evaluation: It is a lengthy touch-enabled show, much like the Contact Bar
When used by itself, its easy base means it will possibly simply slip round your desk in case you’re not cautious. Eniac does provide some pads to extend the quantity of grip, however there’s additionally a magnetic stand that ships with it.
The wedge-shaped stand sticks to the Flexbar firmly, and angles the show towards the consumer, making it simpler to see the display screen. This does elevate the Flexbar up increased, so it is harder to succeed in on a MacBook Professional, however it’s significantly extra helpful for desktop-based customers.
Flexbar evaluation: The equipped magnetic wedge helps angle the Flexbar
Connecting the Flexbar to your Mac is dealt with by a USB-C cable, with a woven one equipped within the field. This connects to 1 finish of the Flexbar, dealing with information and energy.
This may very well be an issue for folks wanting a wi-fi desktop, however it could be arduous to think about hiding a battery in that enclosure without having to make it thicker.
By default, you connect with the USB-C port on the right-hand facet of the show, however you may flip it round and alter a setting so it really works with the port on the left too.
The sunshine weight of the Flexbar does introduce the issue of cable jostling transferring the bar itself very simply. It is much less of a difficulty when utilizing the stand for further weight, however it’s nonetheless one thing to keep in mind whereas utilizing it.
Flexbar evaluation – Designer
Whereas the {hardware} itself is half the equation, the opposite is the software program. Flexbar Designer is the app you utilize so as to add the entire software program buttons and components to the Flexbar itself.
Given a illustration of the Flexbar, customers can add buttons of various sorts that carry out totally different duties. The obvious are buttons used to carry out a macro or to carry out keypresses for you, reminiscent of a button that locations fundamental HTML code right into a textual content field.
Different sorts embrace media management, {hardware} administration components such because the display screen brightness of your Mac or quantity management, and buttons to open webpages or functions.
The entire buttons may be positioned simply, and with plenty of management over how every button seems to be. This could embrace making a button wider or narrower, border types, font types, and association of components inside the button itself.
They are not simply buttons, both. For instance, you may arrange a quantity management slider so that you could set the precise quantity proportion you need.
Not every thing needs to be interactive, as you could possibly additionally use the Flexbar as a show for information. There are alternatives to view metrics reminiscent of CPU load or RAM utilization, that are proven as live-updating graphs.
Flexbar evaluation: Flexbar Designer is used to configure the menus out of your Mac.
You are additionally not restricted to only one display screen of icons and components, as you may outline pages. Every web page can maintain a number of buttons, which may make it rather a lot simpler to group collectively shortcuts relying in your at present in-use utility.
Within the quick time spent with the Flexbar, we have been in a position to arrange a web page of shortcuts for Blender and Twitch. In an indication structure preinstalled on the Flexbar, it included pages for Adobe functions, video games together with Minecraft, OBS, and pages of ready phrases and statements for chatrooms.
It’s potential to rearrange as much as 14 ranges of nested pages within the Flexbar, so you could possibly simply arrange teams of icons into bigger teams. For instance, pages for Adobe Premiere, Lightroom, and Photoshop may very well be nested inside a basic Adobe web page, which itself may very well be inside a Work nest.
The guide does clarify that it’s potential to bind a web page to a window, so that it’ll seem on the Flexbar as quickly as that window or utility is in concentrate on the primary desktop. This may be extraordinarily helpful, if correctly configured.
Whereas Eniac has gone to some hassle to make the method of including components to the Flexbar’s show comprehensible, it’s nonetheless plenty of work for a consumer to undertake. It may very well be made rather a lot simpler for a consumer to get began with the Flexbar, reminiscent of having pre-defined default shortcut collections for apps that customers may add.
This is not obtainable now, however it may very well be sooner or later.
As a mission provided on Kickstarter, the workforce continues to be engaged on getting the entire components in place, together with creating the software program that Flexbar must run. As prerelease software program equipped to AppleInsider earlier than the Flexbar shifts, the software program is in a usable state, if not absolutely polished.
Because it’s software program, there may be all the time the prospect of increasing its options to make it much more user-friendly. Certainly, there are already guarantees of components which are in improvement to perform this.
A plug-in system will permit builders so as to add Flexbar performance by way of APIs. This presents the chance for deeper integration with apps, and presumably extra management choices.
A plug-in market may also be on the best way, which can in flip simplify the method of customers including apps to the Flexbar interface. It is easy to think about having the ability to set up a plugin and have a web page robotically populate with related buttons and controls for an app.
Nonetheless, these are nonetheless in-development options that will not be obtainable at first. It’s anticipated that the plug-in system and market will launch someday within the second quarter of 2025.
They are not obtainable now, however it’s straightforward to see them being welcomed by customers down the highway.
Flexbar evaluation – In Use
There may be the expectation that the Flexbar is analogous in utilization to Apple’s Contact Bar. To some extent, it’s.
The brilliant show, with an adjustable brightness management, crisply shows the software program buttons and sliders with out problem. Even with massive fingers, the smallest button settings are nonetheless simply pressed with out mis-taps, and positioned above the keyboard, it is simply inside attain.
That’s, if the cable of your keyboard would not get in the best way an excessive amount of. If in case you have a keyboard with a cable that stands proud the again, it should get in the best way and pressure you to maneuver the Flexbar over to the facet.
Flexbar evaluation: The bottom may be very flat and slick. Use the magnetic stand for extra grip and weight.
The act of urgent the buttons or different components can be helped by haptic suggestions. A button faucet or a slide is greeted with a small vibration, acknowledging your press.
Faucets are additionally rapidly acted upon in the event that they contain the Mac, with actions carried out with minimal lag.
It is very straightforward to think about utilizing this in an analogous method to a Stream Deck. If in case you have plenty of shortcuts and macros arrange in a Stream Deck, you may simply add extra in a bar-style association right here.
There are just a few included capabilities which are extra for present than they’re sensible. There are hexadecimal converters and calculators which, whereas useful, do not actually lend themselves to a bar structure versus your typical calculator quantity pad grid.
There’s additionally the curious addition of a ruler with each centimeter and inch markings. It is a bit of enjoyable however it is usually correct, making it useful in case you want a measurement and a bodily ruler is nowhere to be discovered.
Flexbar evaluation: It communicates to your Mac utilizing USB-C.
The place the Flexbar would not fairly match the Contact Bar is in Apple’s advantageous integrations. The important thing one being the dearth of prompt phrases when utilizing a textual content editor, a process the Contact Bar was extraordinarily useful for having.
It is possible that this type of performance may very well be added utilizing the plug-in system in a roundabout way, however not for the second.
Utilizing it over time, we did run into the difficulty of lightness, because it was very susceptible to maneuver when tapped evenly, even on the magnetic stand. That is in all probability all the way down to utilizing it on a shiny picket floor quite than a mousepad or one other floor with extra grip.
Flexbar evaluation – An awesome begin for a distinct segment peripheral
The Flexbar definitely presents plenty of productiveness bonuses to customers in an analogous method to the Contact Bar it emulates, in addition to the competing Stream Deck. It is a useful little display screen that gives shortcuts inside a brief vary of your fingertips and your keyboard.
It already demonstrates a excessive stage of customizability, however with it comes complexity. For one thing like this, you’d anticipate an intrepid consumer to have the ability to get themselves arrange and operating after a little bit of finding out tips on how to use the Flexbar Designer instrument and a while tinkering.
For the typical Mac consumer, they are going to want much more steerage as it’s fairly an intimidating factor to get going with. It does want extra simplification of the setup course of for these customers.
Handily, it is a factor that may be handled by way of software program updates, with add-ons on the best way. Simply not proper now.
{Hardware}-wise, it is arduous to criticize the Flexbar. It is shiny, extensive, simply comprehensible as soon as arrange, and really intuitive to make use of.
Flexbar evaluation: There’s plenty of promise, however it must excellent its software program.
The sunshine weight of it’s mitigated by the extraordinarily helpful stand, however may be a difficulty. Some may additionally complain concerning the lack of a battery and wi-fi choices, however that once more may very well be a second-gen revision.
As a primary try to attempt to make a comparative product to Apple’s Contact Bar, the Flexbar will get plenty of issues proper. {Hardware}-wise it is just about there, with software program enhancements being the subsequent section of enchancment.
It isn’t fairly there proper now. We will definitely inform the place the workforce desires to go together with this, and the place it’d finally find yourself.
Flexbar ProsApple-like bodily design
Shiny and simple to make use of show
Vastly customizable menus, with the prospect for extra with app plug-insFlexbar ConsInitial setup is difficult to the typical consumer
Gentle weight, simply moved with the cableRating: 3 out of 5
The Flexbar is an fascinating product. As a rule, we like the thought, and the idea. The execution simply is not there proper now, and potential customers could be higher served with an Elgato Stream Deck, with the software program the best way it’s.
So, this rating is predicated on the pre-release {hardware} and software program equipped to AppleInsider for evaluation functions. It takes under consideration what’s usable on the time of the evaluation itself, and would not consider software program enhancements which have but to be carried out.
If executed proper, the inbound software program updates anticipated within the coming months may make it a much better total product. It is simply possible for the rating to be 4 out of 5 at that time — it simply is not proper now. We might revisit this sooner or later.
As a part of the evaluation, we have additionally included the truth that it is a crowdfunded mission. As a crowdfunded mission, there may be all the time the danger the product not delivery as promised — or in any respect. Due to this, AppleInsider would not cowl nearly all of crowdfunding efforts as a rule, until {hardware} is on the market and after an evaluation of the workforce behind the hassle.
The place to purchase the Flexbar
The Flexbar is at present obtainable on Kickstarter with a marketing campaign that can finish on January 2, 8 AM Japanese, 1 PM UTC. On the time of publication, it has raised $264,684 of its $2,576 aim.
It has an MSRP of $179, with Kickstarter backer bundles ranging from $149.
