A video worth knowing

Hipyo Tech tests a Touch Bar comeback, cable and all

The Flex Bar earns a permanent place beneath his monitor, but unreliable app switching and a steep price complicate the verdict.

Channel:

Hipyo Tech Story of October 27, 2026Trari Newsroom

Why this story? 975,313 views so far, and here is what is inside it.

Finally Someone Did What Apple Couldn't...

Things we can learn from the video

Press to jump

2:16The aluminum Flex Bar requires a cable; it cannot connect wirelessly.
3:25Touch controls provide haptic feedback, but Hipyo finds no way to customize it.
5:42FlexDesigner and the FlexGate community repository offer customizable controls, plugins and macros.
6:44Automatic switching based on the active window fails to work reliably in his testing.
8:58He experiments with placement and mounts the bar beneath his monitor as an information display.
9:54His verdict: useful enough to keep, but overpriced; he argues for a price around $99.

Hipyo Tech bought the Flex Bar with very low expectations. By the end of his review, the little touchscreen has a permanent place on his desk, just not beside his keyboard.

The accessory revives Apple's abandoned MacBook Touch Bar idea as a standalone strip for customizable controls and macros. Crucially, it doesn't require sacrificing a keyboard's physical function keys. Several viewers make that distinction in the comments: their objection to Apple's version wasn't necessarily the touchscreen, but what it replaced.

Hipyo paid $167 for the aluminum bar, which comes with a magnetic stand and requires a USB-C connection. There is no wireless option. Touching the display produces haptic feedback, although he finds no way to customize that feedback.

Software is the bigger test. He explores the FlexDesigner app and a community repository of plugins and macros, but the feature meant to switch controls automatically according to the active window doesn't work reliably for him. That leaves a gap between the convenience the device promises and his experience using it.

His eventual solution is to mount it beneath his monitor as a small information display. "This thing has occupied a space on my desk permanently," he says.

That is an endorsement of its usefulness, not its price. For a creator whose recent reviews have focused on budget keyboards, the distinction matters: he thinks the Flex Bar should cost around $99. It stays on the desk, but the buying recommendation comes with reservations.

Published on Trari

Where next?

Also in Technology reviews and gadgetsA video worth knowingGamers Nexus challenges Altman's take on the RAM in your PCSteve Burke argues that local computing has uses a global resource-allocation argument misses, including working without an internet connection.Channel: Gamers Nexus · Story of November 2, 2026

A different discovery todayA video worth knowingNileBlue's skull candy hits every taste at once, but no flavorA sweetener thousands of times stronger than sugar, a famously bitter compound and pure capsaicin go into the brass-molded drops, and the verdict surprises eve…Channel: NileBlue · Story of November 2, 2026

What viewers say

I kinda liked the idea of the Touch Bar, but I don’t think replacing the function row was the play.
@ethanmccorkle6693See it on YouTube
I still have a MacBook with a Touch Bar and I REFUSE to upgrade because I love it so much. Instantly clicked on this video
@theatrix10See it on YouTube
1:26 I bought 2 from their kickstarter and it cost about the same as 1 does now and i just have them on the underside of my ultrawide monitor showing info and things
@TuntaluntaSee it on YouTube

2 more comments

I paid $120 for the Kickstarter. Good to see the software has matured because it was not that usable for me when I got it. Might dust it off and give it another go
@SuperNicktendoSee it on YouTube
The Touch Bar was awesome. All Apple had to do was give us the function row and Touch Bar at the same time.
@collinwiedelSee it on YouTube

Public comments from the video's page on YouTube