How to use the Touch Bar with FaceTime on the MacBook Pro

With the Touch Bar on the MacBook Pro, video chatting is at your fingertips ... literally!

The Touch Bar on the MacBook Pro is designed to give you easy access to the tools you use the most in your apps. If you're using FaceTime, you can use the Touch Bar to start or end a video chat. Here's how it works.

How to start a video chat using FaceTime with the Touch Bar

It's pretty simple to call someone using the Touch Bar with FaceTime. You have to set up whom you want to talk to first. But once you have a contact selected, you can let your fingers do the walking.

Launch the FaceTime app on your MacBook Pro.
Select a contact's name (you may have to search for one).
Tap the info icon next to a contact's name to see his or her full contact card.
Tap the person's name on the Touch Bar to initiate the call.

While in the FaceTime app, you can also trigger a text message, email, or audio call from the Touch Bar.

These are the Touch Bar tools you have while on a FaceTime chat

While on a FaceTime call, you can quickly see how long you've been chatting. Check the running time directly under the contact's name.

You can also enter full screen mode, end the call, and mute your audio with just a tap on the Touch bar.

If you need to adjust the volume, tap the Control Strip to access audio controls and increase or decrease the volume.

My favorite tool is the ability to end the call with just a tap. You don't have to move your cursor up to the FaceTime window and scrambled to end the call if you've accidentally initiated a FaceTime call with someone (which I've been known to do).

How to customize the Touch Bar for FaceTime

Unfortunately, you can't This is a bummer for me. I feel like the Touch Bar could be better utilized with some additional tools and customizable features. But, the FaceTime app on the Mac doesn't really have a lot of options, anyway.