It seems Apple can no longer keep a secret, with leaks and rumors of new product launches and details of upcoming products being right on the money again and again as of late. What's more, this latest leak comes directly from Apple.
Yesterday, macOS Sierra 10.12.1 was released and it took no time for people to notice Apple Pay images showing the new MacBook Pro and its OLED touch panel that is set to replace the function key row (supposedly to be called the 'Magic Toolbar'). There are a few other details shown, like Touch ID clearly being supported, a new hinge that could point to a redesigned thinner profile, and no Escape key on the top left corner of what appears to be the new 13-inch MacBook Pro.
With a Microsoft Surface event scheduled for today (a day before Apple's) one has to wonder if the leak was not made on purpose to steal some more of Microsoft's thunder.
The original story about Thursday Oct 27 event and what to expect follows below...
Apple has sent out invitations to members of the press for an event at its Cupertino headquarters on October 27. As usual, the invitation is light on details, though the company is widely expected to refresh its Mac lineup. The tagline on the invite is "hello again," likely in reference to the original Macintosh unveiling in 1984.
An update to the MacBook Pro line is pretty much a given --- the Retina MacBook Pro hasn't seen an update in over a year. Rumors point to a set of touch-sensitive OLED keys on the MacBook Pro to replace the function row along the top of the keyboard, possibly dubbed "Control Strip", allowing those keys to change based on the application you're using.
Many expect the addition of Touch ID for secure user logins, as well as authenticating transactions through the company's Apple Pay service in apps and Safari. And there are also reports that Apple will move to USB-C exclusively, dropping classic USB and its own MagSafe power connector in favor of the all-in-one port it uses on the smaller 12-inch MacBook --- hopefully they'll squeeze more than one USB Type-C port this time around, though.
On the MacBook Air side, there are rumors that the company might kill off 11-inch version of its popular laptop and update the 13-inch model with fresher specs and USB-C.
There hasn't been much action on the desktop side for Apple either so we'll see if the company has any plans on that front. The company has been rumored to be working on a 5K display with its own GPU to replace the discontinued Thunderbolt Display.