MacBook Pro keyboard. Image: Remus Moise/Shutterstock
Following the release of its latest iPhone and Apple Watch, Apple is now looking at an October release for the latest version of its MacBook Pro, with suggestions that it will include a touch bar.
The MacBook Pro remains the darling device of professional types who use the laptop for both work and home, and now it could be about to get a design overhaul.
According to MacRumors, leaked details of the next MacBook Pro reveal that it is likely to come with a new OLED ‘touch bar’. This would replace the current edition’s physical function keys and also integrate Touch ID protection.
It will also get a graphical update to a Polaris graphics chip, as Apple moves away from the AMD variety onto the more expensive 15in models.
This would expand upon news in August that revealed some hardware updates to the MacBook Air, including USB-C ports and some updated processing power in its iMacs.
End of October release
As part of this latest news however, Apple’s current focus appears to be on its macOS 10.12.1 operating system to support the range of hardware updates.
Sources within Apple said the company will begin planning beta tests of the latest OS for developers and the public in the beginning of October, before finalising it within the space of a week.
If this timeline is accurate, it would suggest that Apple could be releasing its new touch-sensitive MacBook Pro sometime in late October.
This means that the race is on for Apple’s developers to get the latest macOS ready before its new devices ship, with expectations that any non-critical bugs could be fixed in a subsequent 10.12.2 release.
