2016 MacBook Pro May Include OLED Display Touch Bar and Touch ID

[MacRumors]

Apple plans to introduce a revamped high-end MacBook Pro this year that'll include a thinner and lighter form factor, Touch ID and a new OLED display touch bar above the keyboard, according to a new report from KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. The new MacBook Pro would come in 13- and 15-inch variations and arrive in the fourth quarter of 2016.

While long overlooked, the MacBook line is the brightest spot for Apple's 2016 rollouts. This is particularly true of the two new MacBook Pro models, to be introduced in 4Q16, as they will have a thinner and lighter form factor, Touch ID, use OLED display touch bar (to replace physical function keys, located above the keyboard) and adopt USB- C / Thunderbolt 3.

Kuo calls the new MacBook Pro updates the "most significant upgrade ever undertaken by Apple." The new "thin and light" design will be helped by new metal injection mold-made hinges and the butterfly-mechanism keyboards that debuted in the 12-inch MacBook. There has been speculation Apple would introduce Touch ID to MacBooks and, in the meantime, Apple engineers are working on a way users could unlock their Macs with Touch ID on iPhone.

The 12-inch MacBook will also be joined by a 13-inch MacBook, according to Kuo. The analyst believes that Apple will move forward with all three MacBook lines this year, with the MacBook Pro occupying the high-end slot, the MacBook will replace the Air as the medium-level model and the MacBook Air will serve as an entry-level model with comparatively low prices.

In April, it was reported that the new MacBook Pros would see slimmer designs and new hinges. Additionally, speculation indicated the new MacBook Pros could adopt Thunderbolt 3 with USB-C. Today's report confirms both rumors. Apple's refreshed MacBook Pros are also expected to sport faster Skylake processors, with the top-of-the-line MacBook Pros also sporting AMD's new 400-series Polaris graphics chips.

Article Link: 2016 MacBook Pro May Include OLED Display Touch Bar and Touch ID

 

[farewelwilliams]

ew. i do not want to look down on the keyboard to make sure i pressed mission control on the touch bar accurately

 

[Brad9893]

ERMAGERD...an actual Mac rumor!

Seriously though, Q4 is way to late.

 

[dlewis23]

I'm in the market for a new Macbook so this would be welcome to me.

 

[LazarusX]

I am ready.

 

[wonderspark]

Be sure and make it so light and thin, that pressing a key makes it fall off your lap. Yes, I use my MacBook Pro on my lap.

 

[sniffies]

Not happening. Mid-2017 at the earliest.

This year's refresh will just be thinner, lighter, faster + Skylake. Nothing dramatic.

Drama is saved for 2017 to coincide with MacBook Pro's 11-year anniversary.

 

[Blue Sun]

OLED display touch bar above the keyboard? Ok...

 

[newdeal]

I wonder what this Oled strip will accomplish, clearly it will do more than replace the function keys

 

[kaolin]

YASSSSSS!!!! YAS YAS YAS YAS YASSSSS! "Apple's refreshed MacBook Pros are also expected to sport faster Skylake processors, with the top-of-the-line MacBook Pros also sporting AMD's new 400-series Polaris graphics chips." I don't care if it's just rumors of rumors and not an update in this story, if it keeps being said maybe it will all happen!

 

[pushingrobot]

Also, if you press the Unicorn button, a unicorn will appear and whisk you away to a magical land.

What? I can make predictions too.

 

[8CoreWhore]

Very interesting.

 

[Andres Cantu]

Of course Apple would introduce a MacBook with a 13" display rather than a 14" display!

And of course the MacBook Air will remain in the line-up, offering 768p/900p in 2016

 

[TH3D4RKKN1GH7]

A 12" and 13" rMB though? That seems weird. I'm totally onboard for the rest of this though. It may just be enough to get me to ditch my Mac Pro and 12" MacBook and go OLED rMBP with 4K Monitor.

So this is the area where Apple is spending their resources...makes sense.

Good for MacBook users, bad for iPhone users.

You know they can do two things at once, right? They certainly have enough money to. Get real.

 

[Cougarcat]

The new "thin and light" design will be helped by...the butterfly-mechanism keyboards that debuted in the 12-inch MacBook

Please, no. There is no reason to do this. Apple already slimmed down the keyboards in the 2015 MBP. Just keep using that.

 

[Chatter]

Need I say more?

 

[HobeSoundDarryl]

Be sure and make it so light and thin, that pressing a key makes it fall off your lap. Yes, I use my MacBook Pro on my lap.

If that happens, you'll be met with 20 posts basically accusing you of lapping it wrong.

 

[lotzosushi]

It feels like we've been waiting for a major update for decades now. While the current retina MBPs are beautiful it's time to see a big update in design.

 

[garirry]

The rumour of Touch ID being in this computer and the rumour of iPhone-enabled Touch ID coming in 10.12 seriously contradict each other. Something is fishy. But I would love to see TID in a MacBook, that's for sure. The OLED bar, not sure because I have a hard time imagining what it would look like.

 

[leon44]

Tell me more about the Airs...

 

[BradWI]

I remember when Lenovo ditched function keys in their popular Carbon laptops for a row of adaptive touch "keys". It was nearly unanimously disliked and they went back to function keys the next year.

 

[Brad9893]

Not happening. Mid-2017 at the earliest.

This year's refresh will just be thinner, lighter, and faster + Skylake. Nothing dramatic.

Drama is saved for 2017 to coincide with 10-year anniversary of iPhone.

Why can't we have a nice, dramatic redesign for the 10 year anniversary of the MacBook Pro instead? 2006-2016 is ten years...

 

[iamrandyellis]

35"OLED Thunderbolt Display? MSRP: $1999

Yes please.

 

[Time Less]

4th quarter? So uh ... Nothing at dub dub then? Back to the waiting for skylake thread.

 

[dannyyankou]

Yet people were worried that the only way Touch ID would work is through the iPhone. This is good news.