One of the long-standing rumors of the upcoming MacBook Pro refresh is that Apple will be introducing an OLED touchpanel that will replace the function keys. The idea behind it is that it will be contextual, so it will be able to display different information and buttons depending on what you are doing right now.
There have even been recent reports of Apple trademarking the name “Magic Toolbar”, hinting at a possible name. It looks like the rumors could be right after all because it seems that following the release of macOS Sierra 10.12.1, images of the new MacBook Pro and its OLED touchpanel have been discovered by the folks at MacRumors hiding within the operating system, making these images as legit as they can get.
Based on what we can tell, the photos don’t look too different from the ones cooked up by designer Martin Hajek from earlier this year. The MacBook Pro itself doesn’t look too different than its predecessors, but sure enough the row of function keys is gone and has since been replaced by an OLED touchpanel. As you can see in the image above, it also confirms that Touch ID will be one of the new features of the laptop.
Unfortunately apart from confirming the feature, the images don’t show the sides of the laptop meaning that whether or not the new MacBook Pro is considerably thinner than its predecessor remains to be seen. Also whether or not Apple will do away with all the regular ports in favor of USB-C can’t be confirmed from these images, but with Apple scheduling an event for the 27th of October, we guess we won’t have to wait much longer to find out the official details.
Filed in . Read more about Laptops and Macbook Pro.