And, in a neat touch, you can do so just by dragging new options from the settings window down from your screen, and into the Touch Bar itself. You'll also be able to customize the Touch Bar for individual apps. If you come across an online store in Safari that supports it, you just need to hold down your finger to pay for your order. The Touch ID button is located all the way at the right of the Touch Bar, and it works just like it does on iOS. And if you need the traditional function keys, you just need to hold down the function key, which is still at the bottom left corner of the keyboard. Plenty of Apple fans were annoyed by Apple's removal of the physical escape key, so it's nice to see the functionality is still around in some form. Apple has also released an API to developers that will allow them to support the Touch Bar in their own apps. And in Mail, you've got buttons for creating a new message, replying, deleting and - wait for it - an escape key. Perhaps most useful for texting addicts, there's a slew of commonly used emojis when using the Messages app. In Safari, it shows you a list of your bookmarks. Apple typically makes new MacBooks available shortly after launch, so the revamped MacBook Pros from the above report might have to wait for a later event.While we've been hearing about a potential OLED strip for months now, the Touch Bar actually looks pretty compelling now that Apple has had the chance to fully explain it.
Apple is widely expected to show a new iPhone there, but other new gadgets, including revamped MacBook Pros, are also a possibility.
He also correctly predicted the camera specs for the iPhone SE a few months before launch.Īpple's WWDC conference takes place in San Francisco less than three weeks, from June 13 - 17. 2013, he correctly predicted the 12-inch Retina MacBook (he was off on the timing, though the device came out half a year later than he thought). In fact, the rumor seems so far-fetched that we'd likely skip it if it didn't come from Ming-Chi Kuo, who has a solid track record when it comes to predicting Apple stuff. It's also worth noting that the upper row of a MacBook Pro keyboard consists of more than just F-keys the power button and escape keys are there as well, and we reckon Apple might want to keep those keys physical.
When many PC makers started introducing touchscreens and flippable screens on their portable computers (think Lenovo's Yoga line), Apple kept the MacBook Pro and even the new, 12-inch MacBook, exactly as they were, instead positioning the iPad Pro line as its tablet/laptop hybrid. This would be a big change for Apple, which traditionally kept things quite simple when it comes to laptops. There are no details on the bar's size and functionality, but it's not hard to imagine many uses for what is essentially a second screen beneath the main one (and a touch-sensitive one at that). Besides being thinner and lighter than the current ones - partly due to a new hinge mechanism, seen in the 12-inch MacBook - the new 13- and 15-inch MacBook Pro will also have a built-in Touch ID fingerprint scanner and USB Type-C, Thunderbolt-compatible ports.īut the biggest change, if the report is true, is above the keyboard, where the function keys (traditionally shrunken on all MacBooks) will be replaced by an OLED display touch bar.