If an OLED panel replaces the function keys, that ruins it for me. I mostly run Windows on my late-2013 15" MBPR, and I use the function keys <i>all the time</i>. Especially for debugging. F5, F9, F10, F11 are burned into my brain.<p>I used to be a huge ThinkPad fan, but their wilderness years of bad displays and constant keyboard rearrangement turned me off, so I thought I'd try using my MBPR for Windows work instead. Turns out to be a very nice Windows machine, with the bonus of being able to boot into macOS too. (I can also run Windows under Parallels in macOS and that works pretty well, but running Windows native in a Boot Camp partition is more responsive.)<p>The only serious function key issue is the lack of the little gaps between F4-F5 and F8-F9. If you don't use the function keys much, you'd be surprised how important those gaps are for a touch typist. Lenovo even ditched the gaps for a while (and they had their own misguided experiment with a touch panel in the second gen X1 Carbon), but now the gaps are back - and they finally have good displays again.<p>ThinkPads also have the Home/End/PgUp/PgDn keys instead of the crazy contorted Fn+arrow combinations you have to use on a Mac keyboard.<p>I've gotten pretty used to these Mac keyboard issues by now, but losing the function keys? That's a bit much. Looks like my next Windows machine will be another ThinkPad.
Ars Technica has a summary of what is expected: <a href="http://arstechnica.com/apple/2016/10/report-new-macs-still-coming-this-month-11-inch-air-could-go-away/" rel="nofollow">http://arstechnica.com/apple/2016/10/report-new-macs-still-c...</a><p><i>tl;dr</i> USB Type-C, Thunderbolt 3
squarf's predictions<p>>mac mini with A10 CPU<p>>MacBook air with the same guts as arm mini<p>>MacBook pros that are more powerful but not more powerfuller enough to satiate tech bloggers<p>>RIP in peace Mac Pro tower<p>>a Siri box for your house
Perhaps they could release a usb c charging cable with a magnetic disconnect in the cable itself (sort of like a cable with a smaller-magsafe-to-usb-c dongle built into it). No reason to suspect they <i>will</i> do this but it should be technically feasible and would allow a migration to USB C without losing all of the benefits of magnetic disconnection.
> The new MacBook Pro is said to include a redesigned, thinner body with a flatter MacBook-style keyboard, an OLED touch panel that replaces the physical function keys at the top of the keyboard, and Touch ID support.<p>> It is expected to do away with the USB-A port, HDMI port, and SD card slot, featuring just four USB-C ports based on part leaks, and it is said to include support for USB 3.1 and Thunderbolt 3.<p>The four USB-C port configuration will be interesting.
As far as I can tell the rumor stems from leaked housing shots (maybe prototypes) [1]
which show four slots, two on each side.<p>The Wikipedia page about Thunderbolt[2] says:<p>> Intel offers three versions of the controller:<p>> - one "DP" version that uses a PCIe 3.0 ×4 link to provide two Thunderbolt 3 ports (DSL6540)<p>>- one "SP" version that uses a PCIe 3.0 ×4 link to provide one Thunderbolt 3 port (DSL6340)<p>>- an "LP" (Low Power) version that uses a PCIe 3.0 ×2 link to provide one Thunderbolt 3 port (JHL6240).<p>This means either not all USB-C ports will be Thunderbolt 3 ports or the machines will have to have
two DSL6540's on board. I don't know the cost of this chips but I think this could be expensive. On the other hand: same connector with different capabilities? - not Apple's style.<p>[1] <a href="https://www.idropnews.com/2016/06/01/photos-of-new-macbook-pro-with-oled-touch-bar-leak-magsafe-sadly-confirmed-absent/" rel="nofollow">https://www.idropnews.com/2016/06/01/photos-of-new-macbook-p...</a><p>[2] <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thunderbolt_(interface)#Thunderbolt_3" rel="nofollow">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thunderbolt_(interface)#Thunde...</a>
<i>sigh</i> Apple, can we have at least one USB-A port left on the Pro machines? Please? So we can plug in bunch of useful devices and TheyJustWork(tm)? It's sad enough that quarter of talks I visit start with "Does anyone have their Mac video dongle with them? Anyone? ... " shtick.
The new Macbook Pro is widely rumored to have a fingerprint sensor.<p>I haven't seen anybody exploring how this will be implemented though: is Apple likely to borrow the secure enclave or other tech they use in the iPhone?