Late next week, Apple would be holdings its ‘hello again’ event on October 27th where it is expected to unveil quite a few new products. With the new iPhones already launched and an iPad lineup refresh coming only next year, the event will focus only on Mac computers, which at one point of time were Apple’s primary source of revenue.
With plenty of leaks, rumors, and reports to go around with, we do have a fair bit of idea on what to expect from Apple’s ‘hello again’ event. Let’s round up the rumors to see what Apple has in store for us then.
MacBook Pro refresh
The highlight of Apple’s ‘hello again’ event will be the company’s new MacBook Pro lineup. The existing generation of MacBook lineup from Apple feels awfully dated now, with companies like HP and Lenovo not only offering laptops with better performance but also better build quality and design.
Rumors surrounding the new MacBook Pro laptops indicate that while they will sport the same exterior design as the existing models, they will be slimmer and lighter. To cut down on the waistline of the laptops, Apple will be switching to a new injection molded hinges on them. The new MacBook Pro models will also make use of Apple’s butterfly mechanism keyboard that first debuted on the 12-inch MacBook in 2015.
The biggest new addition to the new MacBook Pro models from Apple will be the introduction of an OLED touch panel on the keyboard. Replacing the function keys, the OLED touch panel will automatically show appropriate buttons or information depending on the application you are using. Additionally, the refreshed MacBook Pro models will come with Touch ID sensor integrated into the power button.
The refresh will also see Apple equip the MacBook Pro with faster internals, including a dedicated AMD Polaris GPU for some higher end variants of the 15-inch MacBook Pro and faster Skylake processors from Intel.
Read: Here’s a Roundup of New MacBook Pro Rumors
MacBook Air
Besides refreshing the MacBook Pro lineup, Apple is also reportedly planning on refreshing its MacBook Air lineup. The refresh will see the company phase out the 11-inch MacBook Air in favor of the 12-inch MacBook. As for the 13-inch MacBook Air, the refresh will see Apple remove all the USB Type-A ports with USB Type-C ones and introduce Thunderbolt 3 support. Apple’s MagSafe 2 charging port will also be replaced with a USB Type-C port that will be used for charging the laptop. There have not been more leaks on this front so it remains unclear if we will actually see a MacBook Air refresh from Apple at its October 27th event or not.
5K iMac
Alongside the refreshed MacBook Pro and MacBook Air, Apple is also expected to refresh its 5K iMac with faster internals. This will likely include faster Intel chips, more RAM, and AMD’s Polaris GPU that is significantly more powerful than the existing mobile AMD GPUs Apple uses on its 5K iMac. We should also see the refreshed 5K iMac come with USB Type-C ports like its MacBook siblings.
The non-Retina iMac are also expected to be updated with faster processors from Intel and more powerful AMD Polaris GPU.
Final Cut Pro X and iOS Updates
At the ‘hello again’ event, Apple will also announce the final release of iOS 10.1, which among other things will introduce the new Portrait mode in the camera app of the iPhone 7 Plus. The Cupertino company is also expected to announce the Final Cut Pro X 10.3 update at the event that will come with some improvements to audio mixing and native support for iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus.
Thunderbolt Display
Apple discontinued its Thunderbolt Display earlier this year, and since then, rumors have been rife about the company planning on launching a refreshed model of the display later this year. Rumors suggest that the next generation Thunderbolt Display from Apple will sport 5K resolution and come with its dedicated GPU and USB Type-C ports. The internal GPU will reduce the workload of the GPUs found on most MacBook that will not be powerful enough to drive such a high resolution. However, there have not been many reliable leaks on this front so it’s unclear if we will see Apple release a refreshed Thunderbolt Display at its ‘hello again’ event or not.
What are your expectations from Apple’s ‘hello again’ event? Are you looking forward to the refreshed MacBook Pro lineup from the company? Or are you just excited about the final release of iOS 10.1 that will bring Portrait mode to the camera app in iPhone 7 Plus? Drop a comment and let us know!
