MacBook Pro: The biggest and baddest Mac laptops

Quite a few people have been commenting on Apple’s use of ‘hello again’ as the tagline for tomorrow’s MacBook event. ‘Hello’ featured twice in the launch of the original Macintosh back in 1984: it was displayed on the screen in ‘handwriting’ to show off the graphics capabilities of the machine, and of course the Macintosh famously introduced itself by speaking the words ‘Hello, I’m Macintosh. It sure is great to get out of that bag.’

It was 14 years later before Apple again referenced the greeting, when the first iMac – the colorful cube variety – displayed ‘hello (again)’ on the screen. That was the machine credited with turning around Apple’s fortunes just a year after the company had to be bailed-out by Microsoft. The ‘industry-altering success of the candy-colored iMacs’ as Forbes put it.

So it’s no surprise that Apple’s use of ‘hello again’ as the tagline for tomorrow’s event is being taken as evidence that the company thinks it’s going to be showing us something pretty special …

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Yesterday’s release of macOS Sierra has given us the first look at the new MacBook Pro sporting the long-rumored Magic Toolbar. The image, which is buried within the file structure of macOS Sierra 10.12.1 release, relates directly to the Touch ID functionality embedded within the function-row-replacing strip.
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A new discovery in yesterday’s release of macOS 10.12.1 hints at the much anticipated OLED touch screen expected to be integrated into Apple’s upcoming MacBook Pro rumored to arrive at the company’s October 27 event this week.

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In case there needed to be any more smoke to the fire, Russian trademark filings reveal that Apple is readying the release of three new Macs running macOS Sierra. The products have apparently passed the Russian registration, labelled as ‘portable personal computer models’ with model identifiers A1706, A1707 and A1708.

This all but confirms Apple plans to launch three new Mac laptops at its media event on Thursday, corroborating a KGI report from over the weekend. These product identifiers likely correspond to two new MacBook Pros and a new ultrathin 13-inch MacBook as a sibling to the 12-inch MacBook …

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Reliable Apple analyst KGI has published a report on Saturday outlining their predictions for Apple’s Mac roadmap ahead of the media event on October 27th. The report says that Apple will launch three new MacBooks at the event, a new 13 inch MacBook, a new 13 inch MacBook Pro and a new 15 inch MacBook Pro.

It goes on to say that new iMacs and the Apple external display will not be shipping this year; those should be expected in the first half of 2017.

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Apple may not have officially stated that it’s launching new Macs this month, but the date is at least official and everyone is expecting it to be all about the Macs. Star of the show looks set to be a major revamp of the MacBook Pro line-up, with an OLED touch-bar replacing physical function keys as the headline new feature.

Trademark agent Brian Conroy (aka The Trademark Ninja) thinks he knows the name of the feature: the Magic Toolbar …

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As we suspected, the long-awaited Mac updates now appear to be scheduled for October 27. We provided a roundup of what we’re expecting to see, and now it’s time to find out what you all plan to buy if the rumors are correct …

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Apple is said to be introducing an entirely refreshed lineup of Macs later this month. The event is said to be on October 27th, which we first speculated earlier this month. The new Macs are expected to be available to consumers this month, as well.

As is often the case with Apple events, we already know a good portion of what the company has up its sleeve. Read on for a roundup of what to expect…

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MacBook Pro render

Last night we received a report from Macotakara that the new MacBook Pros were still coming this month, despite a lack of any announcements from Apple. The reporting didn’t specify anything about the internal hardware specs, but did resurface the idea that MagSafe, Thunderbolt 2, and USB-A ports would be replaced.

The thing for me is this: Apple just dropped the headphone jack from the iPhone 7 and the reaction to that has been controversial to say the least. Apple explained that the move took courage and was needed to move from analog to digital, free up space in iPhones, and push wireless. There are no signs that this affected iPhone sales, but transitions are still hard.

Headphone jack aside, if new MacBook Pros fully replace USB-A with USB-C, are we in for the next episode in the same series? We’ve already seen this with the 12-inch Retina MacBook’s single USB-C port, but it’s worth considering what it could mean for MacBook Pro users if true.

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Just as doubt was beginning to surround whether or not Apple was still on track to release new MacBook Pros this month, a new report from Macotakara this evening brings some reassurance. The report claims that Apple will still announce and release a new lineup of MacBook Pros this month, and offers up some details…

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After a lot of abuse, my MacBook Pro’s 85W MagSafe 2 adapter finally died last week. Often Apple adapters fray at joints and this one did to an insane degree but somehow it kept working for 3 years through tons of travel, work and even some fun.

My MagSafe needs to last another month. What’s the over/under? https://t.co/dZeV3ZHz1Z pic.twitter.com/EnKkmdX0d6

— Seth Weintraub (@llsethj) September 29, 2016

So what to do? Typically I’d buy a new Apple Magsafe 2 adapter. But clearly Apple has some redesigned MacBook/Pro/Airs coming later this month and they will likely be charged via USB-C, at least in some cases. So that means I only need MagSafe to power this 2013 MacBook Pro for at least a few more weeks before it gets relegated to backup machine, kid’s computer or sold off when I get Apple’s new OLED/USB-C creation.

So I thought I’d get a little creative and save a few bucks at the same time. As I was looking for options on Amazon, I came across an interesting product: The “BND 85W MagSafe 2 Replacement Power Adapter Charger w/ 5 USB Ports for Apple MacBook Pro”. For less than half the price of a discounted $77 Apple MagSafe Adapter this $37 charger includes 5 USB ports and gets solid 4.3/5 star reviews. What the heck, I’ll give it a try…
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When the largest company in the world changes the date of a quarterly earnings call, there has to be a good reason. It’s not the sort of thing you do on a whim.

Apple has done this once before, and there was indeed a very good reason, which it shared with us: to allow senior Apple execs to attend the memorial service of long-standing board member Bill Campbell.

This time, however, no explanation has been offered, and enquiries by reporters have received no response. I’m with Philip Elmer-DeWitt in thinking that there’s one very plausible explanation …

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With numerous reports suggesting that Apple will launch a new MacBook Pro range in late October, one sketchy rumor suggests that the keynote presentation will take place on October 24. A Monday doesn’t seem particularly likely, and the ‘multiple sources’ cited are apparently just anonymous emails, but sometime around that date seems more likely than not. Logic dictates that a new OS update will be required for these new machines and if they were ready late September/early October, Apple would have added them to the September event.

Additionally, Apple is known for its late October launches, having had one in October four of the past five years (skipping last year) and it wants to have its channel full of inventory for the runup to the holidays in November.  So October is a safe guess for upcoming products…
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After months of speculation, Apple last week officially announced the headphone jack-free iPhone 7. Now, the company appears to be asking MacBook Pro users to take a survey concerning their use of the various connectivity options supported by their laptop. One of the questions relates to the use of the headphone jack, perhaps indicating that Apple is considering removing the connection from the MacBook, as well…

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We already know a lot about Apple’s upcoming iPhone and MacBook Pro refreshes, but a new report today from Bloomberg details a bit more about what the company has up its sleeve for the rest of the year. The report claims that in addition to the new iPhone and MacBook Pro lineups, Apple is planning to refresh the iMac and MacBook Air and will also introduce a new 5K display, as we’ve reported in the past, in partnership with LG. On the software side of things, Apple is reportedly working on a variety of new features for the iPad Pro.

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Bokeh Apple shape hints at dual lens camera focus tricks

Update: As usual, the event will be livestreamed online. Grab the calendar event here.

Mark your calendars, folks, it’s official. Apple has issued press invites to its next media event on September 7 at Bill Graham Civic Center in San Francisco at 10 am PT. The company is widely expected to unveil new iPhones and could unveil new MacBook Pros and the Apple Watch 2 at the same event.

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Apple has supported USB 3.1 since 2015’s single-port MacBook release, but both it and the updated 2016 model feature the Gen 1 flavor of USB 3.1. Despite its name, USB 3.1 Gen 1 is basically rebranded USB 3.0, also known as SuperSpeed USB. That means that like USB 3.0, transfer speeds max out at 5 Gbps.

With the upcoming release of macOS Sierra, however, there are strong indications that rumored new Mac hardware will support faster USB 3.1 Gen 2 speeds.
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A Kickstarter campaign which got fully-funded on day one is offering a choice of two external GPUs for MacBook Pros that offer up to ten times the performance of the top-end built-in one. Connected via Thunderbolt 2 or 3, the Wolfe Pro gets you an NVIDIA GTX 970 GPU for $599, with estimated delivery in March 2017.

The GTX 970 has 1664 cores operating at 1050MHz, for a peak computing power of 3.49 teraflops, with rendering speeds almost ten times higher than a maxed-out 15-inch MacBook Pro with AMD R9 M370X GPU. Frame rates exceed 70 frames per second, creating a machine suitable for high-end gaming and VR applications.

The company also promises that backers will be given the option of upgrading to the even more powerful GTX 1060 when available …

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In this week’s top stories: Apple’s upcoming MacBook Pro with OLED touchscreen, the latest iPhone 7 leaks, Apple Watch 2 reports, and much more.

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There has been a lot of talk about the OLED touch bar rumored for the upcoming MacBook Pro refresh expected this fall. But how exactly will the touchscreen work for users?

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