Following Microsoft’s unveiling of its first desktop PC, the Surface Studio which is taking aim at Apple’s iMac, Apple will look to steal some of that buzz today with the unveiling of its new line of MacBooks.
Apple ready to roll out new laptops at press conference
Apple has let its line of MacBooks largely stagnate for well over a year, and the company is looking to change that with a press conference at its Cupertino, CA campus today with an event it is calling “Hello Again.” That press conference is expected to kick off at 10 AM local time or 1 PM EDT for those on the east coast.
While we will tell you how to stream or follow the event at the bottom of this page, but let’s first take a look at what Apple is likely to show us in a little less than an hour. Being Apple, they have told us nothing in anticipation of the event but there are many credible rumors making the rounds, and we’ll work from there.
Firstly, and what should highlight the event, is a redesigned MacBook Pro which should replace the row of physical function keys above the keyboard with a customizable OLED touch strip that also changes based on what you’re doing. In addition to this touch screen for shortcuts, the strip is likely to include Touch ID for both unlocking the MacBook itself as well as to verify Apple Pay transactions. It’s also possible that the Touch ID will not be included in this touch strip but will instead be worked into the power button, not unlike its presence on the home button on iPhones and iPads.
It’s believed that Apple will include USB-C ports (with or without Thunderbolt 3) which for many aren’t terrifically useful, but as more and more USB-C peripherals come on the market it will work out for the best in the long term.
As with most upgrades, Apple will likely look to make the MacBook Pro thinner while offering more battery life and its possible that the portable workhorse could include a hard drive of two terabytes. What will power the MacBook Pro is anyone’s guess, but it will likely be a sixth-generation Core CPU rather than Intel’s seventh-generation Kaby Lake processor.
Whether Apple looks to upgrade the MacBook Air or do away with it will also become clear very soon.
Additional offerings beyond the MacBook Pro and how to watch the event
Most don’t think that Apple is ready to unveil its 5K stand alone display until next year, but anything is possible. Additionally, it’s quite possible that Apple could show us a new iPad or two but, again, with Apple you never know.
Apple has made it easy to stream the event if you already own an Apple device with the following options.
- Safari on the Mac or iOS.
- Microsoft Edge on Windows 10.
- Apple TV Gen 4 with the Apple Events app in the App Store.
Additionally, you can live stream the event from the Apple Events section on its website.
A number of websites like TechCrunch, Ars Technica, Gizmodo will also be live blogging the event.
Following the event, I’m comfortable saying that I will give a roundup of what we were shown later this afternoon, so please come back to ValueWalk.
Livestream Video:
