WWDC came and went without any new hardware, but new APIs found in the recently released beta of MacOS Sierra seem to confirm that a MacBook Pro with a customizable OLED touch panel is in fact on the way.
Specifically, Mac Generation alerts us to the fact that the new MacOS beta contains references to items like “kHIDUsage_LED_CallPickup”, “kHIDUsage_LED_DoNotDisturb” and “kHIDUsage_LED_CapsLock.” In fact, an API Reference page for MacOS Sierra on Apple’s website yields a long list of strings which seem to indicate upcoming support for the rumored MacBook Pro with an OLED display located in place of the function keys.
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And speaking to how the OLED panel might make the entire user experience more user-friendly, some of the strings have references to items such as PaperJam. So, for instance, imagine being able to tell you have a paper jam via a friendly and highly-visible indicator on the keyboard as opposed to having to pore over a printer manual as you try and figure out what alternating yellow and red blinking lights mean.
Additionally, new strings found in MacOS Sierra release materials also seem to corroborate reports that Apple’s next-gen MacBook will feature TouchID integration. Note below the references to biometric tap tracking.
Word of Apple’s plans to roll out a new MacBook Pro originally surfaced last month when reputed Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo indicated that Apple’s next-gen notebook would feature an OLED display panel above the keyboard along with Touch ID integration. An official unveiling is expected to happen sometime in September, if not earlier.
Over the weekend, noted designer Martin Hajek released a number of eye-popping MacBook Pro concepts which give us an idea as to what we can expect Apple to unveil later this year.
