14 DAY TRIAL // Rumor has it that Apple is working to bring a secondary OLED display on its next-generation MacBook Pro lineup and photos that leaked to the web recently seem to confirm that this is indeed the plan.
Cupertino could replace the top row of keys on the keyboard with an OLED screen in an attempt to give users a bit more customization power. The new display panel could thus take the place of the typical function keys and these photos published by Cult of Mac and coming from an unnamed source seem to indicate that such a design has already been developed.
The first question that comes into everyone’s minds is “why an OLED display on the keyboard?” And this question certainly makes sense, especially because function keys have become the kind of thing that everyone uses.
And while this is indeed true and everyone uses function keys, not everyone uses all function keys, and this is what Apple is trying to tackle with the secondary OLED display. Some of the keys aren’t being used because they serve a different purpose than users would like, so with the new display panel, Apple wants to let us customize the keys and assign new functions.
The keys could thus be used for shortcuts to launch apps, links, playback control and similar things, although for the moment it might be too early to speculate on this.
Other changes planned too
The leaked photos also show a number of other changes coming to the MacBook Pro, including repositioned speaker grilles, a change that somewhat makes sense given the new OLED panel.
But what’s also very interesting is that Apple seems to be planning to offer a total of four USB Type-C ports on the laptops, which is definitely a welcome addition given the fast adoption of this standard. Two ports will be placed on each side of the laptop, while an audio jack is also being offered (Apple is giving up on this feature for the iPhone 7, but it does make sense to have it on the MacBook).
And last but not least, word has it that Apple is also working to add a TouchID sensor to the laptop for increased security.
It goes without saying that everything must be taken with a healthy pinch of salt for the moment, but more should be disclosed later this month at Apple’s own WWDC conference.
