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Apple announces “Hello again” media event for October 27th, expected to unveil next-gen MacBooks, other hardware

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Some new Apple hardware is coming your way.

Apple just sent out the journalist invitations to a product unveiling at Apple’s headquarters in Cupertino. The event will take place next Thursday, October 27, at 10 a.m. Pacific time.

As usual, the invitation doesn’t specify what new hardware will be announced. Instead, it merely offers a “Hello again” tagline.

The going rumor is on updated Macs, since nothing but the 12-inch MacBook has been updated this year. The big rumor points to a next-gen MacBook Pro notebook, which is expected to include a set of touch-sensitive OLED keys to replace the function row along the top of the keyboard, allowing those keys to change based on the application you’re using.


The new notebook is expected to feature new ports, especially a conversion from USB-A ports to USB-C ports. This has been somewhat in the works for a while, as the current MacBook features a single USB-C port for charging and connectivity.

As with any redesign, we expect Apple to go thinner and lighter. The trackpad will probably get bigger, and might include the lower-travel butterfly-mechanism keyboard found on the MacBook line. Apple has never included Touch ID in a Mac before, but now that Sierra supports Apple Pay on the Web, adding a Touch ID button could let you authorize payments without needing an iPhone or Apple Watch handy—as well as let you log in more securely, of course.

Other rumors center around a MacBook Air refresh, although Apple did bump the base-model MacBook Air to 8GB of RAM this past April. The Mac mini got its most recent upgrade, to a Haswell processor, way back in October 2014. The long-neglected Mac Pro (last updated December 2013) might be headed for the history books, but Apple’s other desktop option, the iMac, has gone a full year without an update too. Apple has been rumored to be working on a 5K display with its own GPU to replace the discontinued Thunderbolt Display, as well as new iMacs.

Stay tuned for additional details as they become available.

Via Macworld