MacBook

No Escape key on your MacBook Pro? Sierra lets you remap its function to a modifier key

With less than 24 hours away until Apple's “Hello again” Mac event, images of an unreleased MacBook Pro found in the latest macOS Sierra 10.12.1 update have all but confirmed a rumored OLED touch bar replacing the row with hardware function keys.

The Internet immediately complained about the apparent loss of the hardware Escape key that seems to have fallen victim to these programmable OLED keys. While the OLED Bar could display a soft-Escape key in the left corner, users can now assign its function to one of the hardware modifier keys.

As Jeff Geerling first noted yesterday, the latest macOS 10.12.1 Sierra update now conveniently lets you remap an Escape action to a Caps Lock, Control, Option or Command modifier key—which wasn't possible in earlier macOS editions.

One more hint that the next MacBook Pro will have OLED touch bar

If you need another “proof” that the next MacBook Pro will indeed feature an OLED touch bar in place of the function key row, feel free to comb through system resources in the macOS Sierra 10.12.1 software update which released yesterday.

As first discovered by MacRumors reader Gabriel Lorin, the System Preferences assets for the Mac's virtual keyboard now come with refreshed image assets depicting an updated keyboard layout which no longer shows the standard row of function keys.

KGI: new MacBook Pros and 13″ MacBook next week, iMacs & 5K Cinema Display in 2017

According to revered Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo of KGI Securities, Apple's media event next Thursday will serve as a launchpad for a long-awaited update to the aging MacBook Pro notebook lineup, which will see “many” noteworthy upgrades.

Apple will also announce a brand new model of the new MacBook with a screen measuring thirteen inches diagonally, Kuo wrote in a note to clients.

Some observers think this machine is actually a thirteen-inch MacBook Air with new USB-C ports. As you know, the current Retina MacBook has a 12-inch Retina display.

Next-generation iMacs, as well as a rumored 5K resolution display won't be unveiled at the event because they're apparently not ready yet.

Will Apple call next-gen MacBook Pro’s rumored OLED strip “Magic Toolbar”?

Apple is holding a media event on October 27 to unveil new Macs. Everyone is expecting the company to announce a next-generation MacBook Pro with a rumored OLED strip that would replace the physical function keys at the top of the keyboard with programmable shortcuts which would change from one app to another. But what could Apple call that rumored OLED touch bar?

According to trademark agent Brian Conroy who was able to uncover a trademark application that a shell company quite likely filed for on behalf for Apple, the feature could be marketed as “Magic Toolbar.”

WSJ: e-ink keyboards will be a standard feature on 2018 MacBooks

Following The Guardian's report, based on a verified post on Reddit alleging that Apple recently met with representatives from Australian startup Sonder Design to discuss using its dynamic keyboard technology in a future Magic Keyboard, The Wall Street Journal has corroborated that such talks took place on October 11 in China.

However, Sonder CEO Francisco Serra-Martin denied in a press release that the meeting took place. Be that as it may, WSJ claims that the new dynamic keyboards will be a standard feature on next-generation MacBook laptops, which Apple is aiming to launch in 2018.

How to disable the fake clicking sound for MacBook trackpads

Pressing MacBook trackpad

MacBook equipped with a Force Touch trackpad produces an audible ‘click’ sound in order to simulate the sound you would hear on a Mac without a Force Touch trackpad. It has no down travel and all you’re hearing is an audible sound when you click it. In this tutorial, we’ll talk about how to disable that fake clicking sound.

Will overhauled MacBook Pros debut alongside iPhone 7 in September or in October?

In an article this morning, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman rehashed much of the previous rumors regarding Apple's widely expected MacBook Pro refresh with Touch ID, AMD GPU, an OLED touch strip replacing the row of function keys and more. As per the report, these new MacBook Pros “aren’t likely” to debut alongside the new phones at the September 7 iPhone media event.

Which brings me to our question of the day: will the new machines launch in September, October or maybe even later? Let us know what you think in the comments.

Bloomberg: next-gen MacBook Pro with OLED touch strip “most significant update in 4 years”

Bloomberg threw its weight today behind rumors that a next-generation MacBook Pro would have Touch ID and an OLED touch strip with programmable shortcuts replacing the function key row, among other features first predicted by KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. Author Mark Gurman now writes for Bloomberg that the new MacBook Pros represent “the most significant upgrade” to the lineup in four years with the updated, thinner notebooks offering more powerful graphics processors “for expert users such as video gamers” and design features like a smaller footprint, thinner appearance, a bigger trackpad and more.

Here’s why PC notebook makers, aside from Apple, have been slow to adopt USB-C

When it debuted in March 2015, Apple's twelve-inch MacBook has ushered in an era of USB-C, then new high-speed connectivity option from the USB Implementers' Forum with a reversible, ultra-thin plug resembling Apple's proprietary Lightning port. In fact, the MacBook was the first notebook to incorporate a USB-C connection as its power port, completely replacing Apple's own MagSafe charging.

PC notebook vendors around the world were supposed to follow in Apple's footsteps and readily adopt USB-C across their products—and some have—but too many of them were, and still are, less keen to adopt USB Type C connections on their products. The reason for this is two-fold: design and cost considerations.

Is Xiaomi’s first-ever Windows PC notebook a shameless MacBook Air ripoff?

Xiaomi (pronounced “sh-YEOW-mee”), a booming Chinese smartphone and consumer electronics maker, today took the wraps off its first-ever Windows PC notebook and it looks awfully familiar to the MacBook Air. The familiarity starts with the device's silly 'Mi Notebook Air' moniker and extends to its unibody industrial design that's thinner and lighter than Apple's notebook.

Offered in 12.5 and 13.3-inch varieties, the product matches and—in terms of graphics, lightness and thinness—one-ups the MacBook Air while costing half as much. Xiaomi's new notebooks run Windows 10 and will hit store shelves in China on August 2.