MacBook Pro 2016 is rumored to include an OLED touch panel. (Photo : YouTube/iphone)
As rumors continue to fly that the MacBook Pro 2016 release date is likely to happen soon enough, purported feature upgrades for the next-generation MBPs are piling up and the latest reports suggest the inclusion of NFC, Touch ID and wireless charging functionalities. However, battery life and users upgradability options are poised to see backward steps.
Following Apple's announcement that the upcoming Macs will run on MacOS Sierra, codes detected on the new operating system indicated that fingerprint sensor will be part of the new MacBook Pro's hardware jump. Such possibility is now supported by the latest news from Asia, which claimed that upcoming laptops this 2016 - including the MacBook Pro - will be equipped with fingerprint reader.
In MacBook Pro's case, recent reports said that its biometric features will be designed to work with the Touch ID mechanism found on Apple's iPhone and iPad.
According to Taiwanese publication DigiTimes, supply chain players in Asia are expected to increase their revenues on fresh contracts that will see the delivery of ICs in large volume this 2016. Also tipped to be ordered by laptop manufacturers are NFC chips and wireless charging ICs.
NFC on the MacBook Pro 2016 is likely intended for wireless payment in the same way that the technology serves to facilitate Apple Pay transactions in the latest iPhone builds. As for wireless charging, it remains unclear how the feature, which is normally attributed to smartphones, will exactly play out for the next-generation MacBooks.
In a related report, 9to5Mac said that while the reported slimmer and lightweight build of the MacBook Pro 2016 generate excitement the new model will certainly sacrifice on things that really matter. With the new laptops trimmed down to near paper-profile, as indicated in numerous predictions issued by so-called Apple analysts, the possibility only gets stronger that battery life and upgradability will suffer.
Aesthetics-wise, the next MacBook Pro is sure to get high marks but it will be an entirely different story in terms of productivity. For sure, Apple engineers will find it hard to squeeze a battery pack with high amount of power juice inside an MBP that boasts of ultra-slim body.
In the same way, the 9to5Mac report is anticipating that the ability to upgrade inside components -formerly available on old MacBook Pro models - will be totally killed off in time for the next MBP unboxing. And Mac fans can blame the new MacBook Pro 2016 build and design for that, the report said.
Analysts said that the MacBook Pro 2016 release date is scheduled in the last quarter of the year with October as the earliest touchdown moment or following the rumored August arrival of the MacBook Air 2016.
