Big changes coming to the MacBook Pro, claims analyst

MacBook Pro updates have become a bit boring as of late. Since dropping the optical drive and adding Thunderbolt ports, updates have consisted of making the device thinner and lighter, and making it a little bit more powerful.

According to KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, as reported by 9To5Mac, this is all set to change.

Kuo claims that several big features are coming the way of the MacBook Pro. These include:

• Touch ID hardware (which builds on the rumor that circulated earlier this month that Apple was looking at ways to allow users to unlock their Macs using the Touch ID on their iPhones)
• An OLED display touch bar that will replace the physical function keys above the keyboard
• USB-C and Thunderbolt 3 support

Oh, and the refreshed Macs will also be thinner, lighter, and more powerful than the existing hardware, but all that goes without saying.

Essential accessories for your MacBook, MacBook Air and MacBook Pro (May 2016 edition)

Kuo says these changes will happen during the fourth quarter of this year, and will be the "brightest spot for Apple's 2016 rollouts."

There will also be a bit of a reshuffling of the MacBook lineup for the sake of clarity, with the MacBook Air being positioned as the entry-level device, the MacBook as the mid-tier device, and the MacBook Pro as the premiere platform.

With Mac sales having taken a bit of a dive lately, it's a good time for Apple to think outside the box again and start innovating again.

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