According to a reputable analyst, Apple will drop the “Touch Bar” on its next line of MacBook Pro computers and revert to physical keys.
Ming-Chi Kuo of TFI Securities writes this week that the iPhone maker is discontinuing the largely unloved feature after five years, as the long, thin, interactive video strip on top of MacBook Pro keyboards never became the revolutionary tool Apple first threw in. 2016.
But according to a MacRumors report, the control keys aren’t the only big change Apple is making to the MacBook Pro line for 2021.
The upcoming 14-inch and 16-inch laptops will undergo a design change that will ditch the curved edges that computers have worn for the past 5 years in favor of a more flat design like the new iPhone 12 family.
They will also add more types of ports instead of the USB-C they have been limited to in recent years, meaning consumers won’t have to buy expensive dongles to connect various wires and devices to their MacBook.
Apple is also bringing back its MagSafe charging connector after dropping it when it introduced USB-C on MacBooks. On older MacBook models, MagSafe allowed chargers to snap in and out of the computer quickly with magnets.
Apple shares were up slightly Friday morning, trading at $ 129.39.