New Apple MacBook Pro could be without USB port

The Californian technology company is widely reported to be hosting a big event on October 27, where it is expected to announce a slew of new Macs — including a radically overhauled MacBook Pro, its premium laptop.

Apart from spec boosts, the MacBook Pro hasn’t been significantly altered in years. But leaks and rumours suggests it’s getting a total redesign, including a crazy second touch-sensitive screen that will replace the row of function keys at the top of the keyboard.

It’s expected to come with Touch ID, the fingerprint-reading tech used in iPhones to let users unlock their devices with their fingerprint. It may also be thinner than its predecessor.

The latest rumour via Macotakara is that Apple plans to ditch its traditional USB ports and the MagSafe magnetic charging port altogether — and replace them all with USB-C ports, like those already found on the MacBook line. Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman had previously reported this might happen, though it wasn’t clear whether it would replace the MagSafe charging port too.

USB-C is faster than its predecessor — but the switch will cause a headache for ordinary users, forcing them to replace old cables or buy adapters. However, inconveniencing users is never something that Apple has bothered itself too much about.

The company aggressively ditches standards that it thinks are obsolete, from floppy disks to the CD drive. Most recently, Apple has decided to try and kill off the headphone jack, removing it from the iPhone 7 and forcing users to either go wireless or buy a clunky adapter (there’s no indication that Apple plans to remove the headphone jack from the MacBook Pro, however).

To be clear, this is a rumour right now: Apple almost never discusses unannounced products, and we won’t know for sure until October 27. But Macotakara has been right before: Engadget reports that it was one of the first sites to report that Apple was planning to remove the headphone jack from the iPhone 7.

The Japanese site is also reporting that Apple plans to discontinue to 11-inch MacBook Air — but will release a new 13.3-inch model.