【China Archives】

All signs point to Apple refreshing its Mac lineup next Thursday. As we've detailed,China Archives all Macs except the 12-inch MacBook are in desperate need of internal updates.

The most important product announcement expected pertains to the MacBook Pro. Rumors suggest Apple will redesign its most powerful laptops with thinner and lighter designs and a new OLED "touch bar" that'll replace the top row of function keys.

Brad Conroy of The Trademark Ninja (via Apple Insider) did some deep digging and believes Apple may call the new touch bar the "Magic Toolbar."

Though it's no confirmation, Conroy says the same shell company that filed trademarks for Apple's AirPods also filed a trademark for Magic Toolbar. As they say, where there's smoke...

The name would fit in with Apple's other "Magic" products such as the Magic Keyboard, Magic Mouse and Magic Trackpad.

According to rumors, the touch bar will be able to display different information like notifications and icons based on the app that's open. Apple may even fit in a Touch ID fingerprint sensor in place of the traditional power button.

A more recent rumor claims Apple has expressed interest in a startup's E Ink-based keyboard, which would allow the layout of the keyboard to change for different languages and even for emoji to take place of letters.

Dynamic keyboards that utilize OLED screens to display different keyboard layouts and icons aren't new. Art Lebedev's Optimus Maximus was one of the first to incorporate OLED keys to transform based on different apps. But it never took off because of its high price. Razer's 17-inch Blade Pro gaming laptop also has 10 "dynamic tactile keys" that can be programmed with different icons to launch different apps or shortcuts.

Whatever Apple calls the new touch bar, Mashable will be live in Cupertino to bring you the news on Oct. 27.

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