Apple’s upcoming macOS Sierra operating system has been available to developers for a few days now, and they’ve had time to dig into the system control files and such. So far, they’ve found references to what could indicate the much-rumored OLED touch bar-equipped MacBook Pro.
Falling just shy of confirming the latest MacBook Pro rumor, macOS Sierra APIs spotted by French language publication Mac Generation point to human interface device (HID) usage resources suggest incorporation of a secondary, potentially customizable, display.
The Sierra beta includes references to: “kHIDUsage_LED_NumLock” and “kHIDUsage_LED_CapsLock” APIs which are believed to relate to a keyboard status graphic, which would come in handy if you needed you needed to include a status bar on an OLED keyboard. The report indicates other resources to control display, of battery life indicators, printer status, media player functions, media transport, system status messages, audio controls and generic alerts, among other assets.
AppleInsider notes Apple’s developer documentation covering “IOKit Changes” also includes the same additions, as well as mentions of biometric devices, which could indicate a device similar to a Touch ID sensor.
While the API’s allow for tap tracking on the biometric device, they don’t allow for key presses at this point in time, this suggests the biometric sensor is a fixed device, not the type used in the Home Button included on iOS devices.
Apple has been rumored to be bringing a revamped MacBook Pro to market later this year, with a single OLED touch panel replacing the usual top row of function keys, and possibly with Touch ID fingerprint authentication technology.
