Apple issues fourth beta of macOS Sierra 10.12.1 as new MacBook Pros loom

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in macOS
Apple on Tuesday supplied to developers a fourth pre-release beta of macOS 10.12.1, a forthcoming maintenance and security update for the Sierra operating system which could ship on next-generation MacBook Pros.





MacBook Pro render. | Source: Martin Hajek.




macOS Sierra 10.12.1 beta 4 is identified as build 16B2548a. Registered machines can access it through the Mac App Store.



The fourth build comes eight days after Apple provided beta 3 of macOS 10.12.1. It's been rumored that new MacBook Pro models, featuring a thinner design and OLED touch bar, will ship with macOS 10.12.1 later this month.



The software on the new MacBook Pro will be essential, because Apple is expected to introduce new ways of interacting with the notebook, headlined by an OLED touch-sensitive menu bar that is rumored to replace the current row of physical function keys.



Code in macOS 10.12 Sierra betas released also made mention of a so-called "Function Row," which could be referring to the dynamic display expected to be featured above the keyboard.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 14
    Eagerly looking forward to the eventual hardware announcement. My 13" MBP is 6 years old and it's definitely time for an upgrade.
    alanpgh@gmail.com
  • Reply 2 of 14
    Looking forward to the release of new MacBook Pros and hopefully new MB Airs.!
  • Reply 3 of 14
    LordBermondseyLordBermondsey Posts: 1unconfirmed, member
    Please, oh great Steve Job's zombie, grant my wish for a replacement to my ancient and long suffering 17" MacBook Pro!
    saronian
  • Reply 4 of 14
    macxpressmacxpress Posts: 5,801member
    Please, oh great Steve Job's zombie, grant my wish for a replacement to my ancient and long suffering 17" MacBook Pro!
    Apple will never release a 17" MacBook Pro again. Give it a rest you people. They didn't just drop it because they felt like it. There was obviously a reason.
    razorpitbkkcanuck
  • Reply 5 of 14
    I fear it's getting a little late for a new MacBook Pro this year. There's been no announcement so any launch would seem to be November at the earliest. That's probably too close to Christmas to be practical. Can anyone remember a previous new device launch in November or December?

    I'll just carry on waiting :-(
  • Reply 6 of 14
    At this late date, I hope they DO wait a bit, until the proper Kaby Lake chips are available. They have blown through the whole "Skylake is the latest and greatest" time period. So I'll be disappointed if I've waited so long, only to have to settle for last year's processor.
  • Reply 7 of 14
    command_f said:
    Can anyone remember a previous new device launch in November or December?
    MacBook Pros:

    Apple refreshed the entire MacBook Pro line on October 24, 2006 to include Intel Core 2 Duo processors.

    The 15-inch unibody MacBook Pro was introduced on October 14, 2008.

    On November 1, 2007, Apple added the option of a 2.6 GHz Santa Rosa platform Core 2 Duo CPU to the MacBook Pro as well as reconfigured hard drive options.

    MacBooks:

    New MaBooks were introduced October 14, 2008.

    New MaBooks were introduced November 8, 2006 and November 1, 2007.

    iMacs:

    Unibody iMacs introduced October 20, 2009.

    On October 23, 2012, a new iMac was announced (for a November/December release) with a substantially thinner edge, new Apple Fusion Drive, faster processors (Intel Core i5 and i7 Ivy Bridge) and graphics along with updates to the ports, but with the same overall depth (stand depth: 8 inches (20.3 cm)). To reduce the edge, the SuperDrive was removed on these iMacs.

    On October 16, 2014, a new version of the 27-inch (69 cm) iMac was announced, whose main feature is a "Retina 5K" display at a resolution of 5120 x 2880 pixels,

    Updated retina iMacs were introduced October 13, 2015.

    Mac mini:

    On October 22, 2009, Apple introduced a new server version of the Mac Mini along with revisions of the computer. 

    New Mac minis were introduced October 23, 2012 and October 16, 2014.



    ai46
  • Reply 8 of 14
    macxpress said:
    Please, oh great Steve Job's zombie, grant my wish for a replacement to my ancient and long suffering 17" MacBook Pro!
    Apple will never release a 17" MacBook Pro again. Give it a rest you people. They didn't just drop it because they felt like it. There was obviously a reason.
    ...indeed as one prior post hypothesized there have not been retina grade screens available (or available economically) in the larger size, until perhaps this year... While the Air is rarely considered a pro grade machine (I still like the design) and was upgraded without retina screens, I could understand the logic behind a consistent Pro product line, and no pro 17" 4k screen option... Hope may spring eternal given the latest offerings from Dell and a couple of others, although I might ask at what price, which may in the end be a governing factor, along with the strength of the dollar, for global markets... If nothing else competitive pressure may be on? We should know soon enough...!

    http://www.bestbuy.com/site/alienware-17-3-4k-ultra-hd-laptop-intel-core-i7-8gb-memory-1tb-hard-drive-128gb-solid-state-drive-epic-silver/4550902.p?skuId=4550902

    http://www.laptopmag.com/reviews/laptops/alienware-17

    ps. does the Dell 'graphics amp' and LSI multi GPU tech option tie into external Cinema displays with integrated graphics cards rumours & a new state of the art in portable desktop computing ?

    edited October 2016
  • Reply 9 of 14
    MacJedi56MacJedi56 Posts: 2unconfirmed, member
    Yes... there are some of us who would rather have the screen size of a 17", but today, its much more important to break the RAM bottleneck of 16GB. For a premium machine at a premium price, these things should come standard with 32GB and have an option for 64GB as well. Come on Apple! Lead the market for once without killing the bank!
  • Reply 10 of 14
    MacJedi56 said:
    ...its much more important to break the RAM bottleneck of 16GB...
    ...as I recall from an engineering article there were some system technical and design hurdles to exceeding 16GB, and with specific ram specs and hard wiring the system can be tuned to much narrower (and thus faster) tolerances... ...for what it is worth I have experienced what seems improving RAM management in El Capitan, and the limitation may also explain the faster SSD speeds to accommodate swap improvements, although of course for those that frequently need more than 16GB dedicated RAM is hard to beat...!
  • Reply 11 of 14
    kirkgray said:
    command_f said:
    Can anyone remember a previous new device launch in November or December?
    MacBook Pros:

    Apple refreshed the entire MacBook Pro line on October 24, 2006 to include Intel Core 2 Duo processors.
    ...
    New MacBooks were introduced November 8, 2006 and November 1, 2007.
    <Big snip>
    Brilliant research, thank you! I think you've shown that there are two or three weeks yet in which something could happen. If we assumed notice of an announcement next week (Oct 18th, say) and the event a week later (Oct 25th) then a repeat of those early November dates is entirely possible.

    You've cheered me up  :smiley: 
    kirkgray
  • Reply 12 of 14
    irnchrizirnchriz Posts: 1,616member
    Don't release it now, what with the pound in the crapper, these things are going to get a big price hike. 
    kirkgray
  • Reply 13 of 14
    appexappex Posts: 687member
    Bring new Macs and Apple Thunderbolt 3 display.
  • Reply 14 of 14
    crowleycrowley Posts: 10,453member
    macxpress said:
    Please, oh great Steve Job's zombie, grant my wish for a replacement to my ancient and long suffering 17" MacBook Pro!
    Apple will never release a 17" MacBook Pro again. Give it a rest you people. They didn't just drop it because they felt like it. There was obviously a reason.
    They discontinued the 12" Powerbook without a replacement at that size too.

    A few years later along came the small Macbook Air at 11", and then the new Macbook at 12".

    Things can change.
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