MacBook Pro 2016 release date, specs rumors: MacBook Pro with OLED bar coming in October?

Industry watchers are anticipating the release of a MacBook Pro 2016 in the coming months, following the debut of Apple's other major 2016 offerings, namely the iPhone 7, the Apple Watch Series 2, iOS 10, and macOS Sierra.

The last time Apple updated its MacBook Pro lineup was in May 2015, when it released the new 15-inch MacBook Pro. In March of the same year, it gave the 13-inch Retina MacBook Pro an overhaul. Because more than a year has passed since the MacBook Pro line was refreshed, Apple fans expect that the unveiling of the MacBook Pro 2016 could happen soon.

Earlier suggestions pointed to a September release for the rumored new MacBook Pro, but after Apple's big September event came and went with nary a word about a new MacBook Pro, fans are now pointing at a special event in October as the launchpad for the Apple product.

While there have been reports of radical new changes to the MacBook Pro 2016, including a detachable touchscreen and a touchscreen keyboard, Tech Radar notes that these should be taken with a pinch of salt. The outlet suggests that the biggest change likely to come to the MacBook Pro 2016 is a new processor. The sixth-generation Skylake chips are expected to improve the MacBook Pro's speed and battery life.

Apple's popular laptop could also get a small OLED display with virtualized buttons replacing its function keys. Rumors of this new feature were first reported by MacGeneration, which found code possibly related to the OLED bar.

Apart from these, the MacBook Pro 2016 is expected to do away with the 3.5-millimeter headphone jack and incorporate USB 3.1. Gen 2 ports.

MacWorld believes the MacBook Pro 2016 could drop before the end of the year. According to the website, both the unveiling and the release date of the new MacBook Pro will be sometime in the fourth quarter of 2016.

This may have been corroborated by an email Apple CEO Tim Cook reportedly sent to an Apple fan. According to MacWorld, when the fan emailed Cook to ask if Apple is "pulling away" from its Mac line, Cook replied, saying, "I love the Mac and we are very committed to it."

"Stay tuned," he reportedly wrote.

Apple has not released any official announcements regarding the rumored MacBook Pro 2016.