The MashTalk crew discusses the rumored updates coming to the MacBook Pro

This is the final MashTalk for me — AKA C-Mac, AKA Film_Girl — as a host. Don't worry, MashTalk will continue. 

I love you all very much and want to thank the listeners for their patronage and awesomeness over the years. RayRay, Lance and Pete, also thank you for your support and friendship over the years. You guys are the best.

But don't fret, it's not all sad. I settle in with Raymond Wong and Pete Pachal to talk about everything happening in the world of tech.

We kick it off with a discussion about the latest iPhone rumors (2:00). This inevitably leads into yet another conversation about the headphone jack (RIP) and what kind of earbudsApple might package with the device this fall (10:00).

After the iPhone, our talk moves to an Apple product rumored for a big update, the MacBook Pro (16:45). We discuss the rumored design decisions, the ubiquity of USB-C and how much dongle hell we'll all be in. Too bad we're not expecting to see the new MacBook until October.

Moving on, Ray talks about his experience with the Dlodlo VR headset (30:00). It's thin, light and only a little bit dorky looking. OK, it still looks really nerdy. I'm not sure that any third-platform (let alone one from Kickstarter) is going to make waves in VR, but Ray is hopeful that this thing encourages other manufacturers to make sleeker gear. 

Pete's not convinced VR will ever be a thing we wear all the time.

Finally, we talk about the GIF-ban on the Olympics (38:00) and how the internet has gotten around it anyway. The New York Times' approach with swimming animations is really smart. We all basically agree that even though the rationale for NBC might make sense on paper, trying to stop the GIFs is just futile.

Listen to the episode on iTunes or on Stitcher. You can also subscribe to MashTalk on iTunes by clicking the button below to get our latest episodes, instantly. If you like MashTalk, please fill out our audience survey.

We'll probably have to wait a bit more for that 'touch bar' MacBook Pro

The redesigned MacBook Pro is real, but it's not coming in September — if you trust a new report posted by Bloomberg Wednesday. 

The report doesn't bring anything new in terms of MacBook Pro's functionality. It merely reiterates what we've heard so far, namely that the device will have an OLED touch bar instead of regular function keys, and will be thinner and more powerful in terms of processing and graphics.

From what we know now, the OLED bar might double as a notifications screen and a set of (customizable) keys. If it is indeed real — and you never know with Apple products — it would be quite a radical departure from the current model.  

The report, which cites the ubiquitous "people familiar with the matter," mentions the new MacBook Pro will have a fingerprint scanner, another rumor we've heard before. 

One point on which Bloomberg departs from some of the rumors we've seen is the question of timing. According to its report, the new MacBook Pros will not be introduced alongside the iPhone 7, which we're likely to see on Sept. 7. This might mean we'll have to wait until at least October for the new MacBook Pros since Apple traditionally keeps its major launch events at least a month apart. 

This will likely disappoint the MacBook Pro faithful. That line of notebooks hasn't received a serious upgrade since the Retina models of 2012, although both the 15- and the 13-inch versions received minor upgrades along the way, most recently in the spring of 2015.  

New MacBook Pro with Touch ID sensor and OLED mini screen is coming soon

Get ready for a massive MacBook Pro update. Apple is planning to unveil new 13-inch and 15-inch MacBook Pro laptops with retina displays soon. According to a new report fromBloomberg’s Mark Gurman, Apple is building a completely new pro laptop with many new features, such as a Touch ID sensor and an OLED mini screen above the keyboard.

If you’ve been following MacBook Pro rumors, you know these rumors aren’t new. But Gurman is confirming what well-informed analyst Ming-Chi Kuo from KGI Securities and9to5mac have already been saying: yes, the new MacBook Pro is going to be a big release.

Let’s start with the shape of the device. The new MacBook Pro should be thinner and lighter, but not wedge-shaped like the MacBook Air or 12-inch retina MacBook. The bezels around the display should be smaller, and the overall frame of the device should be smaller.

The fact that the new MacBook Pro won’t look like a MacBook Air is a good sign for those who rely a lot on the multitude of ports on the existing MacBook Pro — there will be more than one port. Apple could switch to USB Type-C ports to replace USB ports, the MagSafe port and even Thunderbolt ports as USB-C ports can support the Thunderbolt protocol. Maybe Apple will drop the HDMI port and SD card slot to save up on space, maybe not.

Under the hood, Apple will most probably use the Intel Skylake processors, giving a performance boost and improving energy consumption. You can expect better Wi-Fi and Bluetooth chips as well.

But the most significant addition will be a narrow OLED display right above the keyboard. It should replace the physical function keys with a touchscreen. This could be the most surprising element of this MacBook Pro as nobody knows exactly how Apple will use this strip. You could control basic laptop functions from this screen, such as volume and media buttons. But Apple could also take advantage of this screen to display shortcuts and information depending on the app you’re using.

Apple also plans to integrate a Touch ID sensor in your Mac. This would let you unlock your laptop without having to type your password. More importantly, the Touch ID sensor would ship with a secure enclave, making your Mac more secure than before. It would let app developers use Touch ID for other things — password managers could take advantage of Touch ID for example. And finally, it would make Apple Pay for macOS Sierra more secure.

Recently, many have pointed out that the MacBook Pro is embarrassingly outdated. The last major update was in June 2012, bringing a retina display and a thinner design to the MacBook Pro lineup.

But people tend to forget that the unibody MacBook Pro was introduced in 2008, also four years before the retina update. Apple doesn’t change its laptops very often, relying on internal component upgrades every now and then.

And yet, Skylake processors should have come sooner to the MacBook Pro. Gurman is saying that Apple won’t introduce the new MacBook Pro at the iPhone launch event that will likely happen on September 7. I could see Apple introducing the new laptop in October. It’s about time.

Non-Retina MacBook Pro reportedly disappears from stores

The end of the line might be near for Apple's legacy, non-Retina MacBook Pro. According to Apple Insider, the device is being pulled from showfloors in multiple stores in the U.S. 

While not very prominent in Apple's online store, the non-Retina MacBook Pro (also notable because it's the only MacBook that still has an optical drive) is still officially available to buy, starting at $1,099.

So what does this mean? Well, the non-Retina MacBook Pro has probably been around so long simply because some folks still need an optical drive. Furthermore, besides MacBook Air, it's one of the few Apple products without a Retina-branded screen, and there are rumors that MacBook Air might soon be phased out itself in favor of Apple's ultra-thin Retina MacBook. Apple typically doesn't like to stretch its lineup too wide, so the company may have decided it's time for the graybeard to go.

Another set of rumors claims that Apple's new MacBook Pro might be a very different beast, with an OLED touch bar instead of function keys. We might not see that device before the fall, but when (if) it does, it'll surely make the non-Retina MacBook seem antiquated.

OLED touch bar rumored to replace function keys on MacBook Pro

Ever since the big Retina change of 2012, Apple's MacBook Pro line has been roughly the same. Yes, there have been improvements: The laptops got a bit thinner, the processors inside more powerful, the battery a little bigger. But radical changes were absent; grab a MacBook Pro from 2012 and the latest model, and you won't notice many differences.

That might change this year. According to a report from KGI Securities analyst Ming Chi-Kuo (first noticed by MacRumors), Apple plans a big overhaul of the MacBook line in late 2016. 

Besides being thinner and lighter than the current ones — partly due to a new hinge mechanism, seen in the 12-inch MacBook — the new 13- and 15-inch MacBook Pro will also have a built-in Touch ID fingerprint scanner and USB Type-C, Thunderbolt-compatible ports.

But the biggest change, if the report is true, is above the keyboard, where the function keys (traditionally shrunken on all MacBooks) will be replaced by an OLED display touch bar. There are no details on the bar's size and functionality, but it's not hard to imagine many uses for what is essentially a second screen beneath the main one (and a touch-sensitive one at that). 

This would be a big change for Apple, which traditionally kept things quite simple when it comes to laptops. When many PC makers started introducing touchscreens and flippable screens on their portable computers (think Lenovo's Yoga line), Apple kept the MacBook Pro and even the new, 12-inch MacBook, exactly as they were, instead positioning the iPad Pro line as its tablet/laptop hybrid. 

It's also worth noting that the upper row of a MacBook Pro keyboard consists of more than just F-keys; the power button and escape keys are there as well, and we reckon Apple might want to keep those keys physical. 

In fact, the rumor seems so far-fetched that we'd likely skip it if it didn't come from Ming-Chi Kuo, who has a solid track record when it comes to predicting Apple stuff. In Oct. 2013, he correctly predicted the 12-inch Retina MacBook (he was off on the timing, though; the device came out half a year later than he thought). He also correctly predicted the camera specs for the iPhone SE a few months before launch. 

Apple's WWDC conference takes place in San Francisco less than three weeks, from June 13 - 17. Apple is widely expected to show a new iPhone there, but other new gadgets, including revamped MacBook Pros, are also a possibility. Apple typically makes new MacBooks available shortly after launch, so the revamped MacBook Pros from the above report might have to wait for a later event.