Apple adds keyboard touch functions to Mac in major refresh

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ByDavid Louie KGO logo
Friday, October 28, 2016
Apple adds keyboard touch functions to Mac in major refresh
Apple says the new MacBook Pros are the lightest and thinnest they have ever made.

CUPERTINO, Calif. (KGO) -- Apple reported Wednesday that Mac sales are down, but it is roaring back today with newly updated laptops that could revive sales. They were unveiled Thursday at Apple headquarters in Cupertino.

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Engineers at Apple have come up with a way to make the top row of keys more useful in the big new feature of Thursday's launch.

Apple picked a special time to unveil a new line of Macbook Pro laptops with some new technology as this week marks the 25th anniversary of the first Apple notebook.

The line of powerful 13 and 15 inch laptops has gotten lighter and thinner. What's new is a bar of glass along the top of the keyboard, what Apple calls a "touch bar," made of Retina glass. It replaces special function keys.

The bar illuminates the special functions for the application you're using, whether it's email, video editing or even music.

It has been four years since the Macbook Pro has been updated.

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