Macintosh computers still represent an important part of Apple’s business. And on October 27, Apple is expected to unveil a major refresh of the Mac line at a press event the company has now officially announced will take place that day at its Cupertino campus. The invitation highlighted two words, "Hello Again," presumably referring to the Mac.

If rumors are to be believed, Apple’s professionally-oriented MacBook Pro laptop in particular will get a major update, its first in about four years, most notably with a slimmer design, and customizable OLED-style touch key strip that would replace the standard function keys on the top of the Qwerty keyboard.

The updates couldn’t come soon enough. According to Gartner, Apple’s worldwide unit shipments for Macs, slipped about 13% in the third quarter, compared to the same period a year ago. And its market share dropped from 7.8% to 7.2%, a larger decline than the 5.7% for the entire PC industry.

Across the line, I expect Apple to beef up the specs, and go all in on the speedy and versatile USB-C connector that for now is only on its lightest computer, the MacBook. Critics took Apple to task however for only including a single USB-C connector on the MacBook while ditching the standard USB port (known as USB-A).

So while USB-C very much represents the present and the future, my hope is that Apple won’t completely abandon the standard USB ports now on the MacBook Pro,MacBook Air and its other computers. Or make us rely on clumsy adapters that are easy to lose.

USB-C might also spell the end of the MagSafe power adapter, at least as we know it. We’ll see.

I wouldn’t be surprised if Apple brings the Touch ID fingerprint scanner that is familiar to iPhone users to at least some of the new Macs. One of the features that arrived on the Mac with the MacOS Sierra operating system that launched in September was the ability to pay for stuff you buy on the Web through Apple Pay. Touch ID would presumably make it way more convenient, since for now you have to complete the transaction via an iPhone or Apple Watch.

Though I wouldn’t rule it out, I’d put longer odds on Apple bringing the Lightning connector to the Mac. If the company does decide to do that, would it dare remove the standard 3.5mm headphone jack like it did on the iPhone 7? Hopefully not.

I don’t expect Apple to bring its high resolution Retina display to the MacBook Air, much as I’d love to see it happen—that’s one of the drivers for getting you to step up to the MacBook Pro. (Retina displays are also on the iMac.)

All the machines will presumably get the latest Intel processors, including, perhaps, the iMac. It remains to be seen if Apple will do anything with its most muscular computer. the aging Mac Pro, or give any love to iPads or Apple TV.

Apple won’t be alone in announcing new computers. Longtime rival Microsoft is hosting its own event in New York on Wednesday where it is expected to show off new updates to Windows and Surface.

Source via usatoday