Rumor: New MacBook Pro to Ditch Regular USB PortsUSB-C and Thunderbolt 3 would be the sole connecters on the Pro refresh, according to a Japanese blog.

Rumors that Apple will launch a new MacBook Pro at the end of October gained steam today thanks to blog reports that the upcoming laptop will ditch standard USB ports in favor of USB-C.

Citing information from Japanese blogMacotakara,Boy Genius Reportclaims that Apple will only include the next-generation connectors, which are also found on theMacBook.

That notebook includes just a single USB-C port and a headphone jack, to the consternation of early adopters who had to buy adapters for their conventional USB peripherals when it first appeared on the2015 version. But more than a year later, USB-C is much more prevalent, showing up on smartphones, tablets and laptops, as well as hard drives and other peripherals.

年代till, the svelte, gold-colored MacBook is a niche product compared to the more workaday MacBook Pro, which is favored by mobile videographers and photographers who often tote manyexternal drives. So ditching traditional ports on the next MacBook Pro would likely raise as many eyebrows as theiPhone 7'slack of a headphone jack.

Macotakara's report also suggests there will be no dedicated MagSafe charging port on the MacBook Pro. As with the MacBook, recharging the battery would be accomplished through a USB-C power cable.

The new MacBook Pro and a minor MacBook Air refresh are reportedly coming on Oct. 27. Adding fuel to that fire, Apple recentlychanged the dateof its fourth quarter earnings call, moving it from Oct. 27 to Oct. 25 because Oct. 27 had turned into a "scheduling conflict."

MacBook Pro and MacBook Air have gone a relatively long time without major updates, prompting some Mac fans to question whether Apple is planning to abandon its notebook line. In September, a concerned userreached out to CEO Tim Cookvia email to ask if the Cupertino tech giant is "pulling away from the Mac line." Surprisingly, Cook responded, assuaging those concerns.

“我爱Mac和我们非常致力于它。年代tay tuned," he wrote in the message, which was obtained byMacRumors.