Apple Refreshes Mac Lineup With New Keyboard Touch Functions

Apple is announcing long-awaited updates to its Mac computers, aiming to spark consumer interest in a product line that often seems overshadowed by newer gadgets like the iPad and iPhone.

As widely speculated, Apple will add a new touch-sensitive panel to the MacBook Pro, its top-of-the-line laptop. The touch panel will enable new keyboard functions. The Pro will also come with a fingerprint sensor, similar to one in the iPhone, to unlock the device.

The Pro models will also sport a larger trackpad and thinner keyboard, borrowing from the design of an ultra-slim model that Apple simply calls MacBook.

At an event in Cupertino, California, on Thursday, Apple says it wants to unify television viewing on its streaming TV device with a new app simply called "TV."

BRANDON BAILEY, AP Technology Writer