15-inch Force Touch MacBook Pro may go on sale Wednesday

15-inch Force Touch MacBook Pro may go on sale Wednesday

If the rumors are true, the updated laptop would include the new Force Touch trackpad, which responds differently based on how much pressure you apply to the surface.

Apple's 15-inch MacBook Pro may finally hit the streets with the new Force Touch trackpad.Sarah Tew/CNET

Those of you looking to buy Apple's new 15-inch MacBook Pro with the Force Touch trackpad might finally get your wish in just a couple of days.

French blog site MacG reported the news, pegging the information on "reliable sources," as translated by 9to5Mac. If the rumor is true, the updated laptop would likely include the new Force Touch trackpad, which responds differently based on how much much pressure you apply to the surface. The new 15-inch MacBook Pro would join the 12-inch MacBook and the 13-inch MacBook Pro in offering the new Force Touch trackpad.

Force Touch brings a new type of sensitivity to Apple's standard trackpads, where people trace and tap with their fingers to move the cursor on the laptop's screen or to initiate actions in software applications. The technology is pressure-sensitive, so for example, a light press might select a word on a web page in Safari. Meanwhile, a deep press might bring up a Wikipedia entry on that word based on Apple's Force Touch gestures. Force Touch is the latest feature designed to give Apple's MacBooks a greater competitive edge over rival laptops.

The Force Touch trackpad also provides tactile feedback, so you can feel when you've performed a certain task. Further, Force Touch contains four sensors that let you click the trackpad anywhere, even along its top edge, so it will respond no matter where your finger lands. Some reports have suggested that the Force Touch technology might pop up on the screens of the new iPhones.

Force Touch is perhaps the most enticing feature in the redesigned 15-inch MacBook Pro. But the new version is also likely to sport upgrades to its Intel Core processor as well as the graphics processing unit, according to 9to5Mac, adding up to a speedier performance overall. In March, the 13-inch MacBook Pro was treated to a small processor boost as Apple updated the CPU to Intel's fifth-generation Core i-series, formerly code named Broadwell.

But wait, there's one more tidbit reportedly in the works this week. On Wednesday, Apple may also launch a new edition of its 27-inch iMac desktop, 9to5Mac cites MacG as saying. No details were available on this new model, though 9to5Mac suggested that it's the non-Retina Display model most likely in line for an upgrade.