At last! New Macs and MacBooks are coming soon

Apple finally gets round to updating its PCs and laptops

Apple is finally set for a major refresh of its Mac and MacBook computers - but the new devices won't be coming until October at the earliest.

The updates come at a time when the company has been increasingly criticised for failing to keep its PCs and laptops up-to-date, with one of the models in the MacBook range more than four years old - an unforgivably long period of time for a computing device to go without an update.

In the meantime, virtual reality and the launch of new graphics processing units (GPUs) from AMD and, in particular, NVIDIA has made the PC the platform of choice for developers of virtual reality games and applications, which current Macs are unable to match.

However, it also looks likely that the company will continue to make its computing hardware difficult to directly upgrade.

According to Bloomberg, the company is planning all-new versions of the iMac desktop, a new MacBook Air laptop and a 5K monitor developed with LG.

The new iMac will include graphics cards based on AMD's latest graphics chips, enabling iMacs to run the same virtual reality apps that have been available on PC since the beginning of the year.

The MacBook Pro, meanwhile, which has been a particular target of criticism, having been on the market since June 2012, will be replaced with a new, thinner version, with a flatter keyboard and a ‘dynamic function row' that will be programmable to enable common tasks to be completed at the press of a button. Connectivity will also be upgraded to USB-C. However, unlike the current version it may not be easily upgradable.

MacOS will also be refreshed, with MacOs Sierra on schedule to be ready for release by the end of September, according to Bloomberg, while the new models are expected to be available by the end of the year.

At the same time, the company is planning to refresh its high-end iPad tablet computers in a bid to attract more professional users. This will include broader support for the Apple Pencil stylus across the range, as well as improvements in hardware performance, including uprated microprocessors.

The company is targeting the professional sector as, while sales of the iPad have fallen for nine successive quarters, the average selling price is up as the new iPad Pro models win over buyers.