Whispers and speculation around Apple's next MacBook Pro models continues to heat up as we move towards their inevitable launch, with new sources indicating that Apple will avoid merging its MacBook Air and MacBook Pro lines by applying the “Pro” designation to newer, slimmer models without optical drives.
With Intel's planned April introduction of its new “Ivy Bridge” processors getting closer by the day, rumors continue to leak out about the next MacBook Pros, which are likely to be powered by Intel's latest and greatest. DigiTimes is claiming that these new, slim and optical-drive free MacBook Pro models have actually entered production and will be released sometime in the upcoming months.
According to this report, Apple will not be merging its Air and Pro lines as some sources originally indicated, but instead will remove the optical disc drives from the MacBook Pro models in favor of slimming the machines down. The MacBook Pro will keep its larger hard disk drives, faster processors and faster graphics performance over the MacBook Air in order to differentiate the models and give Apple a reason to charge more for the Pro.
If these latest rumors prove correct it will be very good news for Apple, who was expected to arrive somewhat late to the Ivy Bridge party and behind PC makers who are waiting to hit the market with their own slim Ultrabook designs. Ivy Bridge is made on a new 22nm manufacturing process which has caused Intel to delay the launch to ensure that everything is perfect before releasing the new CPU to the marketplace. Ivy Bridge is expected to bring both faster performance and better battery life to laptops and ultrabooks, and all major manufacturers have designs ready to go based on these new processors. Intel's delay has allowed Apple to catch up, and now their updated models are expected to launch around the same time as the rest of the market's Ivy Bridge machines.
The DigiTimes report claims that a new 15-inch MacBook Pro will start production in April, with around 100,000 to 150,000 units a month in the initial production run. The updated 13.3-inch MacBook Pro will then start its production run sometime around June 2012, catching up long before the very busy back to school sales rush. Apple enjoys significantly higher sales of its 13.3-inch models and DigiTimes reports that there are far higher order volumes for this model of MacBook Pro over the other available sizes.
A number of other sources and leaks in Apple's Asian supply chain have confirmed that the new MacBook Pro models would be significantly thinner than those currently sold. However, there are mixed reports as to the actual thickness; many claim that the new MacBook Pros will land somewhere between the MacBook Air and the current MacBook Pro, which makes sense given that Apple is likely to include additional hardware in its Pro models.
Abandoning the optical disc drive but keeping the remainder of the expansion ports and hanging on to higher hard disc capacities might be enough for Apple to differentiate the Pro from the consumer-focused MacBook Air. It also gives the company the ability to completely move its notebook lines to a mobile-friendly look and feel, and will put PC manufacturers and their clunky designs in a significant world of hurt - especially if Apple can deliver on price. Many users avoid purchasing from Apple simply because they cannot afford the higher-end models, but the temptation may be too much if Apple reshapes the MacBook Pro into something resembling the MacBook Air.
Apple has yet to announce the existence of any redesign projects or set a date to discuss the MacBook Pro. As soon as it does, we will know the machines' fate.
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