Digitimes’ Aaron Lee and Joseph Tsai report that sources in Apple’s upstream supply chain are telling them Apple is expected to launch new MacBook Pro notebooks with an even thinner and lighter design than existing models in April “at the soonest.”
Digitimes’ industry moles suggest that when paired with Apple’s upcoming Mountain Lion operating system an hot-selling MacBook Air models, the MacBook models are expected to create a significant threat to PC notebook players’ ultrabooks. Apple is expected to launch upgraded 13- and 15-inch MacBook Pros in April with initial shipments estimated to reach 900,000 units.
However, Mountain Lion isn’t expected to be released to consumers before late spring or summer 2012 at the earliest, and with Intel is delaying the mass supply of its Ivy Bridge CPUs from a previously projected April rollout until June, the question is begged as to whether Apple would really want to release a major new MacBook Pro redesign still running OS X 10.7 Lion and powered by the current-generation Intel Sandy Bridge Core i CPUs.
Or will Intel supply Apple with early production of Ivy Bridge silicon (note that the Digitimes report says “mass supply” of Ivy Bridge will be pushed back to June) for its new MacBook Pro rollout?
