Apple could have another pair of ultra-thin laptops planned, but will they be part of the MacBook Pro line or will they be new additions to the MacBook Air family?
MacRumors claims Apple is in "late testing stages" with another 15-inch laptop. It said the computer will be slim like a MacBook Air, but could not determine whether it would be classified as an Air or a Pro.
TUAW chimed in, alleging that Apple also has a 17-inch model planned, and the new machines probably won't be super-sized Airs, but will likely fall under the MacBook Pro line.
Last week, Apple launched updated 11- and 13-inch MacBook Airs featuring new Sandy Bridge processors, high-speed Thunderbolt ports, backlit keyboards and Apple's just-released Mac OS X Lion. Apple also announced a refresh of its Mac mini line with some of the same bells and whistles.
With the update, Apple ditched the optical drive on the Mac minis for the first time, and both MacRumors and TUAW agree that Apple will do the same the rumored slim MacBook Pros. Accordingly, Apple also recently announced that it would discontinue a majority of its boxed software which has caused some speculation that the company will ditch physical software altogether and drop the optical drive from other Apple machines in the future.
Apple last updated its entire MacBook Pro line in February, adding Intel second-gen Core processors, new AMD graphics, HD webcams, and Thunderbolt connectivity to all three models. Even though it's only been about six months since Apple rolled out this major update, but TUAW predicts Apple will break its annual product update cycle and release these new, thin 15- and 17-inch models in time for the holidays.
For more on Apple's latest releases, check out PCMag's full reviews of the new 11-inch and 13-inch MacBook Airs, Mac mini, and Apple's updated operating system Mac OS X Lion.