Apple rumored to be upgrading MacBook Pro, iMac in 2011
There's already plenty of talk regarding the potential announcement of a new iPad next year, but could we be seeing some new MacBook Pro and iMac models too?
According to DigiTimes, "Apple plans to launch at least four upgraded MacBook Pros as well as an iMac that features a new panel size and a price point for the mainstream market." Specifically, the MacBook Pro should also be getting a "slight change in chassis design," and the Lion version of Mac OS X, which is inevitable and points towards a summer time release.
With a probable mid-year launch date, that would place the MacBook Pro updates over a year after the last upgrade from this past spring, and the current iMac would only be one year old since that desktop also got revamped during the summer.
Apple currently offers three size options for the MacBook Pro. So one has to think that the Cupertino-based company is going smaller and more competitive with its high-end notebook if we're going to get a fourth option. It seems highly unlikely that Apple would try to manufacture a laptop with a display larger than 17-inches. Maybe Apple will bring back the 12-inch option that was last seen with the PowerBook.
As for the new panel and price point for the iMac, that one could really go either way. Could we see something lower than 21.5-inches wide? (Perhaps a subtle change to something like 20-inches.) The 27-inch display is the maximum option currently, but maybe we'll see the 24-inch display make a comeback. Or maybe we'll actually get that iMac with a touch screen we once heard about.
[Note: The above photo is of the current 15-inch MacBook Pro, not any potential new version mentioned above.]
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