Following a report from June suggesting that Apple was preparing an ultra-thin 15″ Mac notebook, a new report from Macotakara claims that the new device is now even closer, with Apple having finished testing of a 15″ LCD component for the notebook.
According to the report, Apple has developed a 15″ MacBook Air LCD to test in the model, and is moving forward into the late stages of product development for the new machines, which the report claims will also lack optical drives.
Macotakara is calling the new units 15″ MacBook Airs, but it’s unclear whether that will be the final name, or whether they will be more like a slimmed-down MacBook Pro. Rumors or a radically redesigned MacBook Pro began surfacing back in April, with a later July report suggesting that Apple was already finishing work on the new ultra-thin design.
With new Intel Ivy Bridge processors set to be available in late November, with the first products expected to rollout near the first of the year, it’s likely that we’ll see the new design surface in early 2012, likely in new MacBook Pro models. Considering the popularity of the MacBook Air and Apple’s continuing move away from optical media, I’d consider the claims made in the report to be likely.
