MIC Gadget has an interesting article today that has some details of what could be an imminent Mac Pro update. You may recall that a few weeks ago, Cnet’s Brian Tong tweeted that an updated Mac Pro and Mac Mini would come out in August. Most interestingly, MIC Gadget managed to take a screenshot of the Apple Store a few days ago when the Promise Thunderbolt RAID system went on sale. Curiously, in one of the promo images, it was shown beside a Mac Pro. This is despite the device being a Thunderbolt-only device, which the Mac Pro does not currently support.

The image was subsequently pulled and whilst it could just have been an error by the graphics department, it does fit in line with the suggestion that Thunderbolt capability is slowly being rolled out onto every Mac with every hardware refresh. The MacBook Pro refresh earlier this year started the trend, followed by the iMac refresh and recent rumors are suggesting that the MacBook Air refresh will similarly get Thunderbolt capability. The image also suggests that the current design of the Mac Pro will go unchanged from what it currently looks like.

In a similar vein, Intel’s Sandy Bridge hardware has also been making its way across the Mac refreshes and MIC Gadget believes this trend will continue with a Mac Pro refresh. They are claiming that the Mac Pro will feature an 8 core CPU that will be ‘exclusive’ to Apple for a few months before other PC manufacturers can have access to it in Q4 of this year. They note that this isn’t particularly new, with Intel previously working with Apple on the first MacBook Air which received similar treatment.

Our sources indicate Apple is making headway with access to this technology, and they are investing heavily into the Mac Pro. Sandy Bridge will be integrated with the new Mac Pro CPU as well, but issues remain with the heat being produced by such powerful CPUs.

[Via MIC Gadget]

It is pretty clear that a refreshed MacBook Air line is coming soon, based on the numerous rumors and reports that have come in over the past month or so. Further evidence of an imminent refresh came late yesterday night when 9to5 Mac discovered that Best Buy had stopped shipping all MacBook Airs from its website. Although they are still selling them from their retail stores, stock is reportedly low, with some “exceptionally low on MacBook Air stock”.

The UK Best Buy online store is also completely out of stock except for the 128GB version, which is low in stock and can only be collected from certain retail locations.  The story is similar with Canadian retailer Future Shop which is also low on stock as well as Amazon, which has low stock in a number of countries. 9to5 Mac also speculated in its post that July 4^th could be a potential release date for the refreshed models, other rumors had suggested the launch would correlate with the launch of Lion.

The refreshed line of MacBook Airs is widely expected to include the new Sandy Bridge processors from Intel, as well as the new Thunderbolt I/O port which made its debut in this years refresh of the MacBook Pro models, and more recently in refreshed iMacs – both refreshes also brought new Sandy Bridge processors.

[Via 9to5 Mac]

As noted by Cnet, Intel has updated its official processor price list to include new Sandy Bridge-based Corei5 and Corei7 processors with ultra-low voltage power specifications that will make them suitable for future ultra-thin laptops like the upcoming MacBook Air refresh, set for a June or July release. The new processors, as included in the list:

• i5-2557M (3M cache, 2 Cores, 4 Threads, 1.70 GHz 32nm) – $250
• i7-2677M (4M cache, 2 Cores, 4 Threads, 1.80 Ghz, 32nm) – $317
• i7-2637M (4M cache, 2 Cores, 4 Threads, 1.70 Ghz, 32nm) – $289

As reported back in May, these new power-frugal processors make for a great option when it comes to powering thin machines like Apple’s MacBook Airs or other devices called “ultrabooks” by Intel. By increasing clock speed from 1.4 GHz and 1.6 GHz to 1.7 GHz and 1.8 GHz from the previous-gen Arrandale CPUs, and with turbo boost frequencies set at 2.8 GHz and 2.9 GHz, Intel’s new ULV chips seem to fall in line with Apple’s requirements for low power consumption and speed. More importantly, the new Sandy Bridge processors dissipate only 17 watts, unlike standard laptop-oriented processors from Intel that with 35-watt dissipation would be too much for the MacBook Air’s thin and slim design.

The new MacBook Airs were initially rumored to be receiving an update in June, though recent speculation claims Apple will refresh the line in July — also holding out for new Mac releases until Lion comes out, so the new OS will come pre-installed on new Mac models. Many have indicated the MacBook Air as Apple’s new “crown jewel”, the most popular new MacBook model that will be perfectly capable of running OS X Lion thanks to its fast SSD, instant-on feature, high portability and multitouch trackpad.

According to Cnet’s Brian Tong, sources have confirmed that updated models of the Mac mini and Mac Pro will come out in August. With a series of tweets on his profile Tong says the “all new” Mac minis and Mac Pros with Sandy Bridge processors and Thunderbolt technology will be released towards the end of July or first week of August. A report from two weeks ago claimed that Apple was looking to refresh the Mac mini and Mac Pro server line-up in July, though Tong seems to believe both the consumer and server lines will receive the much anticipated CPU and Thunderbolt upgrade to follow changes in the MacBook Pros and iMacs.

Tong correctly pinpointed the changes in the 2011 iMac refresh months ago and was the first one to claim back in February that the MacBook Air family was on track for a June update. Several rumors from different publications in the past months have indicated Apple was working on new MacBook Airs with faster processors and Thunderbolt, and the most recent theories suggest the update will come out either in late June or July.

Another report from last week also claimed Apple won’t release new Macs until OS X Lion comes out, and considering Lion’s scheduled July release, it would make sense for Apple to put new Airs for sale (the MacBook Air is now Apple’s most popular notebook) with the new OS preinstalled. In other tweets, Tong also confirms Lion will come pre-installed on new Macs this summer.

Everywhere you look on Apple’s new Lion page, the MacBook Air is decisively front and center. From the gestures video to screenshots detailing the new features in Apple’s upcoming OS, Steve Jobs and company are decidedly proud of their thinnest Mac yet. AppleInsider reported that Apple would build 400k revitalized MacBook Airs this month (stuffed with Sandy-Bridge processors) after 1 million of them shipped in the first quarter; Phill Schiller at last Monday’s WWDC 2011 keynote went so far as to cite the MacBook Air for Apple’s continuing success. ”It’s beautiful, it’s thin, it’s light, it’s fast… The whole PC industry wants to copy it.”

According to AppleInsider, Wall Street analyst Chris Whitmore of Deutsche Bank predicts that if 1.5 million MacBook Airs were shipped per quarter based on current estimates, that the MacBook Air would make up half of Apple’s notebook business. He predicts that many new customers are waiting for the latest technology such as Thunderbolt, Sandy-Bridge processors, and Lion to hit the laptops before consumers upgrade from their current setups.

Darrell Etherington from GigaOM wrote a piece on Lion’s hardware requirements, suggesting that the animation heavy interface would require the latest technology such as an SSD, core i-series processor, and lots of RAM to use comfortably. With Lion taking advantage of gestures on newer trackpads, and requiring the latest technology to use comfortably, he makes the case that the MacBook Air, boasting at an affordable price point, beautiful design, and fast tech, is the perfect candidate for consumers as they purchase new machines.

The MacBook represents Apple’s past; it’s a well-designed traditional notebook that provides users looking for an alternative to Windows laptops with a solid, high-quality, OS X-based alternative. But the MacBook Air represents Apple’s future. It’s a slim, lightweight device with a futuristic design aesthetic, but more importantly, it’s a perfect partner for OS X Lion and iCloud, and like Apple said at its WWDC keynote, iCloud is the new center of the Apple universe.

New MacBook Airs could be coming as soon as Wednesday as Apple’s back to school promotions kick off, but that rumor was later redacted as part numbers matched a series of unlocked iPhones instead of the new laptops. A June or July release is still predicted as MacBook Air supplies dwindle, and there even might be a Mac Mini and Mac Pro refresh to accompany the updated laptops.

Whitmore writes that Mac sales generally spike after a new OS update, and in combination with refreshed MacBook Airs, could fuel a very good summer for Apple. At its heart, however, Apple sees the MacBook Air as the driver of innovation – it is no longer the MacBook Pro or the iMac Apple wants you to think of, but their tapered and lightweight notebooks.

“In two years time, if not less, when you think ‘Mac,’ you’ll think about the MacBook Air first and foremost. And that’s by design, as Apple continues to have outsized influence in the changing definition of personal computing.” I tend to agree with Etherington. Today, the future of the MacBook starts with the MacBook Air.

[Sources: GigaOM, AppleInsider]

CPU World reports (via MacRumors) that Intel is working on a series of new Core i5 and Core i7 ULV (ultra-low voltage) processors based on the Sandy Bridge architecture which, offering improved speed and graphics performances over the previous-gen Arrandale CPUs, might be a suitable choice for Apple in the next generation of MacBook Air models. The three new processors, Core i5-2557M, Core i7-2637M and Core i7-2677M, increase clock speed from 1.4 GHz and 1.6 GHz to 1.7 GHz and 1.8 GHz, with turbo boost frequencies set at 2.8 GHz and 2.9 GHz. With increased speeds, performances and the same 17 Watt thermal envelope, the new CPUs might as well end up being used by Apple in the MacBook Airs rumored to receive a Sandy Bridge and Thunderbolt update in June or July.

Two forthcoming Core i7 ULV dual-core processors, i7-2637M and i7-2677M, have 1.7 and 1.8 GHz base, and 2.8 GHz and 2.9 GHz Turbo Boost frequencies. This is 200 MHz higher than the frequencies of their predecessors, Core i7-2617M and i7-2657M. Default clock rate of the HD 3000 graphics on new chips stays the same, 350 MHz, although the maximum turbo frequency is increased to 1.2 GHz. The microprocessors boast 4 MB level 3 cache, and support HyperThreading and Vpro technologies. It is interesting to note that, despite of having lower processor number, the Intel i7-2637M SKU will be faster than the i7-2657M.

Low power consumption and speed are obviously factors Apple considers when selecting the processor to implement in thin and lightweight machines like the MacBook Airs. Whilst no release date has been announced by Intel yet, Apple usually gets components from Intel earlier than other companies, leading to speculation that the upcoming Air refresh may include the update Core i5 and Core i7 CPUs. Several reports in the past months indicated was working on a new version of the MBA line, last updated in October 2010, featuring Thunderbolt connectivity and faster processors following recent hardware changes to the MacBook Pros and iMacs.

A new report from Digitimes seems to corroborate rumors we’ve heard in the past weeks about a MacBook Air refresh this summer, featuring Intel’s Sandy Bridge processors and Thunderbolt technology:

The Taiwan-based supply chain for Apple products will begin shipments of new 11.6-inch and 13.3-inch MacBook Air models featuring Sandy Bridge platform and Thunderbolt interface in late May for launch in June or July, according to makers in the supply chain. While Apple’s PR representatives in Taiwan have neither confirmed nor responded to the report, it has long been understood that Apple always keeps silent about its new products not yet launched, the sources emphasized.

Earlier reports about the new MacBook Airs (last updated in October at the Back to the Mac event) suggested production would start later this month for a June release. Cnet was first to report in February the MacBook Airs would receive an upgrade; there’s a lot of anticipation when it comes to the MacBook Airs thanks to their super-thin design, native SSD and screen resolution, with analysts claiming the line could become a $2.2 billion annual business for Apple.

According to a report by AppleInsider based on research from Concord Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, Apple is getting ready to start mass production of new MacBook Air models featuring updated Intel graphics, Core i5 and Core i7 Intel “Sandy Bridge” processors and Thunderbolt technology. According to Ming-Chi Kuo, production could start as early as next month in “late May”, with the new machines set to be released in June. The report seems to corroborate a previous rumor that suggested Apple was considering an “early refresh” of the MacBook Air line (which was unveiled by Steve Jobs in October 2010 at the “Back to the Mac” event) to implement the Sandy Bridge architecture. The current generation of MacBook Airs feature Intel’s Core 2 Duo processors — an outdated technology that can still be found in the original MacBooks, and was replaced in the early-2011 MacBook Pros by Sandy Bridge-based Corei3, Corei5 and Corei7 CPUs. Since the Cnet’s report that pointed to new MacBook Airs with Sandy Bridge coming out in June, however, speculation has arisen suggesting Apple also wants to integrate Thunderbolt in the machines’ thin design.

Kuo tells AppleInsider that his latest round of checks with suppliers and system builders in the region reveals that MacBook Air shipments are set to rebound during the current calendar quarter, fueled by an upgrade to Intel’s latest Sandy Bridge microprocessors, integrated Intel graphics, and the expected adoption of the new Thunderbolt high-speed I/O technology that made its debut on MacBook Pros earlier this year.

Should Apple follow its current trend of using ultra-low-variants for the 11.6-inch MacBook Air and low-voltage ones for the 13.3-inch models, consumers can expect to see new 11.6-inch MacBook Airs sporting 1.4GHz to 1.6GHz Core i5 and Core i7 chips and 13.3-inch MacBook Airs with 2.10 and 2.30GHz Core i7 processors.

With several Thunderbolt-enabled products coming out in the next months and the WWDC scheduled for June, it would make sense for Apple to refresh the popular MacBook Air family to include more powerful CPUs and a Thunderbolt port. The iMac line is also expected to go under a refresh soon — again, allegedly sporting Sandy Bridge processors and Thunderbolt. The WWDC ’11 kicks off in San Francisco on June 6, but it’s been rumored to be a software-focused event, rather than the stage for major hardware announcements. A speed-bump update for the MacBook Air, though, could fit well in Apple’s WWDC timeframe.

With the MacBook Pro line getting spec bumps to Sandy Bridge processors and Thunderbolt, Apple’s iMac should fall in line in about 4-6 weeks according to Brian Tong from CNET. On Twitter, Brian noted that iMac’s were en route for a late April refresh.

EXCLUSIVE: My Sources: New iMacs en route by ocean to U.S. available end of April or 1st week of May. No major cosmetic changes.

My sources say New iMacs will feature Sandy Bridge and Thunderbolt. No other specifics.

The iMac shouldn’t receive any aesthetic changes in this early 2011 update. CNET has also postulated that the MacBook Air would receive an update to Sandy Bridge in June, replacing the much outdated Core 2 Duo processor in the mobile lineup.

[Brian Tong via MacNews.de via MacRumors]