Claims of a significant redesign for the MacBook Pro are reiterated by Digitimes this morning with claims that new slimmer 13-inch and 15-inch MacBook Pro models without optical drives have already entered production.
The report contrasts with previous claims that Apple may phase out the MacBook Pro in favor of new MacBook Air models, although the timing of the production tends to support that article’s claim that new models may be released in April.
The MacBook Pro will no longer have an optical drive enabling thinner designs, the sources indicated. Despite the slim profile, the new devices will feature more advanced specs than the MacBook Air in terms of CPU performance and storage capacity, the sources said.
Production for the next-generation MacBook Pro has already begun with shipments to Apple kicking off in March, the sources noted. Monthly shipments will eventually climb to 900,000 units from the 100,000-150,000 units targeted initially, the sources said.
Rumors of an ultra-thin MacBook Pro (and of Apple ditching the optical drive in their entire line of MacBooks) have been circulating for quite some time, but this is the first report that has surfaced suggesting that production has already begun.
