Displays for 13-Inch Retina MacBook Pro Now in Production

Citing upstream supply chain sources, NPD DisplaySearch analyst Richard Shim claims that a high-resolution display bound for a rumored 13-inch MacBook Pro with Retina display is now in production. The production timeline could point to a fall debut for the rumored 13-inch Retina display-packing MacBook Pro.

The analyst goes on to say Samsung, LG Display and Sharp are all churning out the new 13-inch panel to meet a higher initial volume compared to the 15-inch MacBook Pro with Retina display's launch in June.

"With 15.4 it's production of a few hundred thousand units versus one to two million for the 13.3," Shim said. He prefaced the estimates by noting volume depends on yield rates, noting that if the manufacturers are able to reach rate of 70, 80, or 90 percent, output of the 13-inch panel will likely be in the "million and a half range."

The rumors of the Retina MacBook Pro launch are confirmed by findings made by online benchmarking site Geekbench.

Currently, the 15-inch MacBook Pro with Retina display is identified as "MacBookPro10,1," while the legacy 15-inch model is "MacBookPro9,1." The "10,2" identifier, first spotted in the logs of an online battery testing site, hints at a Retina version of the 13-inch laptop as the recently updated non-Retina version carries the "MacBookPro9,2" designation.