MacBook Pros Will Adopt MacBook Air Form Factor This Year?

Mockup of MacBook Air design covering full range of notebook sizes

Last year it was reported that Apple is working on a redesigned ultra-thin 15-inch Mac notebook which was expected to launch by the end of 2011. But the company apparently elected to delay its release and wait for the launch of Intel’s Ivy Bridge platform in 2012 to include it in its new models.

AppleInsider now reports citing people familiar with Apple’s plans that the company is preparing to release revamped MacBook Pro lineup sometimes this year. The full range of MacBook Pros will adopt the design aesthetic of increasingly popular MacBook Airs. According to the report, the existing MacBook Pro designs will be phased out over the course of 2012. However it is unclear yet whether the new notebooks will market as a next-generation MacBook Air or MacBook Pro.

“This will include new, ultra-thin unibody enclosures that jettison yesteryear technologies like optical disk drives and traditional hard drives in favor of models with lightweight chassis that employ flash-memory based solid-state drives, instant-on capabilities, extended battery life, and rely on digital distribution for software and media”.

The report notes that Apple may not redesign the whole MacBook Pro lineup at once; instead the company will first release 15-inch models and then follow with 17-inch notebooks “shortly thereafter”.

Apple’s plans on the its 13-inch MacBook Pro remain unclear, and the fate of the model might depend on how closely the new designs mirror the MacBook Air and whether the company is going to market all of its notebooks under a single name. With a boost to 13-inch MacBook Air and the redesign of MacBook Pros, there may simply not be much difference between the two 13-inch notebooks so the company may elect to consolidate its notebook lines down to a single lineup in four different sizes.