Apple's 15" Ultra-Thin Notebook Due in March 2012 - MacRumors
Skip to Content

Apple's 15" Ultra-Thin Notebook Due in March 2012

mbathin
MacBook Air

Digitimes is reporting that small numbers of components for a 15" ultra-thin notebook from Apple will start shipping this month with mass shipments of the notebook beginning in March.

Upstream suppliers of Apple have recently started shipping a small volume of components for a 15-inch ultra-thin notebook model from Apple in November and the device could be either MacBook Air or just a thinner MacBook Pro. The new MacBook is expected to appear as early as the second quarter of 2012, according to sources from the upstream supply chain.

Digitimes is unclear if the parts are intended for a 15" MacBook Air or a thinner 15" MacBook Pro. In July, we reported that Apple was finishing up work on a new ultrathin 15" notebook, and at the end of October, it was rumored that new machine was nearing production.

It seems likely that a thin 15" MacBook would use a SSD rather than HDD, similar to current MacBook Air models, and would forego an optical drive. The MacBook Pro line was refreshed earlier this fall with minor processor, graphics and storage upgrades.

Popular Stories

Apple Event Logo

Apple to Release These 15 New Products Later This Year

Friday June 12, 2026 7:45 am PDT by
Apple's annual WWDC developers conference is drawing to a close, but there is still a lot to look forward to in the second half of the year. Apple is expected to release at least 15 more products later this year. Now that the more intelligent and personal version of Siri has finally arrived in beta, a full two years after Apple first previewed it at WWDC 2024, we should begin to see some new ...
iCloud iPhone 17 Pro

iPhone Users Who Pay for iCloud Storage Get Two New Perks on iOS 27

Tuesday June 9, 2026 11:29 am PDT by
If you pay for extra iCloud storage on your iPhone, beyond the 5GB included for free, you might receive two more perks on iOS 27 at no additional cost. First, Apple said there will be daily usage limits for some of the new and enhanced Apple Intelligence features on iOS 27, including image generation. However, the company noted that "increased access" is available with "most" iCloud+ storage ...
Chase Sapphire Reserve Apple Perk Feature

Chase Sapphire Preferred Card Introduces New Perk for Apple Customers

Monday June 15, 2026 12:07 pm PDT by
Chase this week announced new perks for its Sapphire Preferred credit card, and one of them is a complimentary one-year Apple TV streaming subscription. To get the free year of Apple TV, which typically costs $12.99 per month in the U.S., you must activate the card by December 31, 2026. If you are already subscribed to Apple TV directly through Apple, the complimentary subscription from...

Top Rated Comments

GLS Avatar
190 months ago
Umm..no thanks. Id take windows 8 reasonably priced laptop over this garbage. Tim Cook, you are the beginning of the end! Watch out for Wild Bill. I cant wait to see windows 8 own this, completely. This will be I bet 2 grand! Rip apple, 2k7-2k11

Meth does a body good.
Score: 43 Votes (Like | Disagree)
190 months ago
Liquid metal baby
Score: 22 Votes (Like | Disagree)
190 months ago
Umm..no thanks. Id take windows 8 reasonably priced laptop over this garbage. Tim Cook, you are the beginning of the end! Watch out for Wild Bill. I cant wait to see windows 8 own this, completely. This will be I bet 2 grand! Rip apple, 2k7-2k11

I see Momma let the troll out of the basement...
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
jca24 Avatar
190 months ago
Umm..no thanks. Id take windows 8 reasonably priced laptop over this garbage. Tim Cook, you are the beginning of the end! Watch out for Wild Bill. I cant wait to see windows 8 own this, completely. This will be I bet 2 grand! Rip apple, 2k7-2k11

Ok, you use a winblows pc that doesn't work and we will use Macs that do!

:apple:
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
190 months ago
MacBook Pro and MacBook Air will be merging. We'll have 11", 13", 15" ... 17" is questionable. I could be wrong, but would be surprised if I was. If the MacBook Pro loses the optical drive and becomes thinner, I don't see enough differentiation between it and the Air. I see Apple calling the new product simply MacBook or another name all-together with a new design taking cues from the Air.

I don't think Air and Pro will be merging.
That's coz both categories targets 2 different types of market.
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
190 months ago
Since SSD prices are still very high, and Apple is aware that pros want high storage capacity (500-750 GB), why not use a HDD/(blade) SSD combo, as they do in the iMac and Mac mini? Seems like the best of both worlds to me.
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)