MacBook Pro and Macbook Air Retina Release Date 2015: Rumored to Launch at Apple Spring Forward Event

Mar 04, 2015 05:44 PM EST

Next Monday's Spring Forward event from Apple is all about the unveiling of the new Apple Watch, but some experts believe that Apple will also be showing off the anticipated 12-inch Retina MacBook Air and more information on the Retina MacBook Pro.

According to an exclusive at The Michael Report, "sources familiar with the matter" say that the Retina MacBook Air will be unveiled at the event, which The Michael Report confirms through independent verification.

While Apple has not officially confirmed any of the long-standing rumors (some date back to 2012!), insider speculation all points to the probability of the Retina version of the super lightweight MacBook Air to be coming very soon. 

Apple supplier Quanta is rumored to have begun production of the product back in January, and KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo predicted that the new 12-inch Retina MacBook Air would be coming in March.

Related: Apple Watch Release Date Confirms Outside the U.S. in April, Spring Forward Event to Give More Details on March 9 

Aside from the 12-inch screen, the Retina MacBook Air is expected to continue with its ultraportable design and feature much of the same extras as the original MacBook Air, but with the addition of fully integrated TouchID functionality for online payments with Apple Pay.

Retina MacBook ProThe new 2015 version of the MacBook Pro, on the other hand, isn't concentrating on that ultra-portable focus, so it's a bit beefier under the hood.

While the MacBook Pro 2015 isn't expected t stray too far from last year's model, it is expected to feature both 13-inch and 15-inch versions going for $1299 and $1999 respectively.

The 13-inch model is rumored to house an Intel Iris graphics card while the 15-inch model will hold the Intel Iris Pro graphics card with a NVIDIA GeForce GT 750M for a dual-card set-up that can help conserve battery life for various applications.

As for RAM, the standard 8/16 GB set-up is expected on both 13- and 15-inch models. Touch ID and Ultra HD Retina Display is also expected on the latest MacBook Pro.

The MacBook Pro 2015 is expected to launch in April of this year right along with the Retina MacBook Air and the Apple Watch, but we'll be sure to keep our eyes and ears on next week's Spring Forward event for further details.