MacBook Air, MacBook Pro 2016 Release Date and Rumors; Surprise Black Friday Release, Specs and Price

Nov 19, 2015 01:44 PM EST

Depending on your source, either the MacBook Pro 2015 & 2016 will both be released on Black Friday and hit the shelves on November 27 or the MacBook Air 2016 will be available on Black Friday and the MacBook Pro 2016 will hit the shelves in December this year.

One thing is sure, though. You can include a MacBook Pro in your wish list on Black Friday.

A report by The Venture Capital Post said that the 2016 MacBook Air could launch on Black Friday 2015, and the 2016 MacBook Pro could arrive by December 2015.  This is a rumor, and there has not been any official word, but there is at least some evidence to support it. 

The first evidence is the price cuts on the current models of the MacBook Air and MacBook Pro, which were released shortly after Apple's "Spring Forward" event.  The price has drastically gone down recently, which many believe as a signal that some new model is coming, as Apple has been known to do that. 

This report was corroborated by Latinos Post, which also claimed a Black Friday release date for MacBook Air 2016. But the report said that Apple might not want to release its flagship laptop on November 27 because the unveiling might be muted by other great deals offered by retailers and tech giants on Black Friday.

There were concerns that sales for MacBook Air 2016 might pale as it would be competing with great discount deals offered for other Apple devices on said day.

The same sentiment was echoed Christian Today adding that Apple is not known for releasing a major product on Black Friday when shoppers rush to retail stores to hunt for bargains and big discounts offered on several products.

The website writes, "If Apple is indeed planning to release the MacBook Air 2016 on that day, then there is a good chance that the news will go by largely unnoticed."

If the 2015 release of the 2016 models of the MacBook Air and MacBook Pro is true, then that is a pretty fast turnaround time for the new models.  It is pretty clear that after Black Friday has come and gone, we can dismiss this idea of a possibly premature new model of MacBook as just a rumor.

However, when the 2016 version of the MacBook Pro and MacBook Air come out, this year or the next, it is rumored to have an Intel Skylake-U chipset under the hood, and powered by OS X El Capitan.  There are also plans that the new models will be sleeker, which should come as no surprise, but it could come with a Type-C USB port.  There are also talks of these new models having more powerful RAM and Force Touch technology.

Industry observers described the 2016 MacBook Air as the most powerful among the laptops currently in Apple's lineup and powered by the Skylake U-chipset and running on the latest Apple operating system El Capitan. The latest MacBook Pro is expected to be powered by the same Intel Skylake chipset.

The next generation MacCook laptop will be available in 13-inch and 15-inch models and may carry a price tag of $1500.