Thinner 15-Inch MacBook Pro with Retina Display?

With the recent rumors of the possibility of an upgraded MacBook Pro, we have received specific information on the new 15-inch MacBook Pro’s design.

Sources are saying that the MacBook Pro will be considerably thinner than the existing MacBook Pro due to the removal of the optical drive. Instead of changing the physical design, it seems the MacBook Pro will be thinner than the previous version.

While many have speculated that the new 15-inch MacBook Pro will pickup the design from the late-2010/mid-2011 MacBook Air, sources familiar with the prototype units say that this is untrue. Instead, the new 15-inch MacBook Pro is described as being an ultra-thin version of the current MacBook Pro. Basically, the prototype design is a thinner, yet more robust, version of the late-2008 design. It has no tapering like the MacBook Airs.

With advances in technology and iOS, it seems to be that Apple will include a “Retina Display” on the next generation of MacBook Pros. This has been in the rumor mill for some time and evidence has been showing up in builds of OS X Lion and Mountain Lion. It probably won’t be a true Retina Display, just settings to take advantage of this new “HiDPI” support to select your desired combinations of sharpness and resolution.

You may also notice that USB 3.0 is starting to become popular in a lot of the new Windows machines. A recent report indicates that the USB ports on the new MacBook Pro will support USB 3.0. This has been a feature that many people are questioning if Apple will adopt given the move to Thunderbolt connectivity.

At the end of the day, these are just rumors for the upcoming announcement of the “new” MacBook Pro. What do you want to see in the upcoming MacBook Pro. Leave your thoughts in the comment section.

[via TechJohnson]