Report Macbook Air Refresh In Early 2012 15 Inch Model Coming

Asian trade publication DigiTimes reported this morning that Apple is readying a MacBook Air refresh and looking to expand its ultra-thin notebook family with a brand new machine. Sometime during the first quarter of next year, according to sources from the upstream supply chain, the company will update existing 11.6- and 13.3-inch models and put out a new 15-inch model we’ve been hearing about before:

Another interesting bit of the DigiTimes story is that Apple is expected to lower prices of the current lineup ahead of the refresh. The update should include a new Ivy Bridge processors that consume less power while providing a speed boost in the CPU and GPU department (also expected in the next MacBook Pro refresh).

• Sources: Apple scrapped troubled 15-inch MacBook Air for 2010, rebuilding for 2012 (9to5mac.com)
• Unibody on Ultrabook: Metal on the outside, plastic on the inside (9to5mac.com)
• Complete overhauls tipped for next year’s iPhone, iMac, and MacBook Air (9to5mac.com)
• MacBook Air still starts at $849 (9to5mac.com)
• Digitimes: Apple to ship new dream machine 15-inch MacBook Air in March (9to5mac.com)