Update: Recode is now reporting that Apple plans to release new Macs as part of an event on October 27th "at or near Apple's Cupertino campus." There are no new details on the Macs we might see, but the post below still represents the most persistent rumors from the most reliable sources.
Original story: With the exception of the 12-inch MacBook, all of Apple's Macs are currently at least a year old, and many of them are significantly older. Rumors about new models have been making the rounds all year, but the most recent and most reliable say that we'll be getting some updates later this month.
The latest report is from Japanese site Mac Otakara, which is normally a reliable source of information from Apple's Asian supply chain. Its rumors about the MacBook Pro conform with others we've been hearing for most of the year. Both 13- and 15-inch MacBook Pros are said to be getting thinner, and they will follow the thin-and-light MacBook in jumping to USB Type-C ports, but Apple is attempting to keep pro users happy by giving them more ports and adding Thunderbolt 3 support. Unique features like a customizable OLED function key bar and TouchID support are also said to be on tap, as are GPUs from AMD's "Polaris" family. Intel's Skylake CPUs seem like the best bet for the main processor, since "Kaby Lake" chips suitable for MacBook Pros aren't due until January at the earliest.
The most interesting new information is about the MacBook Air. The 13-inch model is said to get USB Type-C and Thunderbolt 3, and those ports will replace all of the ports on the current Air—USB Type-A, Thunderbolt 2, and Magsafe 2. We don't know how many of these ports the Air will get, but if the design stays more or less the same, it should at least get more than the one-ported MacBook. The 11-inch Air, which currently serves as Apple's entry-level laptop, would be removed from the lineup.
We also don't know whether Apple will take the opportunity to revisit other aspects of the 13-inch Air's aging design, which was last overhauled back in October of 2010. In particular, its non-Retina, non-IPS 1440×900 display is far behind the rest of the PC industry in both quality and resolution. Removing the 11-inch Air from the lineup does make some sense since the 12-inch MacBook is both thinner, lighter, and higher-quality, but it's also significantly more expensive—hopefully it sees some price cuts to make it more palatable.
We'll keep our ear to the ground, and if Apple actually does refresh its Mac lineup later this month, we'll bring you all the details as we get them.
