All the attention is on Microsoft right now as the tech world tunes in to see what Windows 8 and its funky Metro UI is all about. Maybe that's not sitting right with Apple, who'd prefer to hog the limelight for itself. If that's the case, it would make perfect sense to refresh its MacBook Pro line this month, as is rumored to be the case.

Citing "people with proven insight into Apple's future product plans," AppleInsider reports Apple is hot-to-trot with refreshed MacBook Pro models later this month rather than waiting for Intel's next generation Core i mobile processors to appear in the second quarter of 2012.


It's unclear what parts Apple is planning to shove into new MacBook Pro models, though it's worth mentioning Intel recently introduced a handful of new Core i7 processors, including:

• Core i7 2960XM: Quad-core, 2.7GHz, 8MB cache, $1,096
• Core i7 2860QM: Quad-core, 2.5GHz, 8MB cache, $568
• Core i7 2760QM: Quad-core, 2.4GHz, 6MB cache, $378
• Core i7 2640M: Dual-core, 2.8GHz, 4MB cache, $346

Currently the fastest processor available on 15-inch and 17-inch MacBook Pro models is a Core i7 2820QM (quad-core, 2.3GHz, 8MB cache), while the 13-inch model is available with a Core i5 dual-core chip clocked at 2.3GHz or a Core i7 dual-core part clocked at 2.7GHz.