With WWDC 2012 less than a month away, the Apple rumor mill is in full swing. Today, Bloomberg has confirmed a report from earlier today that Apple is preparing to release thinner MacBook Pro models with Retina displays. The new MacBook Pros will reportedly also includes ports for the MagSafe power connector, two USB ports, and audio in/out jacks along the left side, with a battery level indicator also included along the same side. The right side is said to offer a pair of Thunderbolt ports, another USB port, an SD card slot, and a Kensington lock slot.

Mockup of thinner 15-inch MacBook Pro design (left) compared to current design (right)

Apple’s MacBook Pro lineup was last updated in October of 2011, and is due for an update anytime. The MacBook Pro hasn’t had a significant redesign since 2008 either.

In addition, ABC News reports that not only the MacBook Pro family but also the iMac line is set to gain ultra high-resolution “Retina” displays.

As incredible as this sounds, it should be pointed out that nothing is confirmed until Apple announces it officially.

MacRumors has reported that Apple is finishing up work on a brand new 15″ Mac notebook in a form factor similar to the current generation of Macbook Airs. TUAW reports that this new laptop, along with a 17 inch version, will hold the Macbook Pro branding.

Apple has made some significant changes in its laptop line in the past couple years. First came the original MacBook Air, which changed how we thought a laptop could look. With the most recent update, the Air has replaced the old White MacBook that was the long standing low end Mac laptop.

A large number of us in the industry now expect the standard features of the MacBook Air to make their way to the high-end MacBook Pros. The key items that are mentioned are the integrated SSDs and the lack of optical drives. Those two changes make it possible to take a large amount of the size from body of the computers.

These changes would mark a dynamic shift in Apple’s attitude towards physical media. While it wouldn’t be unprecedented for Apple to completely ditch a format (floppy disk), that would mean skipping the BluRay altogether. However, due to the popularity or the thin machines, it would make sense for Apple to slim down the MacBook Pros.

The timing for the supposed ultra-thin notebook is still unknown. Apple did just release new versions of the MacBook Air a few weeks ago. The MacBook Pro line was just refreshed in February, so any release for that product would have to be at least towards the end of the year.

It was just a few hours ago that we reported about the leaked specs of the upcoming 13-inch MacBook Pro. Now, Apple has updated its online store with the next generation MacBook Pros.

As rumored, the new MacBook Pros sport a faster Core i5 or Core i7 Sandy Bridge processor from Intel. While the 13MacBook Pro sports an Intel 3000HD graphics card, the 15and the 17MBPs sport an AMD 6490M or a HD6750M graphics card, depending on the configuration you pick.

The hard disk storage capacity has been bumped across the range with SSDs of varying capacities being optional. Sadly, the number of USB ports remain the same as found on the older MBPs 2, and no they are not USB 3.0 ports. Apple lists the battery life of the new MacBook Pros at 7 hours. The ‘iSight’ camera has been renamed to Facetime HD’ as well.

As reported earlier, the new MacBook Pros sport a Thunderbolt’ I/O port, which is Apple’s implementation of Intel’s Light Peak technology.The new Thunderbolt port incorporates a Native Mini DisplayPort and can output videos to DVI or VGA using the suitable adapter. The port can also be used to hook up the MacBook Pro(s) to an HDMI monitor/LCD.

Along with the new MacBook Pros, Apple also released a developer preview of the next version of OS X Lion. Users can have a look at all the new features OS X Lion’ will bring here. OS X Lion’ is expected to be released sometime in summer 2011.

The announcement of the next generation of iPad may be garnering all the limelight, but Apple’s range of premium laptops the MacBook Pro(s) are also due for an update. Now, a seemingly unpopular blog fscklog.com have managed to get their hands on a leaked document which contains the specs of the upcoming 13MacBook Pro.

According to the leaked document, the 13MacBook Pro will feature the latest Sandy Bridge Core i5 processor from Intel running at 2.3GHz. The Nvidia discrete graphics card currently found in the 13MacBook Pro has been replaced with the Intel HD Graphics 3000 IGP with 384MB of dedicated memory.

The hard disk space has also been bumped to 320GB (5400RPM). Other than this, there are no other major changes in the next generation 13MacBook Pro from Apple.

The iSight’ camera has now been renamed to Facetime HD’, with the HD moniker hopefully meaning that Facetime will soon support 720p or higher resolutions for video chatting. One new feature which the 13MacBook Pro will get is the Thunderbolt’ I/O port, which in all probability is Apple’s implementation of Intel’s Light Peak port.

Intel’s Light Peak port is capable of connecting to multiple devices and provide a staggering bandwidth of up to 10Gbps. The Thunderbolt I/O’ port should make its way to other higher spec’d MacBook Pros as well.

Just yesterday, Apple released the new MacBook Pros with Core i5 and i7 Processors. Along with the new Macbook Pros, Apple also released a software update for the new Macbook Pros. The MacBook Pro Software Update 1.3 weighs in at 258Mb. Apple says that update “is recommended for all 15-inch and 17-inch MacBook Pro mid-2010 models and contains improvements for graphics stability for high-performance video and gaming applications as well as various bug fixes.”

The new 15and 17Macbook Pros feature an Intel Core i5 or a Core i7 CPU. The 13Macbook Pro still uses the Intel Core 2 Duo processor, though the processor now runs at 2.66Ghz. 4Gb of DDR3 RAM is now standard across all the Macbook Pros now. Apple also updated its implementation of the Mini DisplayPort. It can now simultaneously transfer video as well as audio signals. This mean users can now enjoy both audio and video signals when they connect their MacBook Pro to a HDTV using a miniDP to HDMI adapter. Apple sells one such converter from Griffin on their online shop. The 24Apple Cinema LED Display still relies on USB connection for audio signals, even when connected to the newer MacBook Pros.

Just a few days ago, we had reported that Apple is soon going to refresh their Macbook Pro line-up and the day has finally come. Apple today unveiled the new 15″ and 17″ Macbook Pro’s which uses the Core i5 and Core i7 processors. Sadly the 13″ Macbook Pro still uses the Core 2 Duo processor. Though, the speed of the Core 2 Duo processor has been bumped up to 2.4Ghz and 2.66Ghz.

The newer Macbook Pro(s) uses the Nvidia GT330M graphics card, while the 13″ Macbook Pro uses the Nvidia GT320M with 256Mb of Memory. The 15″ and 17″ Macbook Pro’s also have “automatic graphics switching technology” a.k.a Nvidia Optimus technology. All the new machines come with 4Gb of DDR3 RAM. Users can select between a 320Gb or a 500Gb hard disk for their storage needs. Users can also equip their 15″ and 17″ Macbook Pros with a 512Gb SSD, for only $1300.

Users who are interested in the 15″ Macbook Pro can select between a 15.4″ 1440*900 “glossy” screen or a 1680*1050 glossy screen for $50 more. Apple claims that the newer 13″ Macbook Pro can provide a battery backup of up to 10 hours. The 15″ and 17″ Macbook Pro’s provide a battery backup of 8 hours, thanks to Nvidia Optimus technology.

The newer 13″ Macbook Pro costs $1,119, while the 17″ Macbook Pro now costs $2,299. The newer 15″ Macbook Pro is now dearer by $100, at $1799. The newer Macbook Pros can already be   online from the Apple Store.

Update: A spokesperson from Nvidia told MacInsider that the newer Macbook Pros don’t use Nvidia Optimus technology.

At the beginning of this year, all the laptop manufacturers updated their notebook line-up to use the new mobile Intel Core i5 and/or Core i7 processors. Only Apple’s Macbook Pro line-up still uses the older generation Core 2 Duo processors. Many people have been criticizing Apple for taking such a long time to update their Macbook Pro line-up. Apple is known to charge a premium for its products. So why would someone pay a premium for something which uses an older generation processor?