Noted analyst Ming-Chi Kuo of KGI Securities believes Apple will showcase updated MacBook Pro models at its upcoming Worldwide Developers Conference in June, with the most notable upgrade being the move to Intel's next-generation Haswell family of processors.
Kuo, who has a reliable track record in predicting Apple's product plans, said in a research note obtained by AppleInsider that while the Cupertino company is likely to bump its current MacBook lineup to Intel's latest platform, speculated upgrades like a MacBook Air with Retina display are unlikely.
While no major design changes are thought to be in store for WWDC, Kuo now thinks Apple will keep the optical drive-toting MacBook Pro alive alongside the company's most advanced MacBook Pro with Retina display and MacBook Air models. The analyst previously forecast Apple would retire the line as it moved to all-Retina product offerings.
"There is still demand in emerging markets, where Internet penetration isn't advanced, for optical disk drives," he said of the 13- and 15-inch non-Retina MacBook Pro. Apple's top-tier MacBook lineup eschewed the previous built-in SuperDrive in a bid to slim down the chassis and cut weight.
For the consumer market, Kuo said the biggest change to the MacBook lineup in 2013 will be the introduction of Intel's Haswell processor, which replaces the Ivy Bridge architecture currently used in the company's computers. Intel recently announced that Haswell will be unveiled on June 3, one day prior to the Computex Taipei trade show.
Kuo believes the MacBook Air and MacBook Pro will begin shipping by the end of the second quarter, close to the forecasted WWDC launch, while the MacBook Pro with Retina display will see release later in the year due to low yield of the notebook's high-resolution panels.
Apple has traditionally used WWDC as an opportunity to launch innovative new products, with last year's event seeing the debut of the 15-inch MacBook Pro with Retina display.
WWDC 2013 is scheduled to run from June 10 through 14 at Moscone West in San Francisco. Tickets to the conference sold out in less than two minutes, breaking the previous record of about two hours.