Rumour: MacBook Pro refresh imminent with 15 inch Air?

There’s an interesting rumour being thrown around the web right now, suggesting that Apple may be readying a 15 inch ultra light MacBook Pro for release in just a few weeks.

The rumour comes courtesy of Apple’s authorised resellers, with word coming that the 15 inch MacBook Pro is becoming harder to order in, suggesting that there is a shortage and Apple is readying a new unit.

In the next refresh, Apple is expected to ditch the DVD drive in the Macbook Pro and make the computer thinner, possibly going so far as to make it as thin as the MacBook Air.

Samsung's 15 inch thin and light Series 9.

Already this year, we’ve heard the rumour of a thin and light MacBook Pro, but with America’s division of Samsung recently outing a 15 inch Series 9 Ultrabook, it’s hard to picture Apple not looking at a response.

Meanwhile, Intel’s next chipset – Ivy Bridge – is looking like it will meet a late-April release, suggesting we’ll see quad-core mobile processors with lower power consumption and support for Thunderbolt in just a few weeks.