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Apple’s use of proprietary ARM-based processors in its iDevice product lines could help the company replace Intel as the world’s largest mobile chip maker by the end of the year.

Apple’s new 15-inch MacBook Pros will be thinner than current models but thicker than a MacBook Air, and will feature Intel’s latest Ivy Bridge Core i5 and Core i7 CPUs when they launch next month, according to a new report.

Intel said on Monday that optical cables for its Thunderbolt port are scheduled to arrive later this year and will allow for longer cables and eventually faster speeds.

These chips are headed to your next laptop, if you’re in the market for an ultrabook or a MacBook Air.

Originally posted at Nanotech – The Circuits Blog

Intel’s new Sandy Bridge update for its Xeon line of high end CPUs is due next week, suggesting the potential for Apple to refresh the Mac Pro, which hasn’t changed since the middle of 2010.

In addition to its report today about a potential 14-inch MacBook Air, DigiTimes also claims that Apple is expected to launch its thinner MacBook Pro models perhaps as soon as April. The report is a bit inconsistent in describing the timing, initially stating that the debut would be in April “at the soonest” while later simply mentioning that they are expected in April.

The report specifies that the redesigned models will include 13-inch and 15-inch models, but there is no word on the 17-inch MacBook Pro. Previous reports have indicated that the redesigned 17-inch model could appear slightly later than the smaller models, similar to Apple’s rollout of the unibody MacBook Pro in late 2008 and early 2009.Apple is expected to launch new MacBook Pro notebooks with an even thinner and lighter design than existing models in April, at the soonest. [...]

Apple is expected to launch upgraded 13- and 15-inch MacBook Pros in April with initial shipments estimated to reach 900,000 units.The report also addresses claims of delays in mass availability of Intel’s Ivy Bridge chips, suggesting that Apple could gain an advantage over its competitors looking to release ultrabooks, as Intel’s ultra-low voltage chips destined for those machines may not arrive until June.

Chip availability for revamped MacBook Pro models is a bit uncertain, as Intel has not specifically addressed the timeline for quad-core mobile processors such as those found in the current 15-inch and 17-inch MacBook Pro. Dual-core processors such as those found in the smaller 13-inch MacBook Pro do seem to have been pushed back a bit, although it is possible that Apple could squeeze a quad-core Ivy Bridge chip into the 13-inch MacBook Pro as Intel is releasing a chip with a somewhat lower 35-watt thermal design requirement.

Even with potential delays in mass availability of new chips, Apple has on occasion received preferential treatment from Intel, a relationship that could give Apple greater access to limited initial supplies of new Ivy Bridge chips.

Intel’s next-generation Ivy Bridge processors, sized at 22 nanometers and expected to appear in Apple’s updated Mac lineup, will become available eight to 10 weeks later than originally planned, one company official has said.

Will Apple come out with a MacBook Air that uses the same kind of chip the iPad does? An analyst claims it’s an active project at Apple.

Originally posted at Nanotech – The Circuits Blog

In its announcement of OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion on Thursday, Apple failed to mention that a handful of Macs that will be cut from the fold when the next generation operating system debuts this summer due to end of support for older Intel integrated graphics chipsets.

While he didn’t hint at any definitive future plans, Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook did admit that all options are on the table for the future of the Mac operating system, including further converging iOS and OS X, as well as potentially running Macs on ARM processors like are found in the iPhone and iPad, or switching iOS to Intel.