A leaked image purportedly detailing the technical specifications for the forthcoming 2012 13-inch MacBook Pro was released on the forums of Chinese site Weiphone Tuesday. The specifications show an upgrade to Intel’s Ivy Bridge CPU and HD 4000 GPU, along with the addition of USB 3.0, but fail to support other rumors about significant changes to the MacBook Pro product line.
The image, which appears to be from the product box of the unreleased MacBook Pro, was supposedly provided to the poster by a “friend inside Apple.” The layout matches the design and style of Apple’s on-box technical specifications, but could also easily have been fabricated.
Another difference between the claimed 2012 iteration of the 13-inch MacBook Pro and the currently shipping 2011 model is the addition of Bluetooth 4.0, which Apple currently offers only on its iPhone 4S, 2011 MacBook Air, and 2011 Mac Mini.
The specifications, if true, contradict many rumors about the impending 2012 MacBook Pro refresh. The dimensions and weight of the product are unchanged, the optical drive remains, and the 13-inch display’s resolution remains at 1280-by-800, dismissing rumors about “Retina-quality” higher-resolution displays coming to all of Apple’s computers this year.
Of course, these specifications may only be for the entry-level 13-inch MacBook Pro, with some of the above-rumored features coming to a higher-end 13-inch and to the 15- and 17-inch models. It could also be that with the increasing capabilities of the 13-inch MacBook Air, Apple felt no need to update the 13-inch MacBook Pro beyond a minimum level, instead choosing to use the absence of the rumored-features as a stronger incentive to move users to a MacBook Air or larger MacBook Pro.
Nearly all of Apple’s Mac hardware is expected to be updated next week at the company’s annual Worldwide Developers Conference in San Francisco. TMO will have live coverage of the keynote and any product announcements throughout the length of the event, June 11 through June 15.
[via Engadget]