13-inch Retina MacBook Pro said to be on track for Q4 launch

With all eyes turned on Apple (AAPL), the iPhone 5 and the imminent iPad mini unveiling, it’s easy to forget that the company also makes the best-selling notebook computer models in the world. With some models beginning to show their age, NPD DisplaySearch analyst Richard Shim reiterated his belief that Apple will release a 13.3-inch MacBook Pro with Retina display this quarter. Shim previously noted that Samsung (005930), LG Display (LPL) and Sharp (SHCAY) had already begun production on a display with a 2,560 x 1,600-pixel resolution to fit Apple’s notebook. Shim tells CNET once again that he strongly believes Apple is still on track to deliver the 13-inch MacBook Pro with Retina display by end of the fourth quarter with a price below $2,199. The only leak supporting Shim’s claim that Apple was testing a 13-inch Pro model with Retina display came from this past July, and those leaked benchmark test results suggest the notebook might have a 2.9 GHz Intel Core i7-3520M processor.

Read