Citing supply chain sources, Digitimes reports that Apple is expected to see only modest "single-digit" shipment growth for its notebook lineup in 2013, with the 13-inch MacBook Pro in particular seeing weaker-than-expected sales.
The report also claims that Apple will be refreshing its notebook lineup "at the end of the second quarter", which could mean an introduction at the company's Worldwide Developers Conference expected in June.
Digitimes had reported in late December that Apple was planning a June refresh for its notebook lineup, and similar timeframes have been claimed by reliable KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo and Taiwanese newspaper Economic Times.
Back in mid-February, Apple released a surprise minor update for the Retina MacBook Pro, including a significant price drop for the 13-inch models. Apple also dropped pricing on the high-end MacBook Air at the time, a move that had been at least in part predicted by Digitimes in its late December report.
Apple is likely to use Intel's forthcoming Haswell processors in its next-generation notebooks, and Intel will reportedly be releasing the first mobile Haswell chips in late May or early June.
Article Link: Apple Notebook Refresh Expected Late This Quarter, But Only Modest Shipment Growth for 2013
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adds discrete GPU to the 13’ Retina, they could gain more attention since people can buy a Windoze PC for cheaper price with better specs these days. Also if they can throw in a SUPER cheap external optical drive as a freebie, it might help. Grandmothers and teenage girls these days are asking "Where's the Disc Drive?" when all they do is check Facebook. 
