I don't see much of a difference between designs 1-4, and nothing beyond Option #6 looks like a realistic option.
If I had to guess:
New
MacBooks will come in a few weeks.
They will appear similar to the current MBA, except there won't be a taper. However, it'll be similarly spec'ed to today's MacBook line. There's nothing wrong with a new design and price drop, but seeing as how new technology is coming, it won't meet expectations because they expect more technology to be crammed in there. It will continue to have integrated graphics, and a 1280 x 800 resolution. People will complain that all Apple did was change the casing without adding things like DisplayPort, and people will be angry. But it is more affordable and more beautiful, but these people won't take that into account.
MacBook Air will be upgraded in a few weeks with the Macbooks. Slightly longer battery life and increased storage is what you'll get, along with a price drop of $200. It'll have hardware that is Splashtop capable, but for some reason, Apple won't activate it because that's how Apple rolls.
The new
MacBook Pro won't come until
January (MWSF).
It will be like an MBA, but with a screen that looks like an iMac's (similar to #5). It will obviously be thicker than an MBA. Due to the greater thickness, the taper won't be as angled as that of the MBA; otherwise, the base of the laptop would be very small. It will have DisplayPort and Splashtop. The damn thing will also have a glossy screen, and we'll hear lots of complaints.
The 15" model will have 1600 x 1050 resolution, while the 17" will get the 1900 x 12XY resolution as the default.
The 13" MB and 15" MBP will maintain their current 3.5 hour real-world battery life, while the 17" will have around 4 - 4.5 hours of battery.
People will cry for more battery life. People will say:
"The Lenovo X300 and Sony TZ can get 3.5 hours and it's thinner AND smaller!"
"Most netbooks (6-cell batteries) can get around 4.5-6 useful hours of battery life!"
They're not really in the same laptop category, and some people don't want to a laptop with a large, heavy 12-cell battery in their laptop because 3.5 hours is usually more than enough. However, Apple should allow for 5-6 hours of battery life without increasing the weight of the laptop. Steve Jobs is told to go to Hogwarts and learn magic.
