The 13-inch MacBook Pro with Retina Display's "soft launch" may have arrived as an analyst reported last week ahead of the Sept. 12 iPhone 5 launch.
The new 13-inch Retina MacBook has been considered as inevitable and reports suggests it was debut with the iPhone 5 and other Apple products during Wednesday's Apple press conference in San Francisco.
The 13-inch MacBook Pro with Retina Display and the new 21-inch iMac is reported to have started "mass shipping," according to DigiTimes.
"The sources estimated that the official launch of the Retina Display 13.3-inch MacBook Pro should be in either September or October to target back-to-school demand and the year-end holidays," according to a DigiTimes report.
The report goes in line with what KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo reported last week. Kuo stated that Apple will have a "soft launch" of the iMac and MacBook Pro with Retina Display in order to bring more focus to the iPhone 5.
"Our survey shows that Apple will take the wraps off quite a few new products in September and October. From a marketing and sales point of view, too many new products in a short period of time is not a positive thing," stated Kuo.
The 13-inch MacBook will have an advantage over the current 15-inch version, along with a cheaper price. NPD DisplaySearch analyst Richard Simm said the display for the 13-inch MacBook with Retina Display will feature resolution of 2,560x1,600 pixels. As CNET reported, that is high "compared to the current iteration's 1,280x800 pixel screen."
The news also comes as Apple restocked their 15-inch MacBook with Retina Display version following notices of shipping delays due to shortages. Since its launch in June, delays between two to three weeks have occurred, but that quickly jumped to a four week delay. By July, the wait time was shortened by one to two weeks.
The 13-inch MacBook Pro with Retina Display is speculated to be presented during the Sept. 12 press conference.