Macbook Pro, Air 2016 release date, specs rumors: Intel Skylake-powered notebooks to be launched March 2016?

The next batch of Macbooks from Apple is rumored to have Intel Skylake, the latest and most powerful from the Santa Fe-based semiconductor manufacturer. Reports are claiming that two new Macbook Pro units with the said chipsets could be released this March at the earliest.

The MacBook Pro Retina in 13 and 15 inches[Photo credit: Apple]

Both laptops will reportedly sport Retina displays, one measuring 15 inches and the other 13 inches. According to Forbes, it has always been difficult to determine a release date for these devices as the flow of supply of the new Intel processor has become unpredictable.

It is believed that the biggest selling point of the Macbook Pro 2016 units will be the Intel Skylake working magic under the hood. This chipset is powerful enough to do away with a fan inside the laptop while at the same time lowering power consumption and lengthening the battery life.

The current version of the 15-inch Macbook Pro has an Intel Haswell, which is two generations old. The 13-inch model has Broadwell, which is the predecessor of Skylake. With other laptop makers like Dell offering notebooks with Skylake, there's no reason for Apple to stick with Broadwell.

Intel Skylake will also allow Apple to scale down the weight and the size of the laptops. That being said, users can imagine the Cupertino-based company using the Intel unit on Macbook Air 2016 iterations.

At the moment, users can buy the current Macbook Air units for a lower price. However, it looks like it is much better to wait for the new Macbook Air 2016 units to arrive instead as they will most likely boast Intel Skylake as well.

Apart from this, the 12-inch and 13-inch laptops are also expected to get makeovers to make them look more up to date. It's been a while since Apple overhauled the design of the Air units but it would benefit Apple to give the laptops a sleeker look to match the Skylake power.

The new Macbook Pro and Macbook Air 2016 laptops are believed to be launched in spring, presumably this month. Interestingly, Apple is rumored to hold an event on March 21 for the purported 4-inch iPhone called iPhone SE and the iPad Pro Mini.