New MacBook Air and 13-inch MacBook Pro could launch with macOS Catalina

Image credit: Future (Image credit: Future Publishing)

Apple could be preparing to release a new MacBook Air 2019 and 13-inch MacBook Pro 2019 alongside its upcoming macOS 10.15 Catalina software later this year.

The rumor comes from IHS Markit analyst Jeff Lin, who published his Emerging PC Market Tracker. The report is only available to subscribers, but Forbes has reported on details within the report that suggest that Apple will update the 13.3-inch MacBook Pro and Retina MacBook Air with new processors in September 2019.

The new laptops will also ship with Apple’s upcoming operating system, macOS 10.15, according to Lin.

Update dates

In the report, Lin claims that the 13-inch MacBook Pro without the Touch Bar will be the model that gets the processor update. The version with the Touch Bar got a processor update back in May.

Meanwhile, the MacBook Air last got an update in October 2018. Getting the latest Intel processors should give both laptops a decent performance boost – if these rumors are correct.

This is the same report which suggests that Apple will also be releasing a new 16-inch MacBook Pro this year – although without the recently-rumored OLED display.

So, we will hopefully see some new laptop hardware from Apple later this year. However, as MacRumors points out, while these rumors suggest a spate of hardware refreshes in September, Apple doesn’t often release new laptops in that month – usually waiting until October.

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Matt Hanson
Managing Editor, Core Tech

Matt is TechRadar's Managing Editor for Core Tech, looking after computing and mobile technology. Having written for a number of publications such as PC Plus, PC Format, T3 and Linux Format, there's no aspect of technology that Matt isn't passionate about, especially computing and PC gaming. He’s personally reviewed and used most of the laptops in our best laptops guide - and since joining TechRadar in 2014, he's reviewed over 250 laptops and computing accessories personally.