15-inch MacBooks Enroute

Making a bold claim, DigiTimes today said that Apple would produce a 15.4-inch widescreen consumer MacBook. The system would specifically exist to bridge the divide between the basic 13.3-inch model and the MacBook Pro line. Despite the larger screen size, the systems are expected to receive very competitive pricing relative to their smaller counterparts due to the low costs associated with 15.4-inch screens, the Taiwanese publication's sources said.

While details of the future systems themselves remain unknown, contacts speaking with the publication claim that local manufacturer Quanta -- which builds the premium but lower-volume MacBook Pro -- has won the contract, despite the portables' likely closer similarity to the 13.3-inch MacBooks currently made by ASUStek. The 15.4-inch editions would allegedly be released sometime during the second quarter of 2007, roughly a year after the Intel-based line was first introduced.

By Electronista Staff