White MacBooks may join Air in July update

New investigations at online retailers have given possible clues of the white MacBook being replaced at the same time as the MacBook Air. Checks at Amazon, J&R, MacConnection, and other outlets show either few supplies or are out of stock altogether. AppleInsider heard that one major European reseller was entirely out of stock and hasn't been told when it would get new models.

The stockouts are coming just before Lion's release and hint that a new model might be coming with the new OS. Apple is known to be waiting on Lion to simplify the upgrade process. Apple is believed to be releasing new Airs in mid-July and could introduce both at the same time.

The white MacBook is one of Apple's oldest service computers and was last updated in May of last year, when it got a mild speed boost. As the one-time cheapest system, it was once intended as the most popular system but has been eclipsed by at least the MacBook Pro and possibly the MacBook Air as well.

Barring the system being discontinued outright, upgrade plans for the MacBook aren't known but would likely follow the path taken by the 13-inch MacBook Pro. If so, it will most likely move to a 2.3GHz Core i5, 4GB of RAM, and Intel's now much faster integrated video. A larger hard drive and Thunderbolt are probable upgrades.

By Electronista Staff