Four million 13-inch, two million 15.4-inch for 2012

Analyst firm NPD claims that Apple is set to expand its high-resolution MacBook Pro line with a 13.3-inch offering. In a blog post, NPD revealed findings from its examination of the ODM supply chain, which indicate that a 13.3-inch high-resolution display is already being produced in large quantities. The report also estimates that Apple will be producing fewer than two million 15.4-inch Retina MacBook Pros this year.

Reports from the display manufacturers indicate that the 13.3-inch Retina MacBook Pros will feature 2560x1600 resolution panels. NPD's analysis concludes that manufacturers will produce fewer than four million of these displays through the end of the year, or roughly twice the production yield expected for the 15.4-inch models. As with the 15.4-inch Retina MacBook Pro, the 13.3-inch model's resolution will amount to a doubling in overall pixel dimensions over the current model.

Yield issues are said to have pushed the start of mass production of the 15.4-inch Retina displays into late May, which may explain the increasing wait times for the new notebook. NPD's analysis parallels another released yesterday from KGI, which also predicts a 13.3-inch Retina MacBook Pro launch in the fall and noted that low yield rates had likely spoiled Apple's plan to release the model alongside the rest of its new releases.

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computers, industry, Apple, Retina MacBook Pro