There are always a lot of rumors associated with Apple as their products are surrounded by security up until they launch. Today brings another rumor who is citing sources in the supply chain. As always, until it is confirmed by Apple (so, at launch), it is a rumor, so take some salt, throw it over your shoulder and read on.

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As Apple's Tim Cook said at the close of the iPad 3 launch, "There's a lot to look forward to." Not only is he promising us more releases, but he is promising them to be good. If the sources are correct, one of these good upcoming releases will be the next generation 15-inch MacBook Pro. The rumor says that it will not be Air-like in its unibody construction.

Rather, it will be a thinned down version of the current unibody design. In order to thin the case, Apple will be removing the optical drive, but who uses those anyway? This means that the power button will be moved to where the eject button used to be on the keyboard. Of course, it features a compliment of connectivity ports along the side.

It will also feature a Retina display, according to the rumor, along with USB3.0. The Retina display is a logical next step as it has been intro'd on the iPhone and iPad. The USB 3.0 is being introduced finally because Ivy Bridge is the first Intel chip to natively support USB 3.0.

These new MacBook Pros are expected sometime this summer, though no ship date was given in the rumor. I'd be looking towards a June or August release, if I know Apple. Prices were also not specified by the rumor, though I imagine it will follow along the current line-up's pricing. Remember, all of this is a rumor!