New Mac Pros and MacBook Airs to launch this week with OS X Lion (updated)

Mark Gurman | Jul 11 2011 - 12:10 pm PT

Update: New MacBooks and Mac minis, not Mac Pros (yet). Full story here.

We have been expecting new MacBook Airs this week and now it appears that the ultra-thin notebooks won’t be the only new Macs this week. According to our source Mr. X, part numbers for an upgraded Mac Pro line have appeared, hinting at a release for the new line of professional-minded desktop Macs in the coming days. Here are the new MacBook Airs:

As you can see from the Apple-internal part numbers above, Apple will be releasing four new MacBook Air models. This includes two 11 inch models and two 13 inch models; both screen sizes will come in entry level and upgraded configurations. Built-to-order options (BTO) will be available as well. We expect some RAM and processor upgrades. Our sources who handled the new MacBook Air told us earlier this month to not expect any noticeable exterior changes. Speedy Sandy Bridge processors and Thunderbolt I/O are this model’s main upgrades.

Surprisingly, it also looks like new Mac Pros are coming as early as this week. The new line was rumored to be launching in the last week of July or the first week of August, but it looks like Apple is getting them out earlier (or we just got the part numbers super early, which is unlikely). The new Mac Pros are may feature a re-designed enclosure that is both narrower and rack-mountable. A faster, 16 core model is also a possibility and Thunderbolt is an obvious addition. As expected, a new Mac Pro Server model will also debut. Here are the new Mac Pros:

As we previously reported, these new Macs will be Apple’s first to ship with Mac OS X Lion pre-installed. Apple is expected to release OS X Lion through the Mac App Store this Thursday, July 14th. We have also heard rumblings that suggest new MacBook Airs on Thursday, so perhaps Apple launches all three products on that day. We are also expecting new Mac minis in the near future (maybe this week) with Thunderbolt and faster CPUs. Be sure to check back soon as we have some more intel coming in soon.

One more thing?

Among the part numbers is also a 2x2GB RAM user upgradable RAM which may just be for a current MacBook Pro or iMac, but it could also be for new Minis or even Airs.