There has been a lot of hype about the 2016 MacBook Air and MacBook Pro. Most people want to know if the release date will be sooner rather than later, but much of the evidence is pointing toward definite Skylake processors. There are also price cuts pointing to rumors of what kind of models of Apple laptops will be seen in 2016.
Forbes reports that laptops from Windows vendors like HP, Dell, and Microsoft have that "Skylake" 6th Generation Intel Core Processor, the new microarchitecture that follows Haswell/Broadwell, but Apple doesn't have it on its MacBooks...yet. This is really nothing new, but Apple will more than likely have Skylake on the 2016 versions of the MacBook Air and MacBook Pro. A Skylake Core M processor will ramp up the performance of Apple's laptop, giving it a higher battery life and better performance.
A report from Parent Herald states there could be another major change to the 2016 versions of the MacBooks. Both the 13-inch and 15-inch MacBook Pro Retina feature the same physical design since 2012, so a chassis change is also expected.
The 2016 versions of the MacBooks are probably at least going to be announced this month. Most are looking to a big announcement by Apple, and that will probably take place on stage with new versions of an iPad with the iPad Air 3, a new smaller iPhone, and possibly some new variation of the Apple Watch. It is possible that the new MacBooks will be announced then, but some are thinking that Apple is going to be taking its time and not reveal the new MacBooks until WWDC 2016. The WorldWide Developers Conference is an annual event that takes place during the summertime, which means that the new MacBooks might not be released until fall, just in time for Black Friday 2016.
As for the price, perhaps the better question is the price cuts. According to Ecumenical News, there has been a recent price cut on the latest MacBook Pro, which could signal that new models of MacBooks are on the way. Generally, it has been noticed that price cuts on the Apple store are a signal that a new model is about to be revealed. As can be seen on eBay, the 15-inch Retina MacBook Pro has dropped from its original price of $2,499 to $1,949. That is a savings of $500, with no charge for shipping.
Generally, the prices of MacBooks will drop before a new version is released. In the case of the MacBook Air, there are rumors that Apple is "phasing out" this particular model. If that is the case, then the price on these particular models will go way, way down, while the newer models will show up at prices that are probably higher (possibly much higher) than what Apple has for their current 2015 models, expected to be at $1,299 to $1,599.
