Apple had a "Spring Forward" event in March of last year, and much of the focus was on its Apple Watch. However, the new MacBook Air and MacBook Pro was unveiled at that time, and it stands to reason that a new MacBook Air and MacBook Pro 2016 will be announced at a similar Spring event this year. In fact, there were a lot of rumors saying that the MacBook Air and MacBook Pro for 2016 would be announced on Black Friday 2015, which didn't happen. Here is what is known about the MacBook Air, MacBook Pro 2016 Release Date, Price, and Rumors.
According to 9 to 5 Mac, there is going to be an event on Tuesday, March 15 where Apple is possibly aiming to launch the 4-inch iPhone 5SE, the iPad Air 3, and new Apple Watch Band options. None of those are confirmed as yet, but it is expected that the MacBook Pro and MacBook Air 2016 should work their way in there.
As far as what changes will be made, Digital Trends reports that the new MacBooks will begin with Skylake. Skylake is Intel's sixth-generation range of Core laptop and desktop PC processors, based on 14nm technology. The last update to Apple's laptops should have had Skylake in them, but the delay on Intel's end kept it out.
In addition to the Skylake update, there are also talks of "smarter power usage" to extend the MacBook's already decent battery length. Of course, there have always been rumors that the graphics will be kicked up, allowing for 4K output on some devices. Some have said that the next step would be to begin including OLED displays.
There are also rumors that Apple is moving away from the MacBook Air line, possibly dropping it entirely. That may not seem likely, but what seems more likely is the introduction of USB Type-C ports on every laptop of the MacBook line.
So it is probably a safe bet that Apple is planning their announcement of the new Apple MacBooks this March. If there is a delay, the company could wait until their Worldwide Developer's Conference (WWDC) in June. Of course, this is Apple, and they tend to make announcements when they want to make them.
Assuming that the launch takes place around that time, the big question is the price. Price cuts last fall led to rumors of newer 2016 models showing up in late 2015, and it isn't really known why those cuts were made. Apple does have quite a new challenging competitor as Microsoft has really stepped up their Surface Pro series, and the 2-in-1 tablet/computer challenges Apple's portable personal computing business.
