End is nigh for 17-inch MacBook Pro: analyst

The 17-inch MacBook Pro could be on the chopping block later this year, if one analyst’s prediction of a new product range combining the best of the MacBook Pro and MacBook Air comes to fruition.

As reported by Cult of Mac, analyst Ming-Chi Kuo – who has successfully predicted Apple’s actions in the past – says the company could introduce a new MacBook model as early as the third quarter of this year, combining the portability of the Air with the performance of the Pro.

The 17-inch MacBook Pro would most likely be discontinued ‘due to falling shipments’, Kuo says.

Apple is revealing its quarterly sales figures tomorrow, but Kuo is estimating 3.1 million notebook sales, of which nearly half will be the 13-inch MacBook Pro, 500,000 the 15-inch model, and just 50,000 the 17-inch version. The remainder will be split roughly 50/50 between the 11-inch and 13-inch MacBook Air.

Are you keen to see Apple combine the MacBook Pro and MacBook Air? Would you miss the 17-inch Pro? Post your comments below.