MacBook Air Refreshed Postponed by Intel Core i5 Shortage? [ULV Intel Core i5 Processors Not Ready for New MacBook Air?]

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The MacBook Air, the famous ultra-slim laptop made by Apple, is about to get a new refresh. And when I do say “about to get” I don’t have a specific date in mind. But unfortunately for the Air fans that date might be postponed a while. It looks like the ultra-low-voltage Intel Core i5 processors that are expected to equip the new Air version are delayed.

The Air was last upgraded in June last year so it’s about time to see a new MacBook Air. But if those ULV Core i5 chips are going to be ready on time then Cupertino will have to just sit tight and wait for Intel to provide the new chips. In fact we might see Apple’s MacBook Pro line get refreshed before the Air will be upgraded, which isn’t necessarily bad news.

I for one would choose any MacBook Pro over the MacBook Air. After all, how thin do we really want our laptops to be? Does it simply have to fit in an envelope? I’d rather pack mine in a book and enjoy the extra perks that a MacBook Pro has to offer.

Intel is of course not willing to comment on any rumors and we might just see Apple get the new Core i5 UM chips before everyone else does. The i5-520UM processor from the Core i5 family is going to offer you a maximum speed of 1.86GHz, 3MB of L3 cache and it will also include an integrated GPU clocking at 500MHz.

The MacBook Pro line will also get Intel’s new processors soon and there’s a slight chance to hear Steve Jobs talk about the upgrades on Wednesday morning at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco. Although we will be really looking forward to see a particular Apple “latest creation” next week and not focus on MacBook refreshes.