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The Apple MacBook Pro line of laptops will be equipped with faster processors by the end of the month, according to a well-placed source who spoke with <a href="http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/11/09/13/apple_may_surprise_with_late_2011_macbook_pro_refresh.html" ><em>AppleInsider</em></a>. 

Last week, Intel rolled out faster versions of its Sandy Bridge processors, the class of chips currently used in the <a href="http://mashable.com/follow/topics/macbook-pro/">MacBook Pro</a>. That means the current quad core Core i7 chips in the 15- and 17-inch MacBook Pros could be replaced by faster versions:

2.0 GHz -- 2.4 GHz (19.9% faster clock speed)

2.2 GHz -- 2.5 GHz (13.6% faster clock speed)

2.3 GHz -- 2.7 GHz (17.39% faster clock speed)

Those are all quad-core chips; the dual-core Core i7 processor now in the 13-inch MacBook Pro could get a speed bump, from 2.7 GHz up to 2.8 GHz.

According to the report, these faster processors could keep <a href="http://mashable.com/follow/topics/apple/">Apple</a>'s laptops speedy enough to satisfy users until Intel's faster <a href="http://www.tomshardware.com/news/ivy-bridge-sandy-launch-processors,12828.html" >"Ivy Bridge" chips</a> come along in March or April 2012. 

In addition to a speed increase, we're hoping the 2012 MacBook Pros will look a lot more like the MacBook Air, except with 15- and 17-inch screens and faster graphics. It could happen -- given the credible reports of a <a href="http://mashable.com/2011/07/26/macbook-air-15-inch/">15-inch MacBook Pro/Air hybrid</a> we heard this summer, such a laptop could be ready by the end of this year.

What would you like to see in the next MacBook Pros? Let us know in the comments.

[via <a href="http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/11/09/13/apple_may_surprise_with_late_2011_macbook_pro_refresh.html" ><em>AppleInsider</em></a>]<div class="feedflare">
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