Apple to 'Completely Overhaul' iPhone, iPad, Mac Line in 2012 - Report

A report coming from Taiwanese trade-publication Digitimes reignites rumors of a dramatically altered iPhone 5, as well as redesigns for the rest of Apple’s product line, including the iPad, iMac, and MacBook Air, all coming in 2012.

The report cites sources in the upstream supply chain as saying that Apple plans to “completely overhaul” several product lineups next year.

Those include (but may not be limited to) the iPad, iMac, iPhone and MacBook Air, the sources said.

The Cupertino electronics vendor is said to be finalizing order volumes for key parts and components for the next-generation iPad in December. The same Taiwanese site earlier reported that Apple’s next tablet will not be the much anticipated iPad 3, but a minor update to the current one, with a slimmer design and better battery life.

The intriguing part about this lineup-wide overhaul is the alleged redesigning of the MacBook Air.

How do you overhaul something that’s already close to perfect in terms of form and function? How much thinner can the Air get, to consider the next redesign a 'complete overhaul’?

Maybe we're looking at this report from a wrong perspective. There’s talk that Apple is putting the finishing touches on a 15-inch MacBook Pro as you are reading these lines.

What are the chances it’s not a MacBook Air, but a MacBook Pro borrowing the design of the Air? It's certainly more plausible and it would also make a perfect ‘excuse’ to merge the Pro and Air lines into one.

Knowing how much Apple likes to unify the user experience, this theory seems just about right.

As for the iPhone, you don’t need anyone telling you what that thing’s going to be all about: tapered design; slimmer body; larger screen; redesigned home button; (hopefully) more battery; newer operating system; likely the same 8-megapixel camera on the back; better reception; pure beauty (since it’s said to have been Steve Jobs last major project).