9 to 5 Mac reports that it has received word from a tipster claiming that Apple is set to be released as soon as tomorrow, although the launch may be delayed until next Tuesday. The report follows an earlier claim of new Mac Pro models set for launch next Tuesday. According to the source:
The MacBook Pro will be released on the same day as Mac Pro. We are scheduled for a Friday morning release but with the amount of updates may be pushed to Tuesday. ipad is number 1 and everything else is as time permits. Look for i5 in base macbook pro with i7 in higher end 15 and 17 inch.
9 to 5 Mac offers no assessment of the reliability of the source, and rumor sites frequently receive incorrect information from sources claiming to be in the know. Consequently, we currently view this report with considerable skepticism pending additional information.
The MacBook Pros were last updated in June and are due for a refresh. Evidence of a Core i7-based MacBook Pro surfaced in Geekbench's results just over a month ago, and a number of other reports of new machines appeared in subsequent weeks. The rumor mill has been relatively quiet for the past couple of weeks, however, despite considerable interest in and expectation of updated models.
Update: 9 to 5 Mac now reports that the cited source may have been a hoax, although it notes that it has received multiple tips of a MacBook Pro release in the very near future.