UPDATE: The new Apple MacBook Pro line-up is now official.

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Details of the new MacBook Pro models expected on Thursday have leaked out ahead of the much rumoured launch.

According to photos of the spec sheets, the 13-, 15-, and 17-inch models will all be refreshed with new processors, new hard drive options, new screen options, and the addition of a completely new tech from Intel.

The new tech is expected to be Intel’s Light Peak technology, which Apple is going to be calling Thunderbolt.

Light Peak from Intel is a new high-speed optical cable technology designed to connect your electronic devices to each other. Light Peak delivers high bandwidth starting at 10Gb/s with the potential ability to scale to 100Gb/s over the next decade. At 10Gb/s, you could transfer a full-length Blu-Ray movie in less than 30 seconds – Pretty fast.

Intel coincidentally are holding a Light Peak press event in San Francisco on Thursday to show off the new technology.

Aside from the new connectivity port, which of course will require you to have accessories that are also Thunderbolt (Light peak ready), the new models will be getting a drastic speed boost with the 13-inch model expected, if the rumours turn out to be true, getting a 2.3GHz dual-core Intel Core i5 processor, 4GB of SDRAM and 320 GB hard drive.  Resolution of the 13.3-inch screen is said to be 1280x800, although the German site fscklog.com says that it expects the resolution to be 1440 x 900, while the 15-inch will get a 1680 x 1050 panel – a boost on the current offering.

Meanwhile MacGeneration, another Mac site, has further details on the possible specs:

- 16 GB SSD mSATA drives on all MBP models to store the system

- A speedy Intel Core i3

- A third USB port on the 13-inch model

- Matte screen option on the higher-end 13-inch

- An option to replace the SuperDrive with a SSD on the 15-inch and 17-inch MBP models

- HD screens on all models with 1440×900 on the 13-inch, 1680×1050 on the 15″

- The 13-inch and 15-inch models are lighter, 200 grams less on both models

- The 17-inch model is heavier at 300 grams more than the current 17-inch model

- Longer battery life: 12 hours on the 13-inch and 10 hours on the 15-inch

- 4 GB of RAM for the 13-inch and 15-inch models, 8 GB of RAM for the 17-inch

The site even has pricing details:

MacBook Pro 13-inch: 1,199 (EUR) for the first models and 1,499 (EUR) for the second model.

MacBook Pro 15-inch: 1,799 (EUR) for the first models and 2,199 (EUR) for the second model.

MacBook Pro 17-inch: 2,449 (EUR) from one of the sources and 2,499 (EUR) is the number from another source.

Hopefully we won’t have too long to wait until the Apple officially announces the new laptops, which many believe are now 99 per cent confirmed. 

UPDATE: More images have appears thanks to Mac4Ever.com

UPDATE 2: Macrumours.com are claiming they have the details confirmed and have a photo of the same 13-inch specs, but in english.