According to recent rumours, a new release of the MacBook Air is about to be introduced to the market. DigiTimes suggested that the new MacBook Air will be priced somewhere around $799 (£495) and that the device will be released in the third quarter of this year.

The Taiwanese website's report is based on "sources from the upstream supply chain." Currently, Apple's ultrabooks come with price tags ranging from $1000 to $1600 (£849.00-£1,349.00 in UK).

If the rumour is confirmed and Apple is looking to launch the new MacBook Air at such a reduced price tag, its rivals could suffer a serious blow. Intel is believed to have already set aside a fund of $300 million (£186 million) to support the development of next generation ultrabooks.

Another $100 million (£62 million) will also be used to help the company's application store take off. Intel's efforts to push its own brands on the market as well as increase its market share could fail if Apple decides to move more aggressively.

Industry observers expect Apple to enhance the performance of the MacBook lineup using Intel's Ivy Bridge processors. The new MacBook Pro models are reportedly going to be gradually introduced to the market.

Source: DigiTimes