With the rumors about the MacBook Pro 2016 going into overdrive, it appears that Apple is close to releasing it in the market. However, even as rumors about the laptop continue, it has been tied to the demise of another laptop in Apple's lineup.

BGR, pointing toward rumors about the MacBook Pro 2016, states that the fate of the lineup is intertwined with the MacBook Air that Apple is planning to retire this year. It goes on to add that instead of refreshing the MacBook Air lineup this year, Apple will bring out a 12-inch Retina MacBook.

As for the MacBook Pro 2016 models, there are expectations that they will be slimmed down when they release. If this is the case, then the upcoming MacBook Pro models could be slimmer than the MacBook Air, essentially making the lineup redundant. Last year, Apple released a 13-inch MacBook Pro with Retina and it arrived in March 2015, following which a bigger 15-inch model arrived in May. Therefore, with almost a year over since the arrival of the last MacBook Pro models, it is likely that Apple is going to release the upcoming models pretty soon and not wait around.

Coming to the release date of the upcoming MacBook Pro 2016, it appears that the first device in the lineup will arrive during Apple's WWDC event, which is scheduled to happen in June. However, some industry analysts are of the opinion that Apple could bring out the MacBook Pro earlier this year.

As for pricing, it appears likely that Apple is going to bring out the new MacBook Pro 2016 with a starting price tag of around £899. TechRadar also states that the processors on the MacBook Pro 2016 could also be bumped up to better versions and possibly use Skylake processors. Moving to the Skylake processors is expected to give the MacBook Pro a speed boost when it releases this year.