Mac OS X Lion and New MacBook Air Double Release Likely on July 14

July 6 has come and gone -- but Lion has not yet roared.

MacTrast's prediction of Mac OS X Lion's release on Wednesday turned out to be inaccurate. The next and more probable date of Lion's release is July 14, according to sources of 9to5Mac.

On the first day of July, Apple released a Gold Master build of Mac OS X 10.7 Lion to developers, suggesting that the official release of the new operating system will be in the near future. Gold Master is the reference model before the final version of hardware and software hits the store. Historically, Apple moved from a Gold Master to a public release within two weeks.

The July 14 release date also coincides with the rumored date of the new MacBook Air's release. While neither release has been confirmed, the fact that Lion has constantly been marketed alongside the MacBook Air makes the double release likely.

Other systems are rumored to be arriving soon afterward or even at the same time, such as white MacBooks as well as Mac minis and Mac Pros, according to electronista.

The OS X Lion represents a quantum leap forward in terms of OS advancement, from the current version of OS X 10.6 (Snow Leopard).

While product refreshes are generally a standard practice (faster, better, same cost), we believe the MacBook Airs could eventually replace the traditional white MacBook that remains in the line currently, said Ben Reitzes, an analyst at Barclays Capital.

Besides supporting Apple's new iCloud services, the Mac OS X Lion sports more than 250 new features and 3,000 new developer APIs.

The download will be $29.99 to upgrade from Mac OS X 10.6 to 10.7, at around 4GB in size. According to Apple, buyers are welcome to download the upgrade in any of its retail stores.

Before the upgrade, make sure you have already installed all of the Apple-specific updates released over the past month. Version 10.6.8 of the operating system contains tweaks that enable the digital download and upgrade process, a must-have in order for the upgrade to function correctly, said PCMag.com.

Lion can also be installed only on Intel Core 2 Duo, Core i3, i5, i7, or Xeon processors, according to Apple.

Nearly 400,000 units of the new 11.6-inch and 13.3-inch MacBook Air, equipped with powerful graphic chips, Thunderbolt data port and Intel's ultra-low voltage Sandy Bridge processors, were reportedly ready for production since June. However, Apple wanted to wait for the OS X Lion to be built in the new notebooks.

Apple's new release hype may all lead up to the ultimate peak -- the iPhone 5's rumored release in September. Apple has allegedly ordered 15 million iPhone 5 handsets for its September launch, according to a new report from Digitimes.

The current common consensus is that the iPhone 5 will run using the same A5 processor currently running the iPad 2 and will boast an upgraded 8 megapixel camera.

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