Apple will likely launch the refreshed MacBook Air notebook on July 19, along with the new version of Mac OS X, dubbed as Lion, according to the latest reports.

Sources have indicated that Apple has an internal launch date of July 19th for Mac OS X Lion and a refresh of the MacBook Airs, tech blog AppleNApps reported.

The new version of the lightweight notebook will come equipped with the Mac OS X, or Lion, Intel's Sandy Bridge processor and Thunderbolt fast-connection interface.

Meanwhile, it has been reported that the delivery of MacBook Air has dried up, in further evidence for Apple's plan to raise the notebook market benchmark by drastically refreshing the MacBook Air.

According to The Next Web, Intel’s Sandy Bridge low power consumption processor will ensure MacBook Air would see up to 17 percent more CPU performance over older, low-power processors. We’re likely to see three processor options, all dual core and between 1.7GHz and 1.8GHz, it said.

Another expected feature of MacBook Air is the Thunderbolt port for high-speed data transfers of up to 10 gigabytes per second.

MacBook Air is an ultra-light laptop which weighs 2.3 pounds (the 13-inch model weighs 2.9 pounds).

Analysts say with the soon-to-happen refresh, MacBooks will start their steady transformation from being more of Mac now to more of iPad later on. MacBook is one device which is increasingly becoming a blend of Mac OS X and iOS.

AppleInsider reported that the current $999 white MacBook is becoming harder to get nowadays as expectation is building about the launch of the refreshed model.

Many of the Apple authorized resellers that can be found on AppleInsider's Mac Pricing Guide are completely sold out of the polycarbonate MacBook, it said.

It was reported earlier that MacBook Air notebooks were listed as Not Available for Shipping by Best Buy, although the laptop was still available in its brick-and-mortar stores.

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