New Apple MacBook Air to be released on June 15, with Nuance voice recognition in iOS 5

Developer Chronicwire leaked that Apple will refresh its line of MacBook Air notebooks with voice recognition support in iOS 5 as soon as the coming Wednesday.

Chronicwire tweeted Saturday evening, LEAK: There will be a MacBook Air refresh on Wednesday, and the only thing sources have 100% confirmed about the new MacBook Air is the Wednesday release. Might have more info on it soon, though.

In February, Apple was rumored to update MacBook Air with Intel's Sandy Bridge CPU in June 2011. Apple is expected to move the notebooks to Intel's 32-nanometer Sandy Bridge architecture via the chipmaker's ultra-low-voltage Core i5 and Core i7 chips, which feature between 3MB and 4MB of Smart Cache and support a theoretical maximum of 8GB of internal system memory, AppleInsider reported.

In another tweet Chronicwire claimed that Apple Store displays will be refreshed Tuesday night for Apple's Back to School promotion that awaits imminent launch. Chronicwire claims the launch will be the same day, June 15th.

Apple was said to be working with Nuance, a communication company that makes voice recognition technology. Apple's iOS 5 is rumored to be equipped with voice control features, while several sources claimed it was not ready. Meanwhile, an alleged internal build of iOS 5 suggested by Chronicwire hints the presence of voice recognition support in iOS 5. The series of screenshots Chronicwire tweeted show options such as mic on space key, auto-record input and Nuance dictation, hinting Apple's progress in integrating additional buttons in the default iPhone keyboard to have users' voice recognized and transcribed on screen.

Before the leak, AppleInsider had reported that Apple is scheduled to begin mass production of revitalized MacBook Airs this month with an initial build volume of roughly 400,000 units.

While expectations for new features mount, nothing was announced in WWDC in regards to Nuance.

On its website, Nuance introduces voice control technology as such:

Nuance® Voice Control 2.0 speech input technology allows users to offset the challenges of cumbersome keypads, complex menus and seemingly endless clicks. Our innovative voice control solution simplifies access to key phone applications for a better user experience. Customizable task flows create a branded experience. Press and Speak access drives usage, generates revenue, and fosters retention. Flexible architecture and easy integration make Nuance® Voice Control 2.0 the technology of choice for leading carriers, OEMs and application developers.