Apple is expected to launch new MacBook Air and Mac Minis along with OS X Lion next week.

News sites have been saying that the next generation OS will be launched next week either on July 19th or July 22nd to go with the newest Mac Airs and Mac Minis.

Apple would not release the new Macbook Air unless the operation system is first released, since it will come pre-installed with OS X Lion.

According to OSXDaily, the new MacBook Air are already in the Apple's retail stores in sealed boxes, waiting for the Lion to be unleashed.

According to All Things D, the company has plans to unveil the updated MacBook Airs line late next week. The new MacBook Air is said to be sporting the Sandy Bridge processors from Intel, support for Apple's new high-speed Thunderbolt, the return of the backlit keyboard and 128Gb to 256Gb of flash storage.

9to5Mac reported that Apple will be releasing four new MacBook Air models. This includes two 11 inch models and two 13 inch models; both screen sizes will come in entry level and upgraded configurations.

The new MacBook Air models are:

Other systems are rumored to be arriving soon after or even at the same time, such as white MacBooks as well as Mac Pros.

Apple formally invited developers to start submitting applications for Mac OS X Lion on Monday, indicating the arrival of Lion. The fact that Lion has constantly been marketed alongside the MacBook Air makes the double release likely.

The current generation of MacBook Airs are powered by Mac OS X 10.6 (Snow Leopard), which was released in June 2009, and the OS X Lion represents a quantum leap forward in terms of OS advancement.

The new operating system will have 250 new features, according to Apple. There are new multi-touch gestures that make the Mac a lot like the iPhone or iPad including momentum scrolling, tapping or pinching your fingers to zoom in on a Web page or image. It's likely that the new features will be available on the new Macbook Airs.

Another new feature on Mac OS X Lion will be Launchpad, which will allow users to see all of their Mac apps in a full-screen layout. Using the multi-touch gestures, users will be able to organize them in any order.

According to Philip Schiller, Apple senior vice president of worldwide product marketing, OSX Lion will push the limits of Apple's OS development.

The best version of OS X yet, Lion is packed with innovative features such as new Multi-Touch gestures, system-wide support for full screen apps, and Mission Control for instantly accessing everything running on your Mac, said Schiller.

In addition, Apple hopes to integrate high speed data transfer and high resolution display through I/O Thunderbolt ports into the upcoming devices. The addition of Thunderbolt can enhance the high speed technologies enabling compatibility with USB 3.0, firewire, and eSATA.

Thunderbolt has already been integrated into Apple's current MacBook Pro and iMac, showcasing its strengths using Final Cut Pro. It may be an option for Apple to use Final Cut Pro to demonstrate Thunderbolt's enhanced capabilities on the new Mac Pro, MacBook Air, and Mac Mini.

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