Rumored MacBook Air of the future, powered by ARM A5 processor

A new report on Friday claimed that Apple is testing a new MacBook Air powered by an ARM A5 processor, the same as the iPad 2.

The rumor has leaked from Apple's internal labs, that a new equipment, Thunderbolt-equipped MacBook Air powered by a low-power ARM architecture A5 processor instead of a silicon made by Intel, according to a Japanese website macotakara. The source, who saw live A5 MacBook Air, said that the test machine was performing better than expected.

It is unclear whether this system was running Apple's lightweight iOS operating system, the same as iPhone and iPad, or the full-fledged Mac OS X operating system. A switch to an ARM-based processor would require some modification to the existing applications.

A separate report a few weeks earlier claimed Apple's plan to transit its laptops to the ARM processors as soon as 64-bit variations are available, expected at the end of 2012 or early 2013.

While it seems too soon for Apple to move onto an iOS computer and completely switch to an ARM architecture, it may be plausible for Apple to develop a hybrid MacBook Air with both an Intel chip and an ARM chip in two CPUs.

On June 6-10, Apple is going to hold its developer's conference, WWDC 2011, and the invitation extended to UK and Australian journalists, fueling the expectation for the unveiling of new products.