MacBook Pro refresh postponed?

Slash Gear reports.

The refreshed Pro could launch in early November, although some tips suggest it could arrive as soon as next week.

AppleInsider reports that the late-2011 MacBook Pros will deliver marginal speed bumps to the notebooks' Core i-Series of Sandy Bridge processors, but will otherwise introduce no material changes over the existing models, according to a person familiar with the products.

That person said the notebooks' planned introduction in late September was put on the backburner once the release dates for iOS 5.0 and iPhone 4S were solidified, as Apple pooled all available resources to support the launch, the largest and most rapid yet in the Cupertino-based company's history.

According to MacRumors, the reason for the continued fluidity in launch timing is unknown, although Apple's primary MacBook Pro and MacBook Air aluminium case supplier, Catcher Technology, has been forced to temporarily shut down its factory over over-pollution concerns.