Weak 17-inch MacBook Pro sales may be enough of a reason for Apple to drop the model, which retails from $2499. According to KGI Securities analyst Ming-chi Kuo, Apple may stop selling 17-inch MacBook Pro as soon as the new line of MacBook Pros hit the market.

"We ... predict Apple will roll out a fully new MacBook model in 3Q12, boasting strong performance and easy carryability by combining the advantages of MacBook Air and MacBook Pro.

"While adding new products, Apple is likely to stop making the 17" MacBook Pro this year due to falling shipments, in order to maintain a lean product line strategy," Kuo predicted. The news comes alongside rumors Apple will be offering liquidmetal technology in future Pros, and could be using Ivy Bridge processors which would lead to "strong performance."

Kuo also said that Apple's is set for a strong second quarter, due to three factors: the launch of Mountain Lion, and its crossover of iOS and Mac OS design; the introduction of Ivy Bridge internals, and the annual back-to-school program. Kuo also said Apple will sell 5.2 million Macs in Q2 2012 - a 35.2 percent increase year on year.

Apple sold approximately 3.1 million notebooks, according to the estimates. Almost half of the sales were the 13-inch MacBook Pro, the company's best-selling Mac device. Kuo added that Apple sold 500,000 15-inch Pros, while selling only 50,000 17-inch models.

Kuo also estimated MacBook Air sales reached 1.1 million across the 13-inch and 15-inch versions. He said Apple is only meeting its estimates, not exceeding, because solid state drives aren't available in large capacities. SSDs will become cheaper, and optical and hard disk drives will continue to be neglected.

Kuo has a history of making predictions on Apple products, predicting in 2011 the old polycarbonate MacBook would go. It did, and the white MacBook was replaced by the 11-inch MacBook Air. While the white MacBook was discontinued on July 20, 2011, it was available for purchase by educational institutions until Feb 2012. Now, those institutions can purchase a cheaper 13-inch Air for $999 (versus the consumer price of $1299 for the 128GB model).

(reported by Jonathan Charles, edited by Dave Clark)