DigiTimes is reporting that Apple has already started production of the rumored slimmer MacBook Pro. It has been rumored for past year that Apple will release a completely redesigned MacBook Pro that will be slimmer than current model and will not have optical drive. Aaron Lee wrote on DigiTimes:

The MacBook Pro will no longer have an optical drive enabling thinner designs, the sources indicated. Despite the slim profile, the new devices will feature more advanced specs than the MacBook Air in terms of CPU performance and storage capacity, the sources said.

Production for the next-generation MacBook Pro has already begun with shipments to Apple kicking off in March, the sources noted. Monthly shipments will eventually climb to 900,000 units from the 100,000-150,000 units targeted initially, the sources said.

Along with DigiTimes, How To Arena is also reporting that they have heard from sources new MacBook Pro is coming in April. Faheem Saeed posted:

Today we received another tip from a reliable source in Far East Asian supply chain that Apple is indeed planning to release a thinner 15 inch MacBook Pro by the end of next month. According to our source, these new 15 inch MacBook Pros would be powered by Intel upcoming Ivy Bridge Core i5 and Core i7 processors.

When asked about more details about the form factor the source mentioned that upcoming MacBook Pro would be “thicker than currently available MacBook Airs but thinner than MacBook Pros”.

All the MacBook Pro rumors indicate that we will see a complete redesign and the new laptop will be launched by end of April. We have also heard some interesting things from our sources, which we will be posting tomorrow. Check back the blog to get more details about the new MacBook Pro and what changes we will see in the new design.