Apple delaying MacBook Air refresh to wait for Lion OS?

Apple plans to wait until its new Lion operating system is out in July before releasing new MacBook Air models loaded with refreshed hardware, according to a report by AppleInsider. Just a week ago, reports were circulating that Apple would likely release refreshed Airs in June.

If the report is true, Apple must feel pretty strongly that Lion is an important, necessary upgrade for customers. The new MacBook Airs are reportedly ready to ship but have the Snow Leopard OS, which was released in June 2009, installed.

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The new MacBook Airs will reportedly feature powerful Intel Sandy Bridge processors and quick Thunderbolt expansion ports. But as is normal for Apple, software is just as important as hardware, and if the Airs warrant a little extra cooking time, so be it.

A few weeks ago, Mac OS X 10.7 Lion was debuted at WWDC and it will offer 250 new features. Some new features include multitouch gestures, full-screen apps, an enhanced app store, and the ability to resume exactly where you left off when you closed an application. Lion also will hook directly into Apple’s new iCloud storage service, which will help users sync media across all Apple devices.