Has Apple lost its groove in the laptop segment? Slowing sales and stale designs are just two reasons why Apple fans are waiting for the next best thing (sorry Samsung.)

The MacBook Air just received a refresh, but it's hardly worth getting all giddy over a minor processor bump. To be fair, the $100 price cut is not insignicant. But if you don't need a new set of lungs at the moment, hold out until the second refresh debuts later on this year. 

That's right, a bigger, much more significant update is said to be forthcoming. Analysts are certain that a 12-inch Air with overhauled styling (goodbye tapered wedge shape?) is in the pipeline. The 12-inch Air would not be a complementary model in the lineup. The diminutive 11.6-inch model and the much more practical 13.3-inch iteration are being sent packing.

Meanwhile, Apple watchers are still on the lookout for rumors of a new MacBook Pro with Retina Display. Massive under-the-hood improvements graced the 13-inch Pro (and to a lesser extent its larger sibling) in the October of last year.

Examining that Fall 2013 refresh further reveals notable under-the-hood refinements including 'blink and you'll miss it' data access. That speed is courtesy of PCI Express based Solid State Drive technology, itself a herculean improvement over previous SATA III based SSDs let alone traditional spinning disk drives.

Another big change was the deletion of the non-Retina 15-inch model, which despite its sub-standard LCD display was a big hit with physical media aficionados. This means that Apple retail no longers sells brand new laptops with integrated optical drives. To gain access to CD/DVD playback you'd need to purchase a $79.00 SuperDrive.

The MacBook Pro with Retina Display will likely be revamped sooner rather than later. What can fans expect to see later? Referencing a report from KGI Securities Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, International Business Times claims that the newest model(s) will feature lighting fast RAM.

Despite the Mac performance updates, something radical (like the new Air) is going to need to blow everyone out of the water. But seriously, is there any reason to be concerned that the Cupertino, California-based firm is losing its industrial design edge?

How do you think these updates will serve the svelte Retina and Air lineups? Let us know in the comments section below.