Apple's forthcoming update to its MacBook Air line may increase the notebook's standard memory and storage components, in addition to the latest ultra-low voltage Sandy Bridge mobile chips, AppleInsider reported.

Concord Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said his industry checks suggest Apple is no longer placing orders of MacBook Airs with 2GB of RAM. Instead, those checks indicate that all new 11.6 and 13.3 inch models will include 4GB of RAM as standard, as it will improve performance of Mac OS X Lion, also due to ship on each model.

AppleInsider has previously reported that the new MacBook Airs would adopt Sandy Bridge processors and Thunderbolt ports, as well as the long gone backlit keyboards. However, it warned not to expect the new Macs this week, despite widely circulated rumors of the refreshed Mac debut found elsewhere on the web.

Although Apple is believed to have had some ambitions of launching Mac OS X Lion this week, at least one source familiar with the matter told AppleInsider earlier this week that last minute concerns with one of the system's new features would likely to cause a minor delay.

The redesigned MacBook Air debuted last October with a thinner and lighter design and a new 11.6-inch model with a $999 entry level price. The major changes, including the adoption of only solid-state flash hard drives, took the MacBook Air from being a relatively niche product to one of Apple's hottest selling Macs.

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