Needles at the ready – Apple’s next MacBook is apparently going to be so thin the hinges have to be injected into place.

According to DigiTimes, Apple is having to rely on metal injection moulding to make its latest laptops as slim as possible, and reclaim the “thinnest in the world” title, after HP introduced the Spectre last week.

It’s the tech rumour equivalent of Apple giving HP the finger, after it said the Spectre was the new thinnest laptop around.

Apple’s reportedly using the same company that puts together Microsoft’s Surface tablets and laptops, which have a few impressively compact hinges of their own.

It’s still a mystery whether this new MacBook will keep the MacBook Air name, though, or if Apple’s planning to scrap that brand entirely and stick with the simpler MacBook name.

The 12in MacBook doesn’t match the current Air or Pro in terms of looks, so it would make sense if new models borrowed a few of its design aspects.

That definitely ties in nicely with some of the other rumours doing the rounds. DigiTimes says the upcoming 13in and 15in MacBooks will copy the 12in model by only using USB Type-C ports, in order to stay as thin as possible.

It should also launch in the same choice of colours, so you can have a gold laptop if you really, really want one.

These are all just rumours for now, but we could get an official announcement around mid-year – either at a dedicated event, or Apple’s annual WWDC conference.

Either way, we’ll bring you the latest as we hear it.