The M4-based Macs are due out later this year and will feature improvements in artificial intelligence features.
Per Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, it’s possible that the M4 lineup could arrive around October, as the M3, M3 Pro, and M3 Max chips all debuted in October 2023. Given this time frame, Gurman has stated that the entire Mac lineup is slated to get the M4 across late 2024 and early 2025.
The iMac, low-end 14-inch MacBook Pro, high-end 14-inch MacBook Pro, 16-inch MacBook Pro, and Mac mini machines will be updated with M4 chips first, followed by the 13-inch and 15-inch MacBook Air models in spring 2025, the Mac Studio in mid-2025, and the Mac Pro later in 2025.
Apple is rumored to be nearing production of its M4 processor, which is expected to come in at least three varieties. The chips are codenamed “Donan” for the low-end, “Brava” for the mid-tier, and “Hidra” for the top-end. The Donan chip will be used in the entry-level MacBook Pro, the MacBook Air machines, and the low-end Mac mini, and the Brava chips will be used in the higher-end MacBook Pro and the higher-end Mac mini.
It’s thought that the Hidra chip will be used for the Mac Pro desktop, which suggests that the chip will be an “Ultra” or “Extreme” tier chip. For the Mac Studio, Apple is testing versions with an unreleased M3-era chip and a variation of the M4 Brava processor that would presumably be higher tier than the M4 Pro and M4 Max “Brava” chips.
It’s been speculated that the M4 Mac desktops could support as much as 512GB of Unified Memory, which would be a marked improvement over the current 192GB limit.
The M4 chips will be built on the same 3-nanometer process as the M3 chips, but Apple supplier TSMC will likely use an improved version of the 3nm process for boosts in performance and power efficiency. Apple also plans to add a much improved Neural Engine that has an increased number of cores for AI tasks.
Stay tuned for additional details as they become available.