Apple recently revealed its latest innovation – the Apple M4 chip. While the M4 first debuted in the iPad Pro earlier this year, it’s expected to make its way to Apple’s popular Mac lineup, possibly as soon as late October 2024.
Let’s speak about what M4 brings to the table, its performance benchmarks, and when you can expect to see it powering your favorite Apple devices.
Apple M4 Chip: What’s New?
The Apple M4 chip is the latest in Apple’s in-house silicon series, following the M3 chip. Built on TSMC’s advanced 3nm process, it’s designed to offer better performance, efficiency, and AI capabilities.
Apple refers to the M4 as a ‘second-generation’ 3nm chip, and it’s a step up from the M3 in several ways.
The M4 chip boasts a 10-core CPU, featuring 4 performance cores and 6 efficiency cores. This is a notable increase from the 8-core CPU found in the M3, along with a similar boost to its GPU, which now has 10 cores.
But the real game-changer here is the 16-core Neural Engine (NPU), capable of performing up to 38 trillion operations per second, making AI tasks much faster and more efficient.
In comparison, the M3’s neural engine can’t quite match up, and this advancement is crucial as AI becomes more integral to daily computing tasks.
Performance Benchmarks: M4 vs M3
Early benchmarks reveal that the Apple M4 offers a significant performance boost compared to its predecessor, especially in synthetic tests like Geekbench.
In terms of CPU performance, the M4 outperforms the M3 by approximately 20% in both single-core and multi-core tests.
This means the M4 will be noticeably faster in handling complex applications, multitasking, and power-intensive tasks like video editing or 3D rendering.
But when it comes to day-to-day usage like web browsing or document editing, you might not feel a huge difference between the two.
When it comes to graphics, the M4 chip also edges out the M3, though the improvement is more modest, clocking in around 5-15% better GPU performance depending on the test.
Ray tracing, a technology crucial for gaming and advanced graphic design, shows the most noticeable improvement, with the M4 running around 14% faster than the M3.
The Neural Engine, however, is where the M4 really shines. AI performance is up to 46% faster on the M4 compared to the M3, which is significant as Apple continues to push its “Apple Intelligence” features.
With AI being integrated more deeply into macOS and iPadOS, this leap in NPU capabilities will help drive innovation in machine learning tasks, voice assistants, and more.
When Will We See the Apple M4 in Macs?
While the M4 is already available in the iPad Pro, Apple enthusiasts are eagerly awaiting its arrival in Mac devices.
The good news is that the wait won’t be too long. Rumors suggest that the M4-powered MacBook Pro, Mac mini, and iMac could be announced in late October 2024, with sales potentially starting in November, just in time for the holiday season.
However, not all Mac devices will get the M4 chip immediately. While the MacBook Air is also expected to receive the M4 chip, it likely won’t happen until 2025, so if you’re holding out for a new Air, you may need to wait a little longer.