It’s been a busy week for Apple. Instead of quietly launching generational updates to its iMac, Mac Mini, and MacBook Pro lineups with a video and press release altogether, the Fruit Company has managed to dominate the news cycle for the whole week by giving each of its ‘new’ M4-powered devices a day in the spotlight.
The latest to receive the M4 treatment is the MacBook Pro lineup. Both the 14in and 16in MacBook Pro will ship with one of Apple’s M4 chips, of which there are now three — M4, M4 Pro, and M4 Max. The new chips are Apple’s main focus for the refreshed MacBooks, other than Apple Intelligence, of course.
Apple M4 picking
If you recently acquired an M2- or M3-powered product then the M4 benefits might not tickle your fancy as much as Apple would like. But if you’re still working with M1 or something older then upgrading could make more sense, especially if Apple Intelligence sounds appealing to you.
The M4 Pro and Max chips feature what Apple claims is “the world’s fastest CPU core”. You can get up to fourteen CPU cores and twenty GPU cores in M4 Pro. That’s bumped up to sixteen CPU cores and 40 GPU cores in the new M4 Max. M4 Pro supports up to 64GB of Apple’s ‘unified memory’ with a memory bandwidth of 273GB/s while that’s increased to 128GB and 546GB/s in M4 Max.
The last notable improvement with Apple’s latest chips is their support for Thunderbolt 5. It has a base speed of 80Gbps and can go all the way up to 120Gbps. This should be a boon to users who regularly transfer huge files or use multiple high-res monitors.
M4 MacBook Pro dressed in black
Other improvements include a slightly brighter screen (up to 1,000 nits with SDR content) and the option to stick a pane of Apple’s new ‘nano-textured’ glass in front of it to reduce screen glare and reflections. You’ll probably have to pay extra for that, though. There is also a 12MP Centre Stage webcam to replace the 1080p affairs of the previous generation.
Slightly surprisingly, the new M4-powered MacBook Pros haven’t skyrocketed in price, at least in the US. The 14in MacBook Pro can be specced with either of the three chips and starts at $1,600 (R28,400) while the 16in MacBook Pro will sport the new M4 Pro or Max chip and starts at $2,500 (R44,400). The new devices are available for preorder in the US and go on-shelf on 8 November but we could have to wait longer for local details to emerge.