According to a report from Bloomberg, Apple has “just started formal development” of a new MacBook Pro based on the Apple M4 SoC. Perhaps most interestingly, during a Q&A session with Apple focused on the Apple Car, the company revealed that this vehicle would be powered by a chip equivalent to four Apple M2 Ultra chips combined. Apple also disclosed that the vehicle had an underlying “safetyOS” system, which was part of the overall operating system, but provided no further details.
This performance leap may seem impressive. However, since there was never an architectural improvement from the Apple M1 to the M2 and the M3, it’s not surprising. Basically, they have only experienced increases in cores, frequencies, and different manufacturing processes, just like the upcoming Apple A18 Pro mobile SoC, which is an overclocked Apple A17 Pro, which was already an overclocked Apple A16 Bionic.
The Apple M4 SoC is set to debut in a MacBook Pro device
Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman revealed several other significant details. The one that interests us is that Apple has “just begun formal development” of a new MacBook Pro with an M4 chip. He provided no further information about the chip, which has not yet been announced by Apple. Considering the announcement dates of the Apple M3 and Apple M2, an Apple M4 could be formally announced starting in November. If we talk about a release date, Apple has a pattern of around one and a half years, meaning if they decide to reduce that interval to one year, it will arrive by the end of 2024. If they decide not to advance the launch, it would arrive during the first half of 2025.
The MacBook Pros were updated last October with the full range of processors, including the Apple M3, M3 Pro, and M3 Max. Additionally, Apple discontinued the 13-inch MacBook Pro and replaced it with a new 14-inch base model featuring only the Apple M3 chip.
Apple also updated its iMac and MacBook Air with the M3 chip. This left the Mac mini, Mac Studio, and Mac Pro as the only current-generation Macs equipped with the M2 chip family. In this way, these desktop devices could leap directly to the Apple M4 utilizing a new architecture that enables them to compete with AMD and Intel. If so, it would make sense for Apple to advance their launch towards the end of this year. The MacBook Pro M4 would be the perfect showcase for what we could expect in a desktop system.
The Apple M4 is expected to be a 3 nm SoC made by TSMC
According to reports, Apple has seen its 2 nm manufacturing process delayed until the second half of 2025 (hopefully). This essentially ensures that the Apple M4 will be made by TSMC using their 3 nm manufacturing process. Perhaps most interestingly, these Apple M4 chips will receive a significant upgrade to their Neural Engine NPU, implying more cores to handle workloads related to Artificial Intelligence (AI).
Knowing that Windows 11 will be updated with a significant emphasis on AI-accelerated tools, Apple will follow the same path in both its mobile and desktop devices, as well as laptops. The Apple M4 and the MacBook Pro will come in strong, boasting a new architecture, the addition of more cores, and a more powerful NPU.
The news that Apple has begun developing a MacBook Pro with an Apple M4 SoC was first reported by El Chapuzas Informático.
Need Help?
Can't Find What Your Looking For? Just fill out our form and we'll ask our trusted distributors