In a surprising twist, the first product to ship with the new Apple M4 chip wasn't a Mac, it was the new iPad Pro. As exciting as that is for iPad fans, it's leaving many Mac fans wondering when their devices will get an M4 refresh.
On May 7, Apple unveiled its cutting-edge M4 chip designed to take AI capabilities on Apple Silicon to a new level, launching right in the heat of an AI boom in consumer tech. However, while the iPad Pro M4 is certainly a sleek device, Macs remain the preferred Apple products for power users.
Luckily, we may not have to wait much longer to see the M4 Mac line-up. In fact, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman says Apple plans to release new M4-powered MacBook Pros, iMacs, and Mac mini models "this year."
Here's everything we know so far about the potential release window for the M4 Macs, the chips each model could get, and why Apple put the iPad first this year.
Latest Updates (Updated 10/24/24)
While Apple still has yet to officially announce the M4 Mac line-up, it did reveal macOS 15 "Sequoia" and Apple Intelligence at WWDC 2024 on June 10. Both will run on upcoming M4 Macs, which we expect to see later this year, potentially as early as October 30 based on a rumor from Bloomberg's Mark Gurman that Apple will host a hands-on experience on that date.
With Gurman's reliable track record, it's likely this claim is true. If Apple is indeed hosting a hands-on experience on October 30, new M4 Macs should be announced right before or at the event.
The most recent rumors about the M4 Macs hint that the first trio of models Apple launches will include the MacBook Pro M4, Mac Mini M4, and iMac M4 while the M4 MacBook Air, Mac Pro, and Mac Studio will arrive in 2025.
Here's a look at some of the recent news and rumors on the M4 Mac line-up:
- Is Apple planning another surprise release? M4 MacBooks are likely on the horizon
- Leaked M4 MacBook Pro benchmarks leapfrog efforts from Intel, Qualcomm, and AMD
- Apple could release the first M4 Macs as soon as October: Here are the potential release dates, models and prices
- Apple is making the iPhone, MacBook and Watch thinner, but what's the catch?
- When will Apple launch everything announced at WWDC? Every upcoming release date
- ChatGPT on iPhone, iPad, and Mac: Release date, price, and if it works on your device
- MacBook Air M4: Everything we know so far
M4 Mac makeover rumored for late 2024
As surprising as it is to see the powerful M4 chip launch in an iPad first, the Mac might not be far behind. According to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, Apple may be gearing up to announce the first M4 Macs at the end of the year with more to follow in 2025. His most recent prediction is that Apple plans to host a hands-on experience on October 30 — that sounds like the perfect opportunity to unveil M4-powered Macs.
Considering Apple announced the first M3 Macs in October 2023, an October launch for M4 Macs makes the most sense. However, it's possible they could debut in early November as well.
The entire Mac line-up is getting an M4 makeover, too. There will reportedly be at least three varieties of the M4 chip, most likely following a similar pattern to the current M3 line-up, which includes the M3, M3 Pro, and M3 Max.
The M2 series had a fourth member, the M2 Ultra, which has yet to appear in M3 form. Apple may bring the Ultra back with the M4 series, although it likely won't arrive until 2025 if Apple still plans to release an M3 Ultra Mac.
In July 2024, Mark Gurman hinted that the group of M4 Macs launching in 2024 includes the MacBook Pro M4, Mac Mini M4, and iMac M4. The Mac Mini M4 is rumored to be the smallest computer Apple has ever released. The MacBook Air M4, Mac Pro M4, and Mac Studio M4 will follow sometime in the first half of 2025, most likely in either March or June.
For the MacBook Air M4 specifically, Gurman estimates it could launch between January and March 2025.
That means the M4 Mac line-up release dates could be as follows:
- MacBook Pro M4/M4 Pro/M4 Max (late 2024), starting at $1,599
- Mac Mini M4/M4 Pro (late 2024), starting at $599
- iMac M4 (late 2024), starting at $1,299
- MacBook Air M4/M4 Pro (2025), starting at $1,199
- Mac Pro M4 Ultra (2025), starting at $6,599
- Mac Studio M4 Max/M4 Ultra (2025), starting at $1,799
The highlight of the M4 generation is AI, so we can expect to see Apple show off on-device AI capabilities when they unveil the first M4 Macs. After all, Apple Intelligence — Apple's new AI platform — was first announced at WWDC 2024 in June and is finally set to debut in iOS 18.1 on October 28, just days before the rumored launch of M4 Macs. At an October 30 event, it'd be easy for Apple to show off new AI features on both iPhones and M4-powered Macs.
The M4 Macs and Apple Intelligence
It's difficult to understate the importance of AI in the next generation of Apple products. While it was a little late to the party, Apple has joined the AI boom with the announcement of its new Apple Intelligence platform. This upcoming suite of AI features will roll out in stages over the next several months and into 2025, possibly even later.
In a recent interview between The Wall Street Journal and Craig Federighi, Apple's Senior VP of Software Engineering, it was made clear that Apple doesn't plan to rush out any of its AI features. Federighi told the WSJ: "This is a many-year, honestly, even decadeslong arc of this technology playing out, and so we’re going to do it responsibly."
Despite the potentially long waiting period for all Apple Intelligence features to roll out, it'll no doubt play a major role in Apple's plans for the M4 Macs.
When Apple announced Apple Intelligence at WWDC 2024, it focused heavily on privacy and security, which have become major concerns after controversy surrounding leaders in the AI world like OpenAI. Privacy has always been a top priority for Apple, so it's no surprise that the company is making it a central part of its AI plans.
However, making AI completely private is no small feat. The best strategy for ensuring privacy is keeping all of the AI's processing on the user's device (that is, no data gets sent to a cloud server where it might be saved, exposed, or exploited). The only challenge is, on-device AI requires quite a bit of processing power.
That's where Apple's M-series chips come in. Apple has been slowly beefing up the neural processing units (NPUs) in its M-series chips, which means these chips are getting better and better at processing AI tasks all by themselves — no cloud servers required.
NPU performance got a slight nod in Apple's announcement for the M4 chip in May with the new iPad Pro's arrival, but it will probably be a star of the show in the M4 Mac presentation since people are far more likely to use a Mac for AI tasks than an iPad.
The first round of Apple Intelligence features is out on macOS 15 as of October 21. With the iOS 15.1 update, users can take advantage of basic Apple Intelligence features like Writing Tools, Smart Replies, Clean Up in Photos, an enhanced Siri, and more.
With Apple Intelligence features live on M3 Macs before M4-powered Macs debut, Apple will want to emphasize that the M4 Macs have the strongest on-device AI performance yet, both to promote the new Macs and encourage people to try out Apple Intelligence.
The M4 Pro and M4 Max chips will also likely get a greater NPU performance boost to offer even more AI processing power.
Why did Apple put the M4 chip in the iPad first?
Since the launch of Apple Silicon in 2020, Apple has announced new M-series chips in Mac devices first. So it's perplexing that Apple chose to start with the iPad for the M4 generation.
One possible reason for this unusual release schedule could simply be awkward timing. Apple launched the first round of M3 Macs in October 2023, but it didn't release any new iPads in 2023. Rather than launching an M4 Mac only 7 months later, Apple opted for a new iPad Pro instead.
Plus, it was no secret back in May that several of Apple's competitors were getting ready to launch devices with the Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite, one of the only AI processors that can compete with the M4 chip. Apple likely wanted to announce the M4 chip before the first devices with the Snapdragon X Elite hit shelves, which happened in mid-June, just days after WWDC 2024.
Due to the timing of its Mac release schedule, starting with an M4 Mac may have been technologically unfeasible and could have hurt M3 Mac sales. The iPad, on the other hand, was long overdue for a refresh.
The iPad is also a less complicated device than the Mac line-up, particularly the high-end Macs. The iPad doesn't need the more powerful versions of the M4 chip like the M4 Pro or Max. By starting with the iPad, Apple was able to get the M4 generation out the door while still giving its product development teams more time to get the more powerful versions of the M4 chip ready for the Mac line-up.
While Mac fans may be disappointed they won't be getting the M4 chips first, it looks like they won't have to wait much longer. We'll be covering all the latest rumors and news on the M4 Macs, Apple Silicon, and Apple Intelligence, so stay tuned for more info.
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