Apple Moves to M4 Chip to Power New MacPros and iMacs

When Apple announced in May the introduction of its new M4 processor, the company said it would eventually incorporate the processor in its future MacPro and iMac computers. Recently, Apple updated its PC family with the introduction of new models that are powered by the new processor. In addition to the M4 chip, Apple is finally making available its much-publicized Apple Intelligence on all its platforms, including the iMac desktop and Pro laptop computers.

Apple introduced two new M4 variants, the M4 Pro and M4 Max, two new chips that — along with M4 — bring far more power-efficient performance and advanced capabilities to the Mac. All three chips are built using industry-leading, second-generation 3-nanometer technology, which improves performance and power efficiency. The CPUs across the M4 family feature the world’s fastest CPU core, delivering fast single-threaded performance, and faster multithreaded performance. The GPUs build on the breakthrough graphics architecture introduced in the previous generation, with faster cores and a 2x faster ray-tracing engine. M4 Pro and M4 Max enable Thunderbolt 5 for the Mac for the first time and increase unified memory bandwidth by up to 75%.

Combined with a Neural Engine that’s up to 2x faster than the previous generation and enhanced machine learning (ML) accelerators in the CPUs, the M4 family of chips brings incredible performance for pro and AI workloads. And they deliver fast performance for Apple Intelligence, the personal intelligence system that transforms how users work, communicate, and express themselves, while protecting their privacy

Related:Apple Enters AI Race with Powerful Processor

The combination of faster unified memory, and increased memory bandwidth allows large language models (LLMs) and other large projects to run smoothly and on device.

Additionally, the efficient performance per watt of the M4 family means that users get up to 24 hours of battery life, raising the bar of what users can do on a single charge.

Supercharging laptops

Apple is incorporating the M4 into the company’s latest 14-in. Macbook Pro, which comes with 16 GB of unified memory with support for up to 32 GB. The computer’s neural engine is over 3x more powerful than that in the M1 chip, enabling it to handle features in Apple Intelligence and other AI workloads. With M4, MacBook Pro is up to 1.8x faster than the 13-inch MacBook Pro with M1 for tasks like editing gigapixel photos, and even more demanding workloads like rendering complex scenes in Blender are up to 3.4x faster. The M4 model also supports two high-resolution external displays in addition to the built-in display, and now features three Thunderbolt 4 ports so users can connect all their peripherals.

Related:Apple Is an AI Company After All

The M4 Pro chip features a powerful 14-core CPU with 10 performance cores and four efficiency cores for a jump in multicore performance, along with up to a 20-core GPU that is twice as powerful as the M4 chip. With the M4 Pro chip, the new MacBook Pro gets a 75% increase in memory bandwidth over the prior generation — double that of any AI PC chip. The new MacBook Pro with M4 Pro is up to 3x faster than models with M1 Pro, speeding up workflows like geo mapping, structural engineering, and data modeling.

Further raising up the ante is the M4 Max. M4 Max brings up to a 16-core CPU, up to a 40-core GPU, over half a terabyte per second of unified memory bandwidth, and a Neural Engine that is over 3x faster than M1 Max, allowing on-device AI models to run faster than ever. With M4 Max, MacBook Pro delivers up to 3.5x the performance of M1 Max, ripping through heavy creative workloads like visual effects, 3D animation, and film scoring. It also supports up to 128GB of unified memory, so developers can easily interact with LLMs that have nearly 200 billion parameters. 

New iMac

Apple has also incorporated the M4 chip in its latest iMac, enabling the desktop to run 1.7 x faster than with the previous M1 chip. The new iMac comes standard with 16GB of faster unified memory — configurable up to 32GB. The Neural Engine in M4 is now over 3x faster than on iMac with M1, making it the world’s best all-in-one for AI, and accelerating the pace at which users can get things done. The M4 chip handles more intense workloads like photo editing and gaming up to 2.1x faster than iMac with M1. 

In addition to the incorporation of the M4 chip in its PC line, Apple is finally making available its much-publicized Apple Intelligence on all its platforms, including the IMAC and Pro computers. Apple Intelligence features are expected to be available starting in December. Apple Intelligence offers features such as systemwide Writing Tools, which allows users to refine their word be rewriting, proofreading, and summarizing text nearly everywhere they write. Additional Apple Intelligence features include Image Playground, which allows users to create playful images in moments.