The next generation of Apple’s in-house developed chips, the M4, will be available in three forms. Apple plans to power upcoming Macs with M4 chips — in fact, the M4 family will power the whole Mac line.
Mark Gurman, usually very reliable about all things Apple, writes in a new report from Bloomberg today that the M4 will “highlight artificial intelligence”.
After peaking in 2022, Mac sales fell 27% in the last fiscal year, which ended last September. Sales stayed flat even during the holiday season last year. Sales of the M3 Macs launched last October weren’t helped by its lack of impressive performance improvements over its predecessor.
Apple plans to integrate AI capabilities into all of its products with the M4 chip, according to the report. Early next year, other Macs with M4 processors will follow.
New iMacs, a low-end MacBook Pro 14″, high-end MacBook Pro 14″, and Mac minis are expected before the end of the year. Accordingly, Apple would refresh its iMac and MacBook Pro lines around a year after the previous iterative upgrades, putting them on par with smartphone refresh cycles.
It is also expected that Apple will release 13″ and 15″ M4-powered MacBook Airs in spring 2025, Mac Studio in the middle of the year, and Mac Pro “later in 2025”.
During its Worldwide Developers Conference in June, Apple plans to showcase the M4’s AI processing capabilities. In addition to the entry-level MacBook Pro and MacBook Air devices, a low-end Mac mini will be powered by the M4’s lowest tier. There will also be a mid-tier option for Mac Pros and a Mac mini, while a top-tier option will be made for the Mac Pro.
According to reports, Apple is considering allowing people to specify 512GB of RAM on its highest-end Mac desktops.
