This is an unusual situation: for the first time, Apple has introduced a new Apple Silicon SoC in the iPad, which is not yet available for Macs. The seventh generation of the iPad Pro comes with a tablet version of the M4, which Apple also plans for macOS computers – and before these machines hit the market. But apparently it won’t last long. According to one Bloomberg report from the weekend Apple has several new M4 Macs in its catalog this year.
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Finally all Macs in one place
As the usually well-known Apple reporter Mark Gurman says in a paid newsletter, Apple plans to upgrade all Macs to the new generation of processors this time. In addition to the already expected MacBook Pro M4 (currently M3, M3 Pro and M3 Max), this also affects the iMac (currently M3), Mac mini (currently M2 and M2 Pro), MacBook Air (currently M3), Mac Studio (currently M2 Max and M2 Ultra) and Mac Pro (currently M2 Ultra). According to Gurman, iMac, MacBook Pro and Mac mini with M4 can be expected this fall. Apple will bring MacBook Air, Mac Pro and Mac Studio to this level in 2025.
According to Gurman, Apple is also using the new SoC to boost Apple’s intelligence features. “As we saw with the new iPad Pro – the first device with the M4 chip – the processor has an improved neural engine for processing tasks in the field of artificial intelligence. The main thing is to make the computer more efficient (for this).” However, it does not stay that way. The Bloomberg journalist also claims that he has heard that there will be “at least one Mac model” with more drastic changes. Gurman does not reveal what they are.
Desktop Macs by 2022
Previously, Apple sometimes did not update all Macs to the latest SoC – which was extremely frustrating for users as they felt they could not buy the latest Apple Silicon generation. M3 Macs are currently only available in the MacBook Pro, MacBook Air and iMac series, the popular (and cheapest) Apple desktop Mac mini and the extremely expensive Mac Pro will stick with the SoC from 2022. Apple also does not give its customers any indication about whether any series receives the current SoC or not. Accordingly, there are likely to be many customers who have initially postponed their purchase decision.
Gurman didn’t say when the new M4 machines would arrive. But October would be pretty conceivable. That means Apple could still grab a share of the Christmas business and not get in the way of its iPhone event. October would also be a good time for a new iPad; the new mini and standard models are available here.
(B.Sc.)
