Apple seems poised to do something it hasn't accomplished in more than ten years—refresh its complete Mac range using a single chip generation. Although it's been four years since the M1 chip was introduced, Apple hasn't yet updated all its models at the same time.
A History of Staggered Updates
When the M1 was launched, Apple did not include the Mac Pro, and the M2 update missed the iMac as well. This pattern of staggered updates is not something new for the tech giant from Cupertino; it’s a trend that goes back before the M-series chips were even thought about.
For instance, Apple updated various Macs with Intel's latest SoC at the time but left out the iMac Pro and the Mac mini. The last time there was a truly synchronized Mac update was in 2013 with the "trashcan" Mac Pro. So, if the rumors about the M4 chip are correct, it would be a landmark moment for both Apple and Mac enthusiasts.
M4 Chip Expected by 2025
Now, industry insider Mark Gurman predicts that by mid-2025, Apple will incorporate the M4 chip into the MacBook Air, Mac Studio, and Mac Pro, aiming to harmonize the entire lineup. The company has already refreshed the MacBook Pro, iMac, and Mac mini, adding several impressive upgrades, including faster Thunderbolt ports, options for nano-texture displays, and improvements to the Center Stage camera.
The highlight of these new devices is the performance enhancement from the M4 chip. In the MacBook Pro, for instance, the M4 chip provides significant speed boosts, running 1.8 times quicker than the 13-inch M1 MacBook Pro in gigapixel photo editing and 3.4 times faster for rendering complex scenes in Blender. Additionally, it features a 16-core Neural Engine that works three times faster than the M1.
The Power of M4 Pro Chip
Discussing the more robust M4 Pro chip, it offers a substantial increase in both single-core and multi-core performance. The Mac mini equipped with the M4 Pro is now the fastest desktop Mac that Apple has, even exceeding the M2 Ultra in terms of CPU capabilities.
