The Mac’s M4 era has begun: Here’s what’s coming when
The next major cycle of Mac upgrades revolves around the M4 chip. So far Apple has updated the MacBook Pro, iMac and Mac mini, but soon every model will be running the same chip. Here’s what’s coming.
Apple has announced the following M4 Macs already:
14-inch MacBook Pro (M4) review
16-inch MacBook Pro (M4 Pro) review
Coming in 2025
M4 MacBook Air
The MacBook Air will wait until 2025 for its M4 upgrade.
Foundry
Release date: The M4 upgrade for the MacBook Air looks like an opportunity for Apple to set a regular release period for the company’s most popular Mac. The M4 MacBook Air is expected to ship in the first quarter of 2025, about a year after Apple released the M3 MacBook Air.
The M1 Air was released in November 2020; the M2 Air in July 2022; the 15-inch M2 MacBook Air was released in June 2023. The M4 Air release is a chance to establish a spring cycle for the MacBook Air that Apple could make a regular event.
Design: Apple won’t change anything about the MacBook Air design. The current design was introduced in 2022 and it won’t change for several more years.
Chip: The 2025 MacBook Air will have a base M4 chip, similar to that used in the iPad Pro. Benchmark results show that the M4 offers a 20 percent improvement over the M3 it will replace.
Features: Apple is not expected to upgrade the Liquid Retina display, change the port configuration (MagSafe 3, two Thunderbolt/USB 4 ports, a 3.5mm audio jack), or upgrade the camera or speakers. Wi-Fi 7 support is possible since the Wi-Fi Alliance made the standard official at the beginning of January.
M4 Mac Studio
The M4 Mac Studio is scheduled for a 2025 release.
Willis Lai/Foundry
Release date: The Mac Studio will not get an upgrade to the M4 until 2025, according to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman. The current Mac Studio was released in June 2023 at WWDC, while the first Mac Studio was released in March 2022. So, it appears that the M4 Mac Studio won’t arrive until spring 2025 or at WWDC 2025 in June.
Design: The Mac Studio’s design will be only three years old by the time it is updated to the M4, so it won’t change and will maintain its design for several more years.
Chip: Apple outfits the Mac Studio with Max and Ultra M-series chips. So, the 2025 Mac Studio will likely have M4 Max or M4 Ultra chips. The current Mac Studio features M2 Max and Ultra chips, so the jump in performance should be impressive.
Features: Apple probably won’t change anything about the ports. On the back, the Mac Studio has four Thunderbolt/USB 4 ports, two USB-A ports, gigabit ethernet, HDMI, and a 3.5mm audio jack. On the front of the Mac Studio is an SDXC Card slot; the Mac Studio Max has two USB 3 ports, while the Mac Studio Ultra has two Thunderbolt/USB 4 ports. Wi-Fi 7 support is possible since the Wi-Fi Alliance made the standard official at the beginning of January.
M4 Mac Pro
The design of the Mac Pro hasn’t changed since 2019, and it’s not expected to do so.
Foundry
Release date: The Mac Pro will not get an upgrade to the M4 until 2025, according to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman. The current Mac Pro was released in June 2023 at WWDC. The M4 Mac Pro won’t arrive until late 2025 or at the earliest, WWDC 2025 in June.
Design: Though the design of the Mac Pro is 11 years old, no reports of a redesign have been made. The Mac Pro is made to accommodate internal expansion cards, so if a redesign is in the work, it will keep the tower form factor, which separates it from the Mac Studio.
Chip: Apple uses Ultra versions of its M-series chip for the Mac Pro. The current Mac Pro has a M2 Ultra; the upgrade in 2025 will be a M4 Ultra.
Features: No reports have been made about the Mac Pro’s features, and, likely, Apple won’t change anything about the slots, ports, or chassis. Wi-Fi 7 support is possible since the Wi-Fi Alliance made the standard official at the beginning of January.
Find out the latest about the M4 Mac Pro.
Already released
M4 iMac
All M-series Macs support Apple Intelligence.
Foundry
Release date: Apple released the M4 iMac on Monday, October 28.
Design: Apple didn’t change anything about the iMac design. However, it offered the new iMac in “fresh shades” of green, yellow, orange, pink, purple, and blue, along with silver.
Chip: The 24-inch iMac has an M4 with either 8 CPU/GPU cores or 10 CUP/GPU cores. Apple says it is up to 1.7x faster than the M1 iMac.
Features: Apple upgraded several features in the iMac. All models now have at least 16GB of RAM (up from 8GB) and feature Thunderbolt 4 ports (instead of a mix of Thunderbolt and USB). The FaceTime camera has been upgraded from a 1080p HD camera to the same 12MP Center Stage camera in iPhones and iPads. It also has support for Desk View. Finally, there’s a new nano-texture glass option on the higher-end models for an additional $200.
M4 Mac mini
The M4 Mac mini may have a new, smaller design than the current M2 Mac mini (above).
Foundry
Release date: Apple released the M4 Mac mini on Tuesday, October 29.
Design: The M4 Mac mini received a completely new design that’s smaller and taller than the previous models. Measuring 5 inches around, it looks like a miniaturized Mac Studio, right down to a pair of front-facing USB-C ports and a headphone jack. Like the previous Apple silicon models, it only comes in silver.
Chip: Apple offers the Mac mini with a base or Pro M4 chip. The base model comes with a 10-core CPU/10-core GPU and 16GB of RAM, while the Pro model has a 12-core CPU/16-core GPU with 24GB of RAM.
Features: Along with the new design and chip, the M4 Mac mini has several upgrades over the previous model. The front has two USB-C ports and a 3.5mm headphone jack while the back gets three Thunderbolt ports. The M4 models use Thunderbolt 4, while the M4 Pro Mac mini has Thunderbolt 5, the first Mac to support the technology. Unfortunately, the smaller size means Apple has eliminated the USB-A ports. The M4 Mac mini can also now support up to three external displays.
M4 MacBook Pro
Foundry
Release date: Apple released the M4, M4 Pro and M4 Max MacBook Pro on Wednesday, October 30.
Design: The M4, M4 Pro and M4 Max MacBook Pro design hasn’t changed apart from a slight color change for the M4 model which is now available in Space Black or Silver, rather than Space Grey or Silver. The camera has also changed but you won’t see a physical difference. You still get to choose from either 14-inch or 16-inch displays.
Chip: Apple offers the MacBook Pro with a base M4 chip or the M4 Pro or M4 Max. The base model comes with a 10-core CPU/10-core GPU and 16GB of RAM, while the Pro model offers up to 14-core CPU/20-core GPU with 24GB or 48GB of RAM and the Max model offers up to a 14-core CPU/32-core GPU with 36GB or 48GB RAM.
Features: As with the other M4 Macs, Apple has increased the Unified Memory offered as standard. Apple has also updated the FaceTIme camera.
