The iPhone 16 launch event is right around the corner, and the iPhone 16 is gradually shaping up to be a pretty solid upgrade over the current models with its new design and set of features. While the company is expected to host its special event on September 10, we are hearing that Apple is already testing four new Macs with vanilla M4 chips, as per industry sources. The new M4 variants of the MacBook Pro, Mac mini, and iMac will be showcased in October, a month after the company’s iPhone 16 event.
Apple is testing four new versions of the M4 Macs with base configuration, no information on the M4 Pro and M4 Max chips for MacBook Pro models
Based on Mark Gurman‘s sources within Apple and developer logs, the four reported Macs are running Apple’s base version of the M4 chip, which is quite surprising as the company is also slated to launch the new MacBook Pro models later this year. Out of the total, three M4 Macs have a 10-core CPU and a 10-core GPU, which could be different storage variants of the same product. The fourth version of the Mac is not an M4 configuration, with all four versions sporting 16GB or 32GB of Unified Memory.
Apple’s recent addition of Apple Intelligence to its services has some hardware requirements, and RAM is one of them. The company could announce dedicated AI features for the forthcoming Macs to position them a bit higher than the existing models. This means that double the amount of RAM on the base model could bolster some of the company’s new Apple Intelligence features. Apple was greatly criticized over the past few years, considering it went with 8GB of base RAM for even the ‘Pro’ model of the MacBook. It appears that this is about to change with the M4 versions.
For comparison, Apple’s 256GB and 512GB variant of the M4 iPad Pro comes with a 9-core CPU and a 10-core GPU, but the higher 1TB and 2TB storage variants come with an additional CPU core. The analyst has only shared details on the base versions of the M4 chip, which means that there are no details available on the M4 Pro and M4 Max chips that will power the forthcoming 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models.
It was recently reported that Apple will upgrade its entire Mac lineup within a year, which means that the company has plans to release M4 Ultra chips as well. We have to take note that the M4 Ultra version of the Mac Studio and Mac Pro will be available next year, possibly in the Spring time frame or at its WWDC event in June.
Apple’s M4 Pro and M4 Max will feature a higher core count as the company will position the machines as its most powerful MacBooks. Additionally, the M4 Ultra chip will also house further improvements in specifications, but we will leave our speculation for another day as it is too early to conclude. The M4 Pro and Max chips have not appeared in the developer logs for now, which creates confusion if the company is only planning to release lower-end models of the Mac this year.
Apple is also working on a new slimmer version of the Mac mini, which could come with the new M4 chip, but it remains to be seen if the company will announce it alongside the MacBook Pro models or the MacBook Air. Do you think Apple’s new Mac mini will be launched later this year in October after the iPhone 16 event?
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