The M4 MacBook Pro: A Full Upgrade and the New Darling of the AI Era?
The M4 MacBook Pro: A Full Upgrade and the New Darling of the AI Era?In early October, the new MacBook Pro was unboxed and reviewed by bloggers before its official release, marking the most severe leak event since the iPhone 4. Following a series of speculations about its launch date, Apple finally unveiled the new MacBook Pro, featuring the M4 series chip
The M4 MacBook Pro: A Full Upgrade and the New Darling of the AI Era?
In early October, the new MacBook Pro was unboxed and reviewed by bloggers before its official release, marking the most severe leak event since the iPhone 4. Following a series of speculations about its launch date, Apple finally unveiled the new MacBook Pro, featuring the M4 series chip.
Unlike the iMac, the M4 chip used in the MacBook Pro is a full-fledged version with a 10-core CPU and 10-core GPU. The MacBook Pro with the standard M4 chip is 1.8 times faster than the M1-equipped 13-inch MacBook Pro in tasks like photo editing and up to 3.4 times faster in rendering tasks using Blender. Moreover, the standard M4 MacBook Pro has upgraded its memory configuration, starting with 16GB and supporting up to 32GB.
Besides the standard M4, Apple also released versions with the M4 Pro and M4 Max chips. The M4 Pro chip integrates up to 14-core CPU, 20-core GPU, and 16-core NPU. Compared to the M1 Pro-equipped 16-inch MacBook Pro, the M4 Pro offers a 3-fold performance improvement in rendering scenes in MasonRedshift. The entry-level memory for the M4 Pro version has also been upgraded to 24GB and supports up to 48GB.
The M4 Max chip version is the top-of-the-line in the M4 series, available in two configurations. The lower configuration includes 14-core CPU, 32-core GPU, and 16-core NPU. The higher configuration boasts 16-core CPU, 40-core GPU, and 16-core NPU. The M4 Max MacBook Pro starts with 36GB of memory and supports up to 128GB. The M4 Max also sees performance improvements. Apple claims that the M4 Max delivers up to 3.5 times the performance of the M1 Max in MaxonRedshift scene rendering, effortlessly handling demanding creative workloads like visual effects, 3D animation, and film scoring. It also achieves up to 2.2 times faster build performance in Xcode when compiling code.
To adapt to the growing demand in AI, the M4 series MacBook Pro has significantly improved its memory bandwidth. The M4 Pro-equipped MacBook Pro features a 75% increase in memory bandwidth compared to the previous generation, which is twice the amount of any AI chip. The M4 Max chip also includes a more powerful neural engine, providing over 3 times faster performance than the M1 Max. Combined with the increased memory, developers can easily interact with LLMs with nearly 200 billion parameters.
In addition to performance improvements, the M4 series MacBook Pro has enhanced its expandability. The M4 Max MacBook Pro can support up to four additional external monitors. It also features upgraded ports: the entry-level model includes three Thunderbolt 4 ports, while the M4 Pro and M4 Max models are equipped with Thunderbolt 5 ports, offering up to 120 Gb/s data transfer speeds, more than twice the throughput of Thunderbolt 4.
The M4 series MacBook Pro introduces a new nano-texture panel that displays SDR content at up to 1000 nits in bright environments and HDR content at peak brightness of 1600 nits. The camera beside the screen has also been upgraded, featuring a 12MP camera capable of automatically centering the user and offering "Desk View" functionality.
In terms of battery life, Apple claims that the new MacBook Pro can last up to 24 hours on a single charge and supports fast charging, reaching 50% charge in just 30 minutes.
The M4 series MacBook Pro is still available in 14 and 16-inch variants.
- 14-inch: Available in three performance versions: M4, M4 Pro, and M4 Max.
- 16-inch: Available in two performance versions: M4 Pro and M4 Max.
Here are the prices of the new MacBook Pro:
- 14-inch M4 MacBook Pro:
- Starting price for M4 chip: $1,899
- Starting price for M4 Pro chip: $2,499
- Starting price for M4 Max chip: $3,999
- 16-inch M4 MacBook Pro:
- Starting price for M4 Pro chip: $2,499
- Starting price for M4 Max chip: $3,999
The MacBook Pro with the M4 series chip will be available for pre-order on November 1st at 9:00 am and will officially launch on November 8th.
At the end of 2020, Apple's self-developed M1 chip debuted. Back then, everyone was discussing big data, cloud computing, and the metaverse. Four years later, AI has become the hottest topic. As Apple's most professional portable device, the MacBook Pro has collectively "upgraded" its entry-level memory, clearly preparing for the AI era. The M4 series MacBook Pro offers comprehensive upgrades in performance, memory, ports, and display, providing users with a much more powerful experience.
Will you choose the M4 MacBook Pro? What version do you think offers the best value for money? Share your thoughts in the comments!
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