Apple Drops New MacBook Pro with M4 Pro and M4 Max Chips
The all-new MacBook Pro starts at $1,599 and is now available for pre-order.
Words by FP Team
APPLE
Apart from enhancements in chip designs and RAM, the 14- and 16-inch MacBook Pros equipped with M4 Pro and Max chips are the first to feature Thunderbolt 5 ports. Each of these MacBook Pros is fitted with an upgraded 12-megapixel webcam that includes a desk view feature. Additionally, they can be customized with a new nano-texture display that supports up to 1,000 nits of SDR brightness and 1,600 nits in HDR.
While these improvements are commendable, the core advancements lie within the chip technology. Apple asserts that the M4 generation boasts “the world’s fastest CPU core” and offers “the industry’s best single-threaded performance.” Since the M1 era, single-core performance has been one of Apple’s strengths, and the new M4 chips promise to deliver a “dramatically faster-multithreaded performance.” Furthermore, the M4 Pro and Max models are equipped with upgraded GPU cores, featuring a ray-tracing engine that operates twice as quickly.
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The neural engine has also seen a 2x increase in speed over the M3 generation, enhancing capabilities for machine learning and AI tasks. Apple's latest and most powerful silicon is well-prepared for the company’s significant AI initiatives, including the recently launched Apple Intelligence, which is supported across various Macs, iPhones, and iPads. However, it's important to note that Apple Intelligence is compatible with Macs dating back to the M1 chip from 2020.
The M3 generation of MacBook Pros presented a blend of impressive performance with the M3 Pro and Max models, alongside a somewhat lackluster entry-level non-Pro M3 14-inch model. The higher-end MacBook Pros remain excellent choices for creatives who depend on demanding applications like Premiere Pro or Final Cut Pro. In contrast, the base 14-inch M3 model had a harder time standing out against the more affordable MacBook Air or its higher-priced counterparts during sales.
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A significant barrier for older models appears to be RAM capacity. In conjunction with the MacBook Pro announcements, Apple has also increased the base RAM configurations for M2 and M3 MacBook Air models from 8GB to 16GB, with pricing starting at $999 for the M2 model. This suggests that older models with lower specifications may soon struggle to keep pace with the future features Apple is gradually introducing.
The new MacBook Pro models with M4 and M4 Max Chips are now available for pre-order in Midnight, Starlight, Sliver, and Space Gray. The 14-inch MacBook Pro with M4 starts at $1,999 USD, while the 16-inch starts at 2,499 USD.
apple.com
FP Team covers cannabis, fashion, lifestyle, and design in New York. More about Frasspot
Nov 01, 2024
