Apple M4
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Apple M4
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| Designer | Apple |
|---|---|
| Introduced | May 2024 (iPad Pro — first M chip to debut on iPad) |
| Process | 3 nm N3E (TSMC) — 28 billion transistors |
| CPU | Up to 10-core: 4P + 6E · Pro: 12/14-core · Max: 14/16-core |
| GPU | 10-core (ray tracing, Dynamic Caching) · Pro: 16/20-core · Max: 32/40-core |
| Neural Engine | 16-core (38T ops/s) |
| Unified memory | Up to 32 GB (120 GB/s) · Pro: 64 GB (273 GB/s) · Max: 128 GB (up to 546 GB/s) |
| Devices | iPad Pro (2024) · iMac (2024) · Mac mini (2024) · MacBook Pro 14"/16" (2024) · MacBook Air 13"/15" (2025) · Mac Studio (2025, M4 Max) |
| Predecessor | Apple M3 |
| Successor | Apple M5 |
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The Apple M4 broke the launch pattern: it debuted in May 2024 inside the iPad Pro, months before any Mac. Built on TSMC's refined N3E process, it doubled down on AI — a 38-trillion-operations Neural Engine Apple billed as faster than any AI-PC neural processor of its day — arriving in the season Apple Intelligence was announced.
1 Variants✎
October 2024's M4 Pro and M4 Max brought Thunderbolt 5 to the Mac and powered the MacBook Pro alongside the radically shrunken Mac mini. There is no M4 Ultra: Apple confirmed the M4 Max carries no UltraFusion interconnect, and the 2025 Mac Studio instead paired the M4 Max with the off-cycle M3 Ultra above it.
2 Legacy✎
The M4 generation swept the whole Mac line within a year — Air to Studio — and its iPad-first debut recast the iPad Pro as the launch vehicle for Apple's leading-edge silicon. Skipping the Ultra tier made the ladder's new shape official: base through Max yearly, Ultra when the workstation market calls for it.