Apple's new M4 MacBook Pro comes with useful upgrades that creative professionals will love

Day three of Apple’s “week of announcements” saw the news that many have been waiting patiently for: the release of the new MacBook Pro M4. The revamped MacBook Pro is stacked with updated hardware such as Thunderbolt 5 ports, a 12MP camera, a nano-texture display, and of course the much-anticipated M4 chip in one of three different chip configurations: the M4, M4 Pro, or M4 Max. 

All three have a 16-core neural engine and are paired with 16GB, 24GB, or 36GB of unified memory. They’re available for preorder today starting at $1,599 and will be available regularly beginning November 8th. 

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The new MacBook Pros come in either Space Black or Silver, and either a 14- or 16-inch configuration. The former is available with all three chips, while the 16-inch version only comes with the M4 Pro or M4 Pro Max. The new chip — released just one year after the M3 — aims to propel Apple back to the top of the industry by harnessing AI capabilities powered by the chip’s neural processing unit (NPU) for increased on-device performance for large language models. 

The base-level M4 has three Thunderbolt 4 ports (one on the right side now), while the M4 Pro and Pro Max have three Thunderbolt 5 ports, a first for Apple with the new connectivity standard. Apple also touts improved battery life with the M4 chip: up to 24 hours on a single charge, which pushes the bar for what was already great battery life with the M3. 

The MacBook Pro with the M4 Pro chip bumps up the performance further, with Apple claiming twice as much power as the base M4 and a 75% increase in memory bandwidth from the M3 chip (double the amount, Apple notes, as any AI PC chip). At the top is the MacBook with the M4 Pro Max chip, which has up to a 40-core GPU and neural engine that’s three times faster than the M1 Max. 

Also: The M4 MacBook Pro has a boringly awesome reason for you to upgrade

Regarding their displays, Apple’s liquid retina XDR display features an all-new nano-texture option that can support up to 1000 nits of brightness, with up to 1600 peak brightness for HDR content. Alongside the display, the 12MP Center Stage Camera aims to deliver high-quality video in challenging lighting while pairing with on-device AI to keep users centered in the frame. 

The MacBook Pro M4 also comes with Apple Intelligence straight out of the box, although many of the most noteworthy features will roll out over the next few months. Apple’s proprietary AI feature set includes text summaries, writing tools, and image generation, with ChatGPT being integrated into Siri in December of 2024. 

The Mac Mini M4: Smaller, faster, and carbon-neutral

The redesigned Mac Mini lives up to its name by being significantly smaller, measuring just 5 x 5 inches — easily fitting into the palm of your hand or on a desktop (for reference, the previous Mac Mini measured 7.75 x 7.75 inches). 

Also: The Mac Studio feature keeping me from buying a new M4 Mac Mini this fall

Inside, the device is supercharged with Apple’s latest M4 and M4 Pro processors, which Apple says can deliver 1.8x faster CPU performance and 2.2x faster GPU performance than the previous model, which has the M2 chip. It also features 16GB of unified memory and starts at $599, which was the same price as the previous model when it was released. 

The new Mac Mini also comes with front and back ports, including a new Thunderbolt 5 port, which aims to provide blazing-fast transfer speeds in conjunction with the M4 chip. On the back of the M4 Mac Mini, there are three additional Thunderbolt 4 ports, whereas the back of the Mac Mini M4 Pro has three Thunderbolt 5 ports. Both also come with a Gigabit Ethernet port and HDMI port.

Also: M4 Mac Mini vs. M2 Mac Mini: Which Apple desktop should you buy?

Obviously, you’re going to need to hook up a display to this little powerhouse, and Apple made sure it was more than capable of increasing support for external monitors. The Mac Mini with the M4 can support up to two 6K displays and up to one 5K display, whereas the Mac Mini with the M4 Pro can support up to three 6K displays running at 60Hz, supporting a total of 60 million pixels. 

Regarding the device’s designation as the first carbon-neutral Mac, Apple says that it was able to reduce carbon emissions used in the sourcing of its materials by 80% and constructed the device with over 50% recycled content overall. 

New iMacs with the M4 chip (and all the colors)

Announced yesterday and starting at $1,299, the new iMac comes with 16GB of unified memory and is available for pre-order now, with general availability starting November 8th. Apple says the new M4 iMacs are 1.7 times faster than the current version while pushing 2.1 times faster for demanding workflows like gaming and video editing. Here are the main features: 

• They’re available in seven colors (green, yellow, orange, pink, purple, blue, and silver) with color-matching USB-C accessories.
• The 24-inch 4.5K Retina display comes with a new nano-texture glass option.
• An M4 chip with 16GB of RAM powers Apple Intelligence features on the new iMac.
• The new iMacs come with up to four Thunderbolt 4 ports. 
• A new 12MP Center Stage camera that auto-centers during video calls and a wide-angle lens that can show a top-down view of the desktop geared toward educators or students.
• Support for up to two external 6K monitors. 

What Apple didn’t announce this week  

Apple marketing executive Greg Joswiak teased a “week of announcements” on X last week, guaranteeing that new M4-armed devices were on the horizon. So far, we got the first round of announcements with all-new iMacs, Mac Mini M4, and today, with the new MacBooks. 

Apple is overhauling its lineup of Macs with several new models armed with the M4. A few of them will be available as soon as this year, but updates to the MacBook Air lineup and iMac Pro Studio models won’t likely be coming until early next year. 

Also: Apple Intelligence is finally coming to your iPhone at the end of October

Despite the M4’s first appearance in the new iPad Pros in May of this year, Apple has been rather quiet regarding the M4 chip, instead centering the conversation around Apple Intelligence — the company’s AI model — at WWDC and later with its integration in the iPhone 16. 

Now is the logical time to make the announcement. Around this time last year, Apple announced the M3 processors on MacBook Pros and the 24-inch iMac. However, as Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman reported earlier this month, Apple is shifting away from the annual product upgrade cycle, opening the door for smaller, more frequent software rollouts and product launches.  

Rumors are inconclusive about an M4 chip in a new Mac Studio and Mac Pro, but it seems likely those won’t be announced until more accessible core consumer products get the new chip. 

Additionally, Gurman reports that the M4 chip isn’t likely to be available in the MacBook Air line of laptops until the first part of next year. The iPad Air 11 and 13-inch models will likely also see the new chip early in 2025, along with peripherals such as a new Magic Keyboard. 

Also: Every new feature Apple unveiled for iPhone, iPad, Mac, and more this fall (including AI)

Apple’s “week of announcements” is being anchored by product news for its MacBook and Mac desktop lineups, but that won’t be the only thing unveiled. The latest iOS version, 18.1, was also released earlier this week, including call recording and transcription features powered by Apple Intelligence. 

New Apple devices with the next-gen M4 chip would propel Apple forward in the AI race currently playing out on PCs with the explosion of Windows’ Copilot+ products and Qualcomm, Intel, and AMD processors. Here’s to hoping the Cupertino giant brings the firepower going into what will be a bustling holiday shopping season.