Apple Unveils MacBook Pro With M4 Chip in Upgrade Frenzy

(Bloomberg) — Apple Inc. unveiled an updated MacBook Pro lineup with new M4 chips, looking to entice shoppers with speedier processing and AI capabilities. 

The laptops will run the M4, M4 Pro and M4 Max processors, part of a new generation of chips that Apple is rolling out to the entire Mac line. The devices will also get an anti-glare screen option, faster ports, an upgraded camera for videoconferencing, and more battery life on the largest model.

The introduction is the latest in a flurry of Mac upgrades. Apple debuted a new iMac on Monday and followed with a redesigned Mac mini on Tuesday — both with the M4 processor. The company also released Apple Intelligence, its new AI platform, earlier this week.

Apple began taking preorders on Wednesday for the new MacBook Pros, which are set to reach stores on Nov. 8. The standard 14-inch model will start at the same $1,599 price as the prior generation. It’s up to 1.8 times faster than the M1 version from 2020, according to Apple. 

The M4 Pro version is three times faster than the M1 Pro line from 2021, while the highest-end M4 Max option is 3.5 times speedier than the M1 Max, the company said. The new chips also are more adept at handling artificial intelligence tasks, Apple said.

The M4 Pro version starts at $1,999 for the 14-inch size and $2,499 for the 16-inch option. The M4 Max model, meanwhile, is available from $3,199 for the 14-inch model and $3,499 for the 16-inch version. All the new laptops have the same design as the 2021 models, but the entry-level one is now available in black, a color previously limited to the high-end versions.

The base version of the MacBook Pro — aimed at students — will have a central processing unit with 10 cores, up from the prior eight. Its graphics processing unit, or GPU, will have 10 cores — like the M3 model. The M4 Pro edition will offer as many as 14 CPU and 20 GPU cores. That’s an upgrade over the M3 Pro chip, which includes 12 CPU cores and 18 GPU cores.

The new M4 Max can be configured with up to 16 CPU cores and the same 40 GPU core limit as before. A new nano-texture display option is available on all configurations for a $150 extra charge. And the embedded camera is 12 megapixels, matching the new iMacs. Apple also said that the 16-inch version now boasts 24 hours of battery life, two hours more than before.

For the first time, the entry-level MacBook Pro starts with 16 gigabytes of memory, double the minimum 8 gigabytes that Apple has offered in recent years. That matches a change made with the iMac and Mac mini desktops. The current MacBook Air models — with M2 and M3 chips — are also being updated to start with 16 gigabytes of memory as standard. 

The M4 Pro models will have at least 24 gigabytes of memory, an upgrade over the 18 gigabytes that came standard with the M3 Pro. The M4 Max starts with at least 36 gigabytes of memory.

The MacBook Pro was previously updated a year ago with M3, M3 Pro and M3 Max chips. Besides getting the new processor, the latest entry-level 14-inch model adds a third Thunderbolt 4 port, while the M4 Pro and M4 Max versions move to a quicker Thunderbolt 5 standard for improved data transfer speeds.

In an unusual development, several of the M4 MacBook Pros were obtained in Europe ahead of the launch and sold to YouTubers in Russia. Those channels posted hands-on reviews of the new laptops weeks ago. 

Bloomberg News reported in April on the M4 MacBook Pro line and more recently said the new models would arrive this week.

(Updates with details on the new laptops starting in second paragraph.)

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