In a Q&A discussion primarily centered around the Apple Car, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman shared interesting details about the now-cancelled vehicle’s technology. He stated that its chip’s power would have rivaled four M2 Ultra chips combined, and mentioned a foundational “safetyOS” system within the car’s operating system.
Amid these revelations, Gurman subtly referenced that Apple has initiated the formal development process for a MacBook Pro model powered by an M4 chip, a component that has not yet been officially announced by Apple.
The trajectory of Apple’s chip releases has shown a pattern of introducing a new chip approximately every year and a half. The M1 chip debuted in November 2020, the M2 followed in June 2022, and the M3 chip was released towards the end of October 2023.
If Apple continues introducing chips at similar intervals, the M4 chip could be expected in the first half of 2025, although a late 2024 launch is also within the realm of possibility if the gap between releases shortens to one year.
The most recent update to the MacBook Pro lineup was in October, featuring the M3, M3 Pro, and M3 Max chips. This update also saw the discontinuation of the 13-inch MacBook Pro, replaced by a new base model 14-inch MacBook Pro equipped with the M3 chip.
Additionally, Apple updated the iMac and MacBook Air with the M3 chip, leaving the Mac mini, Mac Studio, and Mac Pro as the only devices still utilizing the M2 family of chips.
Regarding the manufacture of the upcoming M4 chip, Apple’s chipmaking partner TSMC is anticipated to begin mass production of 2nm process chips in the latter half of 2025.
Consequently, the M4 chip is expected to continue utilizing the 3nm process, similar to the M3 chip, but with an improved version for enhanced performance and energy efficiency.
Last month, the Economic Daily News reported that the M4 chip would feature an advanced Neural Engine with a significant increase in cores dedicated to artificial intelligence tasks, although specific details about the chip remain undisclosed at this time.
