M4

The launch is very unusual for Apple, since it did so without involving any Mac products at all. Instead of some entry-level Mac or MacBook variants, Apple brought M4 out in a new iPad Pro generation. 

M4 Mac models are expected to arrive in the future, but at launch, it's only available on the iPad Pro. 

The short timespan between the introduction of the M3 and the M4 generations pales in comparison to the gaps between previous generations. The M3 was brought out 1 year and 4 months after M2, and M2 came out 1 year and 7 months after M1. 

Such a short timespan may signify that Apple is intending to push forward onto the M4 generation instead of dwelling on the M3 at all. However, rumors point to Mac mini and MacBook Pro updates in late 2024 or early 2025, with other Mac changes more likely in 2025. 

CPU Changes

The M4 follows after the M3 in being made using a 3-nanometer process, via chip partner TSMC. This means it has the same die shrink benefits as the M3, including inherent speed and efficiency improvements over the earlier M2. 

There's a new CPU structure at play for the base chip. While previously the M3 had eight cores, split into four performance and four efficiency cores, the M4 increases the count to 10. 

This time, M4 uses four performance cores and six efficiency cores. The new CPU cores also have improved branch prediction, as well as enhanced ML accelerators.

The performance cores also have wider decode and execution engines. The efficiency cores benefit from a deeper execution engine. 

There's no direct way to compare against the M3 chip in benchmarks at the moment, since Apple doesn't have M4 Macs or M3 iPad Pro models.

Apple did compare it against the M2 iPad Pro in its literature, including a claim of up to 1.5 times faster CPU performance. 

GPU Changes

The M4's GPU starts off as a 10-core element. However, we don't know if other counts exist, like the 8-core and 10-core variants of the M3. 

Included technology in the GPU ranges from hardware-accelerated ray tracing and mesh shading to Dynamic Caching. The latter can allocate local memory use in real-time so it can only use the exact amount of memory required for a task. 

This can increase the average utilization of the GPU, therefore improving performance. 

Again, because of a lack of a direct comparison with M3, Apple says the M4 in the iPad Pro is four times faster than the M2 equivalent. 

Neural Engine

With the prospect of Apple Intelligence on the horizon, Apple is keen to ensure its computing devices are capable of using it. In the case of the M4 chip, it put a lot of work into the Neural Engine. 

Continuing to be a 16-core chip, the Neural Engine has been beefed up in the M4. While the M3 version was capable of over 18 trillion operations per second, the M4's version boasts 38 trillion operations per second. 

Media Engine

The Media Engine is the hardware-accelerated encoding and decoding elements, made for video.

Much like the M3 version, it can support ProRes and ProRes RAW, HEVC, and H.265, as well as AV1 decodes. Dedicated video encode and decode engines are included for ProRes footage. 

Benchmarks against M3

Since Apple didn't make an M3 iPad Pro nor released an M4 Mac, we have to rely on benchmarks like Geekbench for comparisons with M3. Its benchmarks follow the same tests across multiple platforms, and are calibrated to the same baseline Intel chip. 

When taking the highest scores for each of M3, M3 Pro, M3 Max, and M4 from Geekbench's listings, the M4 leads on the single-core table by a long way. At 3,682, the M4 is impressive when put against the M3 Max, M3 Pro, and M3 chips of the previous generation. 

What's coming next for M4

Following its introduction, the M4 has a long road ahead of it, as it spreads to other devices in Apple's ecosystem. 

The next thing Apple will almost certainly do is bring M4 to Macs, since it hasn't done that yet. Depending on the model, rumors speculate late 2024 launches as well as throughout 2025. 

Then there are the other chip varieties that usually accompany the baseline version. Given their M1, M2, and M3 existences, you can expect M4 Pro and M4 Max to be on the way. 

The Ultra chip did ship for M1 and M2, but has yet to appear for the M3. There is some speculation that an M4 Ultra will be made available for the Mac Pro and Mac Studio, toward the end of 2025.