Apple often releases new Macs in the fall, but we are still waiting for official confirmation that the company has similar plans this year. We're well into October now, and if Apple plans to announce new Macs before the holidays, recent history suggests it will happen this month. Here's what we know so far.
It's been 225+ days since Apple released a new Mac, the last being M3 versions of the 13-inch and 15-inch MacBook Air, both of which arrived in March. Prior to that, in October 2023, Apple released 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models with M3, M3 Pro, and M3 Max chip options, alongside a 24-inch M3 iMac.
Elsewhere in the lineup, the Mac Studio and Mac Pro haven't been updated since June 2023, when Apple introduced M2-based variants of both machines. That leaves the M2 Mac mini, which hasn't seen an update since January 2023, over 600 days ago.
Another October Event Likely
Bloomberg's Mark Gurman recently claimed that Apple is planning a Mac-related event towards the end of October, with the company intending to launch new M4-based Macs as soon as Friday, November 1. Going on past years, that's a good bet. Apple has often held a second annual fall event where the focus is usually on new Macs and iPads. While that didn't happen in 2022, there were October events in 2013, 2014, 2016, 2018, 2020, 2021, and 2023.
Notably, Apple's next quarterly earnings conference call will be held on Thursday, October 31. Compare that to last year's earnings call on Thursday, November 2, which came just two days after its "Scary Fast" Mac-focused event on Monday, October 30, the day before Halloween. It's also worth remembering that Apple uncharacteristically scheduled its spooky-themed Mac event for 8.00 p.m. ET / 5.00 p.m. PT, which meant it wasn't for the morning or lunchtime US crowd.
So, what can we reasonably expect this time around?
14-Inch and 16-Inch MacBook Pro
New MacBook Pro models are due, and Gurman reports that next month Apple will launch a new M4 version of its low-end 14-inch MacBook Pro, as well as higher-end 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models with M4 Pro and M4 Max chips. Indeed, Apple appears to have been victim to a brazen Russian leak of the low-end 14-inch MacBook Pro, which may come with three Thunderbolt 4 ports (up from two TB3 ports) and a minimum of 16GB of RAM instead of 8GB. It could also support up to two external displays with the lid open, up from one display in the previous model. It may even be available in a Space Black color option, currently exclusive to Apple's 14-inch and 16-inch models with M3 Pro and M3 Max chips.
Mac Mini, iMac
Gurman reports that Apple is planning to unveil a redesigned Mac mini with both M4 and M4 Pro chip options at its October event, with a launch to follow in early November. Along with M4 and M4 Pro chips, the next-generation Mac mini will be slimmed down, and it could be around the size of the Apple TV. The new Mac mini will retain its aluminum casing and, while comparable in size to the Apple TV, it is expected to be taller. Apple has tested Mac mini prototypes featuring five USB-C ports, alongside a power cable and HDMI port. USB-A ports are not anticipated to be included in the upcoming model. To accommodate Apple Intelligence, the new Mac mini models may include 16GB of Unified Memory as standard, rather than 8GB.
Meanwhile, the 24-inch iMac is also expected to be updated in November with a next-generation M4 chip. The M4 iMac could also start with 16GB RAM instead of 8GB, perhaps to better support Apple Intelligence features. Notably, all of the M4 Macs that have been spotted in developer logs have featured either 16GB or 32GB RAM. Apple last redesigned the iMac in 2021, and there are no signs that a new look is on the horizon.
MacBook Air, Mac Studio, Mac Pro
It's worth repeating that Apple this year has already updated the 13-inch and 15-inch MacBook Air. These M3-based updates were released in March, so there is little chance that they will be superseded by newer models before the end of 2024. According to Gurman, the company is expected to introduce M4-powered 13-inch and 15-inch MacBook Air models in the first half of 2025.
Mac power users may need to wait a bit longer for high-end desktop updates. While new Mac Studio and Mac Pro models with M4 chips are in development, Gurman says they are slated for later releases. The Mac Studio is anticipated around mid-2025, with the Mac Pro following towards the end of next year. The Mac Studio will be equipped with a variation of the M4 processor, which could be an M4 Ultra or Max chip. The current Mac Studio comes in both M2 Max and M2 Ultra variants.
As for the Mac Pro, it will be equipped with the highest-end version of the M4 chip, which is codenamed "Hidra," according to Gurman. Based on the description of the chip, it could be positioned as an "Ultra" or "Extreme" chip. Apple has been designing a new, more powerful chip for the Mac Pro due to criticism that the M2 Ultra chip was not powerful enough for the high-end machine. The M4 will be built on the same 3nm process as the M3 chips, but Apple supplier TSMC will likely use an improved process that boosts performance and power efficiency. The Mac Pro could also support up to 512GB Unified Memory, up from the current 192GB limit.
M4 Chip
With new MacBook Pro, Mac mini, and iMac updates expected in the next few weeks, the transition to Apple's M4 chip is gathering pace across its Mac lineup. Like the M3, the M4 is built on a 3nm process, but with enhancements from Apple supplier TSMC for improved performance and power efficiency. The M4 also includes an improved Neural Engine that fuels accelerated AI workloads. Apple says it is the company's most powerful Neural Engine ever, capable of 38 trillion operations per second, so there's plenty of scope for faster compute speeds.
In fact, new benchmarks for one of the upcoming M4 models recently surfaced on Geekbench, giving us some insight into how an M4 Mac will perform compared to the M4 iPad Pro and prior-generation M3 Macs. The M4 chip showing up on Geekbench is the standard M4, and it will be used in the iMac, Mac mini, and 14-inch MacBook Pro models.
The "Mac16,1" model that was benchmarked features a 10-core CPU, achieving a single-core score of 3864 and a multi-core score of 15288. In comparison, the base M4 iPad Pro, with its 9-core CPU, scored 3647 for single-core and 13135 for multi-core performance. Depending on the storage capacity, iPad Pro models are equipped with either a 9-core or 10-core CPU, with the 10-core versions reaching multi-core scores around 14500 on Geekbench.
When comparing the M4 chip to the previous M3 chip (which has an 8-core CPU and 10-core GPU), single-core performance has improved by 26.7 percent, while multi-core performance is up by 30.6 percent. For example, the M3 iMac has a single-core score of 3048 and a multi-core score of 11708.
Apple has stated that the M4 chip in the iPad Pro is up to 25 percent faster than the M3, and performance in Macs with the base M4 chip will be similar or even better. Keep in mind that these are just benchmark results, so actual scores may vary when the devices are officially released. We are also expecting to see M4 Pro and M4 Max chips for the higher-end MacBook Pro and Mac mini models, and benchmark results for those machines have not yet surfaced.
