Apple's goal is to In a bid to boost flagging computer sales, the company is preparing to overhaul its entire Mac product line with a new family of homegrown processors designed to emphasize artificial intelligence.
The company, which launched its first Mac with an M3 chip five months ago, is already close to producing the next generation M4 processor, according to people familiar with the matter. There are at least three main types of new chips, and Apple is considering including them in all Mac models, the people said, asking not to be identified because the plans have not been announced. .
New Macs are being developed at a critical time. Mac sales peaked in 2022, but fell 27% in the last fiscal year that ended in September. Computer products revenue was flat during the holiday period. Apple tried to breathe new life into its Mac business with an M3-focused launch event last October, but these chips didn't offer any significant performance improvements over the M2 from the previous year.
Apple is also trying to catch up in AI, but is seen as lagging behind Microsoft, Google and other technology competitors. The new chip is part of a broader effort to build AI capabilities into all of its products.
Apple aims to release its latest computers by late this year or early next year. New iMacs, low-end 14-inch MacBook Pros, high-end 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pros, and Mac minis are coming, all powered by M4 chips. However, the company's plans are subject to change. An Apple spokesperson declined to comment.
This move will speed up the update schedule for the iMac and MacBook Pro, since they were just updated in October. Mac mini was last upgraded in January 2023.
After that, Apple plans to release more M4 Macs throughout 2025. This includes updating his 13-inch and 15-inch MacBook Airs by autumn in the southern hemisphere, Mac Studio in the middle of the year, and Mac Pro in the second half of the year. 2025. MacBook Air received an M3 chip last month, and Mac Studio and Mac Pro were updated to M2 processors last year.
apple m4
The M4 chip line includes an entry-level version called Donan, a more powerful model called Brava, and a top-end processor codenamed Hidra. The company plans to highlight the AI processing capabilities of its components and how they will integrate with the next version of macOS, which will be announced at Apple's annual developer conference in June.
The Donan chip powers the entry-level MacBook Pro, the new MacBook Air, and lower-end versions of the Mac mini, while the Brava chip runs in the higher-end MacBook Pro and more expensive versions of the Mac mini. For Mac Studio, Apple is testing a version with both an as-yet-unreleased M3-era chip and a variant of the M4 Brava processor.
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Apple's top-of-the-line desktop, the Mac Pro, will be equipped with the new Hidra chip. The Mac Pro remains the worst-selling model in the company's computer lineup, but it has a loyal following. The company is considering beefing up its machines next year after some customers complained about the specifications of Apple's own chips.
As part of the upgrade, Apple is considering allowing its top-of-the-line Mac desktops to support as much as 512GB of memory. The current Mac Studio and Mac Pro have a maximum capacity of 192 GB, which is much less than Apple's previous Mac Pro, which had an Intel processor. The previous machine worked with off-the-shelf memory that he could add later and handle as much as 1.5TB of memory. Apple's in-house chips make it harder to add memory because it's more deeply integrated into the main processor.
A big focus for Apple this year is adding new AI capabilities across its products. The company plans to preview a number of new features at its developer conference in June. Most of these features are designed to run on the device itself rather than on a remote server, and faster chips will help drive these enhancements. Apple also plans to make AI-focused upgrades to this year's iPhone processors.
The company's switch to its own chips was part of a long-running effort known as Apple Silicon. The tech giant began using its proprietary semiconductor in the original iPad and iPhone 4 in 2010, and brought the technology to the Mac in 2020. The goal was to better integrate hardware and software with underlying components and move away from Intel processors. .
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So far, this effort has been successful, improving performance and making it easier to redesign devices such as the latest MacBook Air, iMac, and MacBook Pro. Apple's Mac chips are based on the same underlying ARM Holdings architecture as the processors in the iPhone and iPad, resulting in thinner products with longer battery life and less need for cooling fans. — (c) 2024 Bloomberg LP