For the first time in a long time: soon all Macs on one SoC stand
By next summer, all current Macs could be equipped with M4 processors. At the moment, only three product series are still missing.
Mac series overview: Three down, three to go.
(Image: Screenshot Apple.com / Mac & i)
Next year, Apple will have all Macs at the same performance level for the first time in over a decade. In 2013, Apple last updated all series within twelve months (with the latest Intel chips at the time) – i.e. MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, iMac, Mac mini and Mac Pro. According to well-informed rumor mongers, this could now also happen with the M4 by mid-2025.
Three down, three to go
Appe has already updated the Mac mini, MacBook Pro and iMac – with either M4 (iMac, Mac mini, MacBook Pro), M4 Pro (MacBook Pro, Mac mini) or M4 Max (MacBook Pro). Three series are still missing: Mac Studio, Mac Pro and MacBook Air. Apple's new entry-level notebook with M4 SoC is expected in spring 2025. Mac Studio M4 Max and M4 Ultra as well as Mac Pro M4 are generally expected by summer – with the Mac Studio possibly in May and the Mac Pro at WWDC 2025 in June. However, this would mean that Apple would have easily kept to the 12-month period to update all machines.
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The last time Apple almost pulled off a similar double "hat trick" was with the M1. Back then, almost all Macs were updated within a year and a half, with the exception of the Mac Pro, which remained Intel-based for (too) long. Apple is currently two generations behind with the Mac Studio and Mac Pro – Both computers still run on the M2, which was first launched in 2022. As these machines always require a special chip from the Ultra series, which combines two "normal" SoCs, this always takes a little longer in chip development. Nevertheless, the Mac Studio had both an M1 and an M2 model (with Max and Ultra).
The M5 is already in the starting blocks
However, the devices are unlikely to remain at the M4 level for long. Apple is expected to follow up with new M5 Macs in the fall –, starting with the MacBook Pro. Whether there will then also be a new Mac mini with M5 plus an iMac M5 is unclear, however. Apple skipped the M2 generation for the iMac and did not release an M3 for the Mac mini.
There is no real strategy behind this release system, as all SoCs actually fit into all machines. But some are obviously more important to the iPhone company.
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