Apple’s Major Mac Overhaul: Introducing the M4 Line
This week was a big week for Apple and a big week for the Mac. Apple basically did updates to just about their entire line of Macs this week, bringing the new M4 line to Macs and other small but huge updates to others of the older Macs in their lineup.
Apple Intelligence
The week started on Monday with the announcement at 11 a.m. ET of the release of software updates for the iPad, iPhone, and the Mac. With the releases of iOS 18.1, iPadOS 18.1, and macOS 15.1, bringing the first set of Apple Intelligence features to all compatible devices. These are the iPhone 15 Pro line and the new iPhone 16 lineup and any iPad or Mac with an M1 or newer chip and the new iPad Mini with the A17 Pro in it.
These features include the first set of writing tools to help you rewrite your emails and messages in different manners , Summarization of your emails and notifications , more natural Siri with the new animation ( the much-improved Siri will come in the first quarter of next year) , and the image clean-up feature in photos that can remove people and objects from your photos to clean them up.
iMac
Then that was followed up by the release of the new iMac featuring the M4 chip that was first released in the iPad Pro back in May of this year. It comes in new colors, though they are very similar to the last iMac with M3, just less saturated. They have come with some small but nice upgrades.
Still coming in at a 24” screen with the M4 chip. The base model iMac will get you the 8-core CPU and 8-core GPU and 2 Thunderbolt 4 /USB-C ports with 40 GB/s speeds and 256 GB of storage for $1299.00. The first step up from this one will get you a faster version of the M4 with a 10-core CPU and GPU still at 256 GB of storage but adds 4 Thunderbolt 4/USB-C ports and Gigabit Ethernet and starts at $1499.00. All models will now start at 16GB of Unified Memory/RAM up from 8 GB on the previous. And with the higher-end M4 chip model, you can also get the display with Nano texture to reduce glare on the lovely 4.5K display. All the accessories for the iMac have finally been upgraded with USB-C charging, no more Lightning charging. Lightning is finally just about dead .
For most looking to have an all-in-one computer with a great display, the base model iMac will be great for most consumers who are looking for a nice home computer the family can use for all their needs.
Mac Mini
For those looking for a home computer that they can use their own monitor, keyboard, and mouse, Apple introduced the all-new designed Mac Mini on Tuesday. The previous model was a big empty shell after the switch from Intel chips to the Apple Silicon chips back when they put an M1 in the Mac Mini. It left a lot of space in there, leading most to believe at some point they would redesign it, and it has finally come. And what a little yet powerful computer it is now.
The New Mac Mini is now 5” x 5”, a little bigger than the current Apple TV, and looks like a mini Mac Studio. With 2 USB-C ports on the front and back, it has the power plug , Ethernet , HDMI , and 3 Thunderbolt 4/USB-C ports and starts with 256 GB of storage and 16GB of unified memory/RAM.
The New Mini comes with the M4 and M4 Pro chips for those who need a little more power. For more intensive tasks like higher-end video editing or photo editing. The M4 Pro Mini will also have 3 Thunderbolt 5 ports on the back, the first Mac to get the new Thunderbolt Standard that has transfer speeds that are 3 times faster than Thunderbolt 4 at 120 GB/s. Not much currently will take advantage of it, but it helps to future-proof your investment.
The new Mac Mini starts at $599.00 on the base model with an M4 256 GP storage and 16GB of RAM. The M4 Pro version starts at $1399.00 and comes with 512 GB of storage and 24GB of RAM and will also include the Thunderbolt % ports on the back. For the price, the base model with the M4 is one of, if not the best value in a home desktop at that price with the improvements of the M4 chip and the new small yet powerful design.
MacBook Pros
Then on Wednesday, it was time for Apple’s flagship laptops, the MacBook Pros, to be updated with the M4. With Apple putting the base M4 , the M4 Pro, and showing off the power of the M4 Max Chip.
Much of the base model M4 MacBook Pro was leaked a few weeks ago when YouTubers in Russia did videos showing off the new laptop, showing the rumors to be true that the base model M4 would get a 3rd Thunderbolt port compared to 2 on the previous model, and that 16GB of unified memory would be the new standard on the MacBooks.
Outside of the changes in design itself. The M4 Pro and Max MacBooks will come with Thunderbolt 5 ports while the base M4 will come with Thunderbolt 4. All models have the option of Nano texture on the display , and the displays now go up to 1000 Nits brightness outdoors. And now Space Gray is gone across the pro lineup, and all versions come in Silver and Space Black now.
These laptops are very nice for those who need the extra ports that you will get over a MacBook Air or need the power of the M4 Pro and Max chip sets. M4 Pro and Max Chips are for those who need the power for high-end video work and graphic design; most normal consumers will go for the MacBook Air or the base model M4 MacBook Pro for the nice design ports and Mini LED Display.
Bonus
Apple also gave the lineup a nice bonus as well when the current MacBook Air, the 13” M2 and M3, and the 15” M3 were all updated to start with 16GB of RAM up from 8GB from before, and they kept the prices the same as they have been. Making their best-selling laptops an even better value than they were before, making them even more the choice to recommend to anyone looking for a laptop to do basic computing tasks or just a little more than that.
Conclusion
In the end, these updates were very nice as the gains of the M4 chip set are what many expected the M3 to be but did not happen. Early leaks of the benchmark scores are showing these chips and computers to be very powerful upgrades; the Mac Mini with the M4 Pro was showing advances that put it above the M2 Ultra chips found in the current Mac Pro and Mac Studios , at least until those 2 devices get upgraded with M4 and the M4 Ultra comes out.
The answer to many in the Apple world’s prayers was finally answered, bringing the base RAM up to 16GB from 8GB that it has been for years. That seems to have a lot to do with the RAM usage that Apple Intelligence will need to process things and to help future-proof these devices for new Apple Intelligence features I am sure to come in macOS 16 next year. All the new Macs can be ordered now, and delivery will be on November 8th. If you are in the market to upgrade, now is a good time. If you have an M2 or M3 Mac with no bottlenecks in your workflows, then there is not a lot of need to upgrade. If you have high-end workflows and you know if you are or not, then sure, this would be a good upgrade as the gains look to be very nice on these machines.