Apple Testing Four New M4 Macs Ahead of Fall Launch

[sublunar]

I wonder of the 16Gb machines are going to raise the starting price bar and we might see M2 models lingering as entry level 8Gb machines...

 

[boak]

iMac not skipping a chip generation this time. I wonder why it never got M2?

It’s more to do with Apple wanting to quickly move away from M3. Notice there are no other A17-variant chips either.

 

[boak]

I wonder of the 16Gb machines are going to raise the starting price bar and we might see M2 models lingering as entry level 8Gb machines...

I suspect M2 Mac mini will stay. Others, no.

 

[Allen_Wentz]

M4 mini is a day one purchase.

?? How can M4 alone make for a day one purchase? It seems to me that the value of a Mini is around everything other than simply the chip. Things like ports, RAM, display support, memory bandwidth etc.

 

[ProbablyDylan]

?? How can M4 alone make for a day one purchase? It seems to me that the value of a Mini is around everything other than simply the chip. Things like ports, RAM, display support, memory bandwidth etc.

Maybe they need the more powerful neural engine?

 

[gk_brown]

As for myself, if the M4 Pro starts with 32GB, I’m good with that honestly.

Yeah, me too.

 

[Allen_Wentz]

Don't get too excited yet.

October event is for the new M4 "Pros" and "Minis": 16 GB base. Everybody celebrates.

January "refresh" will be for the still-8 GB base M4 MacBook Air. Everybody cries.

Someday I wish folks would lose the extraordinary concern over what is offered at base level and instead just buy what they need.

 

[Allen_Wentz]

For the first time since I bought a 2012 mini (which I still have) I’m in the market to buy a new real mac

I need a new laptop for work so it’s time to step tenderly out of the Intel/hackintosh world and cautiously in to the new reality

Curious to see what the price point/performance proposition will be this fall

My wife just got a new job which came with an m3 MacBook Pro and i have to admit it seems pretty decent

My 14700k/6800 hackintosh should keep me well as a power machine for a few more years but there’s no hiding from the reality of the future I guess

IMO an M3 MBP is more than just "pretty decent..."

 

[Asbow]

I do hope we won't see a huge price increase and price tier that would make upgrading from the M4 to M4 Pro an even greater cost than current available gen mac configs.

This is Apple. Of course there’s going to be a price increase. Think of all those poor shareholders.

 

[coolfactor]

For sure. Why is Apple still being stingy on the RAM of the iPad Pro though?

It's not being stingy. Here's what's going to happen... Developers will have a massive around of RAM and will stop working hard to optimize their apps — because they don't have to. A user launches a dozen of these wasteful apps and suddenly 16GB is no better than 4GB. You heard it here first.

Apple has been right to carefully increase the RAM ceiling. Developers are lazy.

 

[bearcatrp]

Meh, looks like I’ll wait to see what’s in store for the studio. With Apple shrinking the mini, doubt it can get more than 32GB regardless of chips. If it can be done, better have deep pockets to afford it.

 

[Jamie0003]

It's not being stingy. Here's what's going to happen... Developers will have a massive around of RAM and will stop working hard to optimize their apps — because they don't have to. A user launches a dozen of these wasteful apps and suddenly 16GB is no better than 4GB. You heard it here first.

Apple has been right to carefully increase the RAM ceiling. Developers are lazy.

Yes they are, it’s the same Soc. why limit it on the iPad but not elsewhere?

 

[mannyvel]

Nice to see that their QA pipeline has gotten larger.

 

[Siliconguy]

If it's the case, I wonder how long it will take people to complain about Apple 'only' including 16 GB.

A few microseconds,

The competition is fierce at the mini level, 32 GB RAM and a TB NVME for $650.

Beelink | Beelink SER8 AMD Ryzen™ 7 8845HS MINI PC 8C/16T Frequency up to 5.1GHz

www.bee-link.com

Apple still has the best laptops for now, but they better not rest on their laurels.
TSMC makes chips for anyone. Broadcom's first attempt at a laptop chip isn't that bad, they will be nipping at Apple's heels soon enough. The weak spots in Apple's hardware lineup are well known and will be targeted.

 

[Chuckeee]

Hopefully the RAM will be...

M4: 16 GB and 32 GB
M4 Pro: 32 GB and 64 GB
M4 Max: 64 GB, 96 GB, and 128 GB

I understand “A rising tide lifts all boats” logic but this is still Apple

 

[turbineseaplane]

Hold on. They test products before launching them for millions of sales?

We chuckle, but did you see what happened with the Overcast podcast app recently?

😬😑

 

[sublunar]

We chuckle, but did you see what happened with the Overcast podcast app recently?

😬😑

No, do tell

 

[turbineseaplane]

No, do tell

Only did a limited beta round amongst a close circle of friends and he released a buggy mess that removed a bunch of functionality and he's being forced to backtrack on some of his changes as he's had an exodus of users leaving 1 star reviews on the way out the door

(I'm one of them, but I didn't leave a new review - just quietly left for Apple Podcasts as it simply "works")

 

[Corefile]

Someday I wish folks would lose the extraordinary concern over what is offered at base level and instead just buy what they need.

Why does it concern you? If people want to decry the base specs then it's their right. You don't need to read about it.

 

[nylonsteel]

my core i7 mini still does me good
and its in space grey
though if the m4 mini is compelling enough i may pull the trigger

 

[turbineseaplane]

Someday I wish folks would lose the extraordinary concern over what is offered at base level and instead just buy what they need.

Someday I wish folks wouldn't worry about other people having a different opinion than theirs

 

[bradman83]

I wonder of the 16Gb machines are going to raise the starting price bar and we might see M2 models lingering as entry level 8Gb machines...

Apple’s starting prices have been surprisingly consistent year over year despite inflationary pressures and spec bumps. Some models, like the Mac Mini and MacBook Air, are actually cheaper in terms of real, non-inflation-adjusted dollars, compared to where they were in 2018 ($1099 vs $1199 and $599 vs $799 for the MBA and Mini, respectively).

Apple could bump the base prices up slightly but it’s also possible the cost savings moving to the M4 (and the cheaper N3E process it’s manufactured on) and the logistics cost savings of not having to stock 3 different RAM configurations might help to make up for some of the $200 they might have gotten from a RAM upgrade.

 

[sublunar]

Only did a limited beta round amongst a close circle of friends and he released a buggy mess that removed a bunch of functionality and he's being forced to backtrack on some of his changes as he's had an exodus of users leaving 1 star reviews on the way out the door

(I'm one of them, but I didn't leave a new review - just quietly left for Apple Podcasts as it simply "works")

Crikey, I had read that this new version was a complete rewrite using modern language, guess it wasn’t ready for prime time.

 

[greenbreadmmm]

Hopefully the RAM will be...

M4: 16 GB and 32 GB
M4 Pro: 32 GB and 64 GB
M4 Max: 64 GB, 96 GB, and 128 GB

This seems too hopeful. With the "recent" addition of 6,12,24 gb ram sticks plus the binning of the max chip between bandwidth and cores. I reckon more so:

M4: 16,24,32
M4 Pro: 24,32,48
Mr Max: 36,48, 96, 128

*Apple still needs that upgrade money. Especially after loosing it on entry level m4 folks.

 

[azentropy]

I'd be shocked if the base mini comes with more than 12GB of RAM standard.