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MBA 15 M4 vs M3?
- Thread starter hohohong
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There is no M4 SoC yet. Speculation on its performance/features is just that. Maybe it will have a faster neural engine, but does that make that much of a difference? Just have to wait and see what Apple shows at WWDC 2024.
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M3 Macbook Airs just came out barely over a month ago. No one can answer questions about what an M4 model that doesn't exist will offer.
The M1/2/3 all contain a Neural Engine. The one in the M4 might be a bit faster, or it might be 3x as fast. Nobody outside of Apple knows until they present it to the public.
One could reasonably surmise that the M4 will have incremental performance benefits over the M3, since otherwise developing it makes little sense in view of the costs involved. What it is not possible to do is make any authoritative statement on exactly what those benefits will be.
Even when the chip is announced and its internal performance characteristics become clearer, there is no certain consequence to overall system performance since much will depend on exactly how Apple develop the rest of the system around it.
And then there will likely be the M5...
Even when the chip is announced and its internal performance characteristics become clearer, there is no certain consequence to overall system performance since much will depend on exactly how Apple develop the rest of the system around it.
And then there will likely be the M5...
Personally, I’d hold out for the M6. 😁
Or, is that MI6?! 🙈
Or, is that MI6?! 🙈
MBA has somewhat a bad timing. When the MBA M4 comes out there will be discussions about the M5 which will bring AI to a next level 😀
I think the speculation is that the M4 will focus on better AI support in hardware to match Apple's supposed AI software ambitions? Or so the vague rumors thrown about go. 🤔
M9 is where it’s at. Only suckers buy anything now or in the next 5 years. /s
I feel like these rumored "AI" features would likely be a focus on more neural engine cores because it's my understanding that they're used for machine learning, which is for the most part what is now so feverishly marketed as "AI".
There will always be something better coming if you just wait a little longer...
Out of curiosity, why so many care about AI capability on their Macs?
In that care, Im sure the correct M3 MBA will serve you for many years.
Because we are nearing the peak of the hype cycle for AI.
Gartner hype cycle - Wikipedia
This is quite possible, but it would also assume Apple's AI ambitions are going to come as a complete surprise to it, making it impossible to have planned in advance.
Because there's considerable general ignorance about it?
I myself am waiting for the M4 not because of some vague AI idea, but because I believe the screens will be updated. I’d like the 16/512 setup as a minimum and where I live that’s 2500 USD. But the competition has oled screens in their 1000 USD alternatives. I don’t think Apple can do another year with the current MBA screens so for me it’ll either be a used M1 or a new M4.
iPads are still not on OLEDs. So you will have to wait a very very long time for Macs to get OLED screens.
I don’t think oled will ever come to MBA but I do expect the next generation to have proper screens instead of these relics. Even my dad notices the screens blow compared to his tv and also HDR is used everywhere so I don’t think Apple (with their focus on media consumption and creation) can get away with the current displays another year. Sure the professionals are supposed to have a couple of Studio displays but Apple knows very well most people aren’t professionals.
I'll just put a kind reminder that only the Pro iPads actually do support HDR. And very poorly so, too. There's a lot of blooming on those iPads if you have seen them in person. Most iPads, the devices Apple wants to market most for "media consumption" do in fact not support HDR at all.
HDR is not even fully or properly supported in the Apple TV. It does support "some" HDR capabilities but not all.
So again, honestly, I think evidence points to you waiting for a very long time if a screen upgrade is what you are looking for.
In fact, people like me who have waited for a simple upgrade to the iPad Mini have also waited a very long time. Apple has not been keen to give us any reason to upgrade recently. If the MacBook Air 15 didn't come, I would have just kept my 14" MacBook Pro for a while. But certainly: I did not just want the 14" MacBook Pro for its HDR-capable screen. It's not even the best screen Apple has for HDR. That would be the iPhone. But then you will be very hard-pressed to convince me to "enjoy" HDR contents on my phone versus anything else that has bigger screens, HDR or not.
Not guaranteed that we will ever see a M4 MBA. If the MBA cannibalizes MBP sales too much maybe we will see an A 18 Pro/Max in future.
BTW aren't the 4 performance cores overkill for iWorks, Safari, Mail and message?
2 cores Would do the job at the same speed as 4 cause no apps support multi threading like video editing tools do?
BTW aren't the 4 performance cores overkill for iWorks, Safari, Mail and message?
2 cores Would do the job at the same speed as 4 cause no apps support multi threading like video editing tools do?
I totally get what you’re saying. It makes sense, unfortunately
But waiting a few years more doesn’t matter that much to me. I’ve never had a Mac or MacBook so I have no idea what I’m missing. I’m not paying 2500 bucks for second-rate hardware (not hating on anyone who does; we all spend our money differently and since I’m interested I obviously see the appeal). Also don’t have an iPad because the price/quality ratio doesn’t make sense to me personally. I’ll wait like I did with the iPhone: had to wait years and years until it was up to my standards but now it is, it’s definitely worth the premium price in my opinion.
Eventually the screens will be updated. Apple will never make the best device they can, they’ll use whatever gives them the highest profit margins. And if you look at the competition, then I think very soon they can simply buy up the leftovers and introduce it as a huge upgrade. Win-win for everyone.
I don’t mean to be too negative, by the way. It’s not like MacBooks are trash or something. They’re still great devices and have unique features like a fanless design which I love. I do totally get why someone would pay the premium. But personally I’m waiting until they’re up to my standards.
That's not true at all, most apps support multi-threading, and the OS supports multitasking at the lowest levels to distribute work across CPU cores.
Here's my Activity Monitor CPU history for my M1 Pro browsing a handful of websites with just Safari open browsing different websites on just two tabs. All 10 cores are being used in some capacity (albeit diminishing amounts for cores 5-10). Again that's just Safari with two tabs open browsing regular mainstream websites.