We got the M4 Chip, and its more impressive then I thought it would be. When will the M4 MBA come out?

[iAppleOrchard]

I was SUPER CLOSE to upgrading from my M1 MacBook Air to the M3 MacBook Air.

But then M4 came out on the iPad of all places... I am not sure that I want to buy a last gen chip now.

I would still upgrade to M3, but after seeing the leaked geekbench score for the M4 iPad Pro... that thing is 90% faster than my M1 Air while M3 is only like 40%...

So the reason I was going to upgrade is because my Mac feels sluggish because it uses Swap instead of Ram (I got 8 GB, would upgrade to 16 GB)
- Programmer
- Video Editor
- All on an Air...

And $1349 (With the best deal I found) is hard to justify for me for a laptop that is now what I consider outdated.

I was going to do a deal with my parents they buy me a M3 Air and give them my M1 Air, but now I am thinking on revealing the $699 Walmart MacBook to them.

My question is when will the M4 MacBook Air come out.​

I think we could get the first M4 Macs at WWDC tbh.

 

[jb310]

I really think it'll be WWDC, that's the date that makes the most sense, especially for the MacBook Air.

 

[hohohong]

M4 MBA Spring 2025. MBP maybe WWDC this year.

 

[raythompsontn]

When will the M4 appear in MacBooks? Only some high level executives within Apple know the answer. This a rumor site, hence the name of the site.

You can wait, buy why? What are doing that requires that much speed that you cannot get in the current M3 line? When the M4 comes out, the M5 will be speculated, so then you wait for the M5. Then the M5 comes out and speculation on the M6 arrives and you wait for the M6. By your logic you will wait forever.

Upgrade your system now and be happy. Get 16GB and 1TB SSD and your system will run fine for what you are doing on the system.

Remember, those numbers are from benchmarks, designed to max out certain portions of the system. What you are doing will not operate the same. A 30% increase in a particular benchmark may get you 5% increase in your throughput on your workload. And many of these benchmarks, with an agenda, are not real world improvements in perception.

 

[TheKDub]

I do think M4 chips will be out soon, but not for the Air yet. Mark Gurman was accurate about reporting out on rumors for the M4 chip coming to iPad Pro this week, and he reported out that his sources tells him that Macbook Air won't be getting M4 until Spring of 2025. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/arti...ac-line-including-new-macbook-air-and-mac-pro

I personally don't agree on Apple's staggered approach to their chip rollout (with Pros getting the latest generation first, and then Air getting it last), since if Spring '25 is true - that means by the time MBA gets M4, M5 will be announced just months later. But I think Apple does this to incentivize people to buy the Pro models, since M4 MBA might be good enough for most people if they roll it out alongside the Pros.

 

[Citizen45]

I think:

M4 MacBook Pro - Winter 2024
M4 MacBook Air - Spring 2025

I wish it was sooner though, as I would also like to upgrade my Mac.

 

[Chuckeee]

Several months after M4 MacBook Pros

 

[Zorori]

Normally you would predict next spring, after the release of the MBP. That being said, Apple are likely to want to get off the N3B process, so we could be looking at a quicker cycle than usual

 

[joeblow7777]

You all realize that the M3 MBA is only 2 months old, right?

 

[Torty]

You all realize that the M3 MBA is only 2 months old, right?

The MBA should have gotten the M4 with a later release.

 

[throAU]

M4 MBA Spring 2025. MBP maybe WWDC this year.

I'm betting on the other way around. I reckon the Pros will be updated once they get M4-Pro and up as an option, which is possibly still in dev/test. Then again, who knows - maybe they're ready for WWDC as well.

The M4 already exists though and is a shoe in for the Air.

 

[throAU]

You all realize that the M3 MBA is only 2 months old, right?

Apple have done rapid refreshes before (see iPad v3) and the M3 and M4 were probably developed with some overlap.


M4 maybe a head of schedule vs. M3 ran behind schedule somewhat = m3 could have a short life.

 

[throAU]

The MBA should have gotten the M4 with a later release.

If apple had production issues with the M3 series and only managed to build a limited number,maybe they decided to do a limited run of the M3.

 

[Torty]

If apple had production issues with the M3 series and only managed to build a limited number,maybe they decided to do a limited run of the M3.

This is not customer oriented. The best for customers would have been the M4 with a later release.

 

[throAU]

This is not customer oriented. The best for customers would have been the M4 with a later release.

No, it's more Apple inventory related.

Quite possibly, they had a bunch of M3 chips with low yield so they consumed them in a limited run of products until m4 was ready. Instead of junking them.

Sure, would have perhaps been better for customers if they held off for the M4. But it's not like Apple would build a heap of M3 chips hoping for yield to improve and not ship what they had until M4 was ready.

 

[Torty]

No, it's more Apple inventory related.

Quite possibly, they had a bunch of M3 chips with low yield so they consumed them in a limited run of products until m4 was ready. Instead of junking them.

Sure, would have perhaps been better for customers if they held off for the M4. But it's not like Apple would build a heap of M3 chips hoping for yield to improve and not ship what they had until M4 was ready.

Yes, it’s “what can we do for us” and not “what can we do for our customers”

 

[throAU]

Yes, it’s “what can we do for us” and not “what can we do for our customers”

Normally there’s overlap but yes - they’re a business; not a charity. developing new processors is not cheap or free, they’re billions of dollars in R&D and production that need to be re-couped.

 

[Torty]

Normally there’s overlap but yes - they’re a business; not a charity. developing new processors is not cheap or free, they’re billions of dollars in R&D and production that need to be re-couped.

It must not be a charity it might also be a business strategy to put customers first. In the end all businesses are nothing without their customers. At least in a free market.

 

[johannnn]

The MBA should have gotten the M4 with a later release.

Releasing a brand new powerful chip together with their cheapest consumer laptop? Yea that sounds great /s

Yes, it’s “what can we do for us” and not “what can we do for our customers”

They are a publically traded company. Of course they prioritize revenue? People that care about having the latest and greatest chip are mostly people that buy a Pro machine. Not people that buy the new iPad Air or Macbook Air.

 

[Torty]

Releasing a brand new powerful chip together with their cheapest consumer laptop? Yea that sounds great /s


Snip

They did that with M2?

 

[Torty]

snip


They are a publically traded company. Of course they prioritize revenue? People that care about having the latest and greatest chip are mostly people that buy a Pro machine. Not people that buy the new iPad Air or Macbook Air.

Yes it’s a business strategy. As long as you are much better than your competition this might work.

 

[arcite]

M4 MBA Spring 2025. MBP maybe WWDC this year.

Yea, Mac sales are down globally, I don’t think Apple will be in a huge rush to push everything to M4.

 

[farkingdom]

Consider the fact that iPad Air gets an older gen M2 chip, Apple strategy seems to be tied in having the Air line up to be one generation behind. The MacBook Pros in the meantime will get updated asap.

 

[daanodinot]

M3 MacBook Air: Already trash.

 

[jdb8167]

Yea, Mac sales are down globally, I don’t think Apple will be in a huge rush to push everything to M4.

I'm not sure that makes sense. If Mac sales are down, having computers with M2 & M3 family look obsolete isn't going to do any good for sales. It might not matter much but it will depress sales somewhat since anyone paying attention will know that the M4 family is coming soon.