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At this year's WWDC, Apple updated the iPad Pro after 18 months. In addition to being the thinnest iPad in history, this new iPad is also the first time that Apple has launched the desktop-class processor M4 on a non-Mac device.

And now, Macs equipped with M4 chips are about to debut.

According to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, Apple may launch a MacBook Pro with an M4 chip later this year. In this case, the M3 may become one of Apple's shortest-lived chips, being replaced by the M4 chip less than a year after its release.

▲ Apple M series chip release time

Another iMac that will be equipped with the M4 chip later this year is the iMac, which was previously powered by the M3 chip and was released on October 31 last year along with the M3 MacBook Pro.

There won't be much changes on these two devices other than the processor upgrades.

In addition, the Mac mini will be iterated later this year. Its last update was the M2 Pro model released in January 2023. This update will directly skip the M3 chip and be equipped with the latest M4 chip.

Upgrades to the MacBook Air, Mac Studio and Mac Pro may have to wait until 2025.

Interestingly, in this leak, Gurman also brought a piece of news: at least one device will get more obvious changes.

Looking at the appearance of the Mac series devices, after Apple released the M1 chip in 2020, most of them have been redesigned:

Due to practicality issues, MacBook Pro and MacBook Air abandoned the "wedge-shaped" body, cancelled the TouchBar, reduced the borders, and added bangs; iMac got rid of the design that has been used since 2012, greatly thinned the screen, cancelled the back curve, and added a variety of colors.

▲ The wedge-shaped fuselage disappears

So far, only Mac Pro and Mac mini in the Mac family have maintained their original design. The last appearance update of Mac Pro was in 2019, while Mac mini has hardly changed since its launch.

▲ This little box has not changed since its launch

Judging from this clue, the "more obvious changes" referred to by Gruman may appear on the Mac Pro and Mac mini. However, the design of the MacBook Pro has been used for nearly four years, and the possibility of a replacement cannot be ruled out.

It is not difficult to see the special features of the M4 chip from this revelation: on the one hand, Apple must ensure that the life of the M3 chip is at least extended a little, and a rapid and sudden replacement will affect user loyalty;

On the other hand, the current AI PCs have already increased their overall computing power to 30-40 TOPS. For example, Intel Core Ultra provides 34 TOPS of computing power, but the M3 chip mainly focuses on CPU and GPU performance and can only provide 18 TOPS of computing power support - this is almost unable to cope with the threat of strong computing power of AI PCs, and is not conducive to the future deployment of large AI models on the Apple Intelligence side.

Amid internal and external troubles, the iPad family, which had not been updated for a long time, became a life-saving straw.

The move of launching the M4 chip on iPad for the first time is indeed effective. Apple’s latest financial report shows that the launch of the new iPad has helped increase sales in this category by 25%. At the same time, the performance of the new iPad has also attracted consumers’ attention, extending the life of the M3 chip for a while, even if it is only for half a year.

Unlike the embarrassing situation of iPad Pro, which is "productivity before purchase, and iQiyi after purchase", the Mac family has always been a reliable production tool for core users and has attracted much attention from users. Soon, the M4 chip that can provide 38 TOPS will finally be installed on the Mac, and Apple's AI PC road may have just begun.