Apple just unveiled its new M3 MacBook Air, but a report has already said that the company is working on the future M4 MacBook Pro. In a Q&A session focused on the Apple Car, Bloomberg‘s Mark Gurman hinted at this new computer, which has “just started formal development.”
Although little is known about this chip, there are a few reasons to believe the M4 MacBook Pro might be the first real upgrade Apple Silicon Mac users should look forward to if they have bought the first batch of M1 computers.
As we all know, Apple’s M chips are based on the iPhone’s processors. The M3 chip, for example, is based on the iPhone 15 Pro’s A17 Pro. Although I haven’t tested an M3 MacBook yet, I have been using an iPhone 15 Pro as my daily driver since October. As with many users, I have been experiencing overheating issues since day one. With that in mind, it’s possible that M3 Macs owners might experience a similar issue.
Apple is finally readying the ultimate 3nm chip for the MacBook Pro and the iPhone 16
One of the reasons why the iPhone 15 Pro overheats is due to Apple’s 3nm chip. Previous reports said that Cupertino decided to launch a 3nm processor with the iPhone 15 Pro to say it was the first. However, the better processor would come a year later when all other manufacturers could also take advantage of this technology.
Being a bit more technical, the iPhone 15 Pro’s A17 Pro chip uses an N3E manufacturing process, considered a “transitional design chip.” The upcoming N3B process will be less expensive and will have an improved yield.
This N3B process will be used for the A18 and M4 chips. This new method can provide better performance and power efficiency. With that, not only will iPhone users benefit from a better battery and less overheating issues with the iPhone 16, but the M4 MacBook models might offer an even better battery life, in addition to gains on the Neural Engine processor, which will be even more powerful for AI capabilities.
With iOS 18 and macOS 15 expected to bring the first big push for Apple’s AI features, the next generation of hardware will get the greatest benefits, including this M4 MacBook Pro and the future iPhone 16 models.
That said, while the iPhone 16 is expected to launch in September, the new M4 MacBook Pro could be available later this year or early 2025 at maximum. Still, despite the new chip, we expect Apple to change the MacBook design in 2026 or 2027 when it transitions from a miniLED display to OLED.
