Apple updated three Mac lines to the M4 chip this week, including the iMac, Mac mini, and MacBook Pro. These are the first Macs to feature the M4 chip that Apple introduced earlier this year with the OLED iPad Pro. Unlike the iPad, some of these Macs will get better M4 chip versions, as it’s customary for desktops and laptops.
The M4 Pro and M4 Max should feature improved performance compared to the already powerful base M4 chip. These configurations will rock extra core counts and support more RAM than the base M4.
If you’re weighing your options as the M4 Macs are available for preorder, you need to figure out how much power you’ll require from your next-gen laptop or desktop. We have the first benchmark results for the M4 Pro to help with that. And yes, we’re looking at massive performance gains for the M4 Pro chip variant over the base model and last year’s version.
The M4 Pro version of the Mac mini has already appeared in Geekbench 6 tests, which must mean some people are already putting the redesigned desktop through its paces. Specifically, we’re looking at benchmarks for the 14-core M4 Pro version of the chip, which features a 20-core GPU, 16-core Neural Engie, and 48GB of RAM.
A quick look at these first benchmark tests tells you that the M4 Pro can top 3,600 points in single-core tests and 22,000 in multi-core tests. That single-core result is certainly within expectations. After all, we saw the M4 iPad Pro benchmarks long ago. Interestingly, the iPhone 16 Pros also reach around 3,400 in single-core tests.
What’s more important on the desktop side of things is the multi-core performance. That’s the real boost that you’re looking for. You’ll be running more intensive apps or plenty of apps side-by-side on the Mac, and that’s where the multi-core performance comes in.
As MacRumors points out, the M2 Ultra Mac Studio, which features a 24-core chip, tops 21,300 in Geekbench 6 multi-core scores. That means the M4 Pro Mac mini, featuring fewer core counts than the M2 Ultra, will match that desktop’s performance.
That’s an incredible achievement, considering how small and affordable the M4 Pro Mac mini is compared to a Mac Studio featuring the M2 Ultra. The M4 Mac mini configuration above retails for $1,999, or half of the $3,999 you’d pay for the M2 Ultra desktop. On that note, the same M4 Pro flavor is also available for the 2024 MacBook Pro.
To further put things in perspective, the M4 iPad Pro hits over 14,500 points in the same multi-core tests. It’s likely that benchmark tests of the base 2024 Macs running on the base M4 chip will offer similar scores.
That’s almost in line with multi-core scores for last year’s M3 Pro chip, which averages over 15,000 points in these tests. That makes the M4 Pro chip up to 45% faster than its predecessor.
The only thing faster than the M4 Pro is the M4 Max that will be available to 2024 MacBook Pro buyers. But that chip hasn’t been tested in Geekbench 6 at the time of this writing.
