The Apple M4 is an ARM-based system on a chip (SoC) designed by Apple. VP of platform architecture Tim Millet introduced it on May 7, 2024 during a "Let loose" special event, where Senior VP John Ternus also introduced the updated iPad Pro with the M4 chip, which was released on the following May 15th.[1][2] It is also found in the IMac (2024), which was announced on October 28, 2024, the Mac mini (2024), announced on October 29, 2024, and the MacBook Pro with M4, announced on October 30, 2024.
Specifications[]
The M4 is manufactured by TSMC to Apple's design specifications. The die contains 28 billion transistors that are fabricated through an enhanced 3 nm process (N3E). Dynamic RAM (DRAM) is built onto the package and is shared through Apple's unified memory architecture (UMA) to eliminate the need to copy data from the CPU to GPU, which are both part of the package.[1][2]
The 10-core CPU contains four high-performance cores and six high-efficiency cores, similiar to the ARM big.LITTLE architecture used by the Apple M3 and other mobile devices for power efficiency. The GPU contains 10 cores for graphics. However, in some entry-level configurations, up to two of the CPU cores and two of the GPU cores are deactivated, indicating the practice of binning. The new display engine adds support for Tandem OLEDs and 120 Hz ProMotion. It can also support an external display of up to 6K resolution from an iPad Pro,[1][2] and supports an external display of up to 8K resolution at 120 Hz in iMac (2024).
Performance[]
Apple claimed that the M4's CPU performance was increased by up to 50% over that of the Apple M2. The GPU supports Dynamic Caching to improve rendering speed up to 4x faster over that of the M2. While containing the same number of cores, the updated Neural Engine can deliver up to 38 trillion operations per second, more than double that of the M3.[1][2]
Limitations[]
DRAM must be ordered in advance in 8 or 16 GB configurations as they are part of the M4's SoC package.[1][2]
References[]
External links[]
- Apple M4 9-Core and Apple M4 10-Core specs at GadgetVersus
- Apple M4 9-core and Apple M4 10-core GPU at NotebookCheck
- Apple M4 at Wikipedia
Articles[]
- M3 vs. M4: How Does Apple's Latest Silicon Stack Up? by Brian Westover at PC Magazine (2024-05-08)