In this article, we are going to cover every aspect such as its performance capabilities, architectural changes, power efficiency, the new Apple Intelligence AI features as well as how its powerful than the M3 series chipset.

Apple M4 Chip Performance

Apple has once again raised his limits with the launch of its new and one of the most powerful Apple M4 Chip, which is a next generation of the M series processor and obviously its going to power the newest MacBook Air M4 and MacBook Pro M4 models. This powerful chipset may be seen in other Apple devices soon in the future. Its predecessor i.e. M3 Series, which was already quite powerful and impressed with great benchmarks.

So, many techies are curious to know what exactly the new M4 series chipset have as compared to the M3 Series Chipset. Apple has made a lot of changes in the M4 series. Whether you are a student, professional content creator or a pro video editor understanding the latest performance and feature upgrades of the Apple M4 chipset will surely help you make your decision whether you should be upgrading to M4 series laptop or not.

This time MacBook Air comes with a noticeable difference in the screen size having options of 13 inches and 15 inches whereas the Pro as usual on the bigger side has options of 14 inches as well as 16 inches. Also, the MacBook Pro M4 14 inches comes with various configuration options like M4 Pro and M4 Pro max along with the M4 Processor. On the other hand, the 16-inch model supports only the M4 Pro and M4 Pro Max Processor out of the box.

Let’s talk about the difference so that you know which one will be a better MacBook for you the Air series or the Pro Series.

The Evolution of Apple Silicon – From M1 to M4

Before we jump into the technology of M4 chipset, let have a quick recap how far Apple Silicon has come. Apple’s first M series chipset was launched in March 2020 with M1 series, which was a revolutionary change when Apple marked its permanent shift from the Intel series processor to its own ARM-based silicon chipset. Later with upgrades M2 chipset was launched in the year 2022, which was much better in terms of performance and efficiency, and later in the year 2023 Apple launched its 3^rd generation of M series chipset M3. Here in M3 Apple introduced the manufacturing technology which was based on 3nm which surprisingly increased the speed, performed better and also was much power efficient.

And same with the M4 chipset, Apple continued its journey to keep innovating and bringing the better version of the predecessor. This M4 series is now capable of AI based performance and also the graphics performance seems to be improved a lot. This M4 series is not only designed for the performance but also as a chip level support for various AI applications now and in the future. Since, AI is now becoming an essential part of every users day to day task and work.

What’s New in Apple M4 Chip – Key Features and Upgrades

Advanced 3nm Process – Second Generation.

The first generation of 3nm manufacturing technology was seen in the M3 chipset. This time also apple continued to manufacture on the same technology, but its not the same it’s a redefined new second generation technology. This second generation technology helps in delivering more power efficiency and an increased thermal performance when compared to the M3. The M3 chipset features

1. Higher transistor density which means we get more power packed into the same space thanks to the second generation 3nm technology.
2. MacBook Air M4 powered by this processor can now manage heat in a more efficient way .
3. This processor is packed with improved power efficiency, which gives us a longer screentime without throttling performance on single charge.

Improved Architecture in terms of Performance Cores and Efficiency Cores

As compared to the M3 chipset M4 chipset is launched with more refined core architecture which includes both P-Cores and the E-Cores upgrades, where E-Core stands for efficiency core and the P-Core stand for the performance core.

1. Performance core in the Apple M4 chipset is designed in such a way that it can handle heavy tasks like video editing, 3D model rendering or even gaming on the MacBook Air easily.
2. On the other hand, the efficiency core is optimized in such a way that it can handle lightweight task such as browsing, mailing or document editing on various platforms.

With this launch Apple has focused on making multi-core performance better this time, by keeping in mind that the M4 chipset can handle heavy and intensive multitasking more efficiently as compared to the previous generations.

AI and Machine Learning Upgrades (Neural Engine)

One of the major and the most noticeable improvement in the Apple’s M4 Chipset is its Neural Engine technology. This time it is more enhanced and more efficient which directly benefits the users like us in

1. Photo and Video editing applications that uses AI based enhancements. It can speed up the process without consuming more power.
2. Transcription based on real time, voice based typing and even speech processing.
3. Summarizing Documents or editing based on the suggestion by AI Driven Applications.

Also Read: Shocking Differences Between MacBook Air M4 and Pro M4

Better GPU with Hardware level Ray Tracing

The M4 Chip which is now launched with the upgraded version of the GPU also supports hardware-accelerated ray tracing to MacBook for the first time in history. Yeah it’s a very good move from the Apples side for the creators as well as games, which allows us for things like:

1. Improved realistic shadows, lighting and even reflections in games and 3D Apps which are officially supported by Apple.
2. We can see a better performance in some software’s especially related to video editing, 3D modelling and also video rendering
3. Improved support for Apple’s graphics framework (Metal 3) which results in better gaming performance.

We all know that MacBook aren’t gaming laptops when compared with the Windows Laptop but thanks to M4’s GPU improvement which makes the newer Apple Laptops efficient for casual gaming also than ever before.

Improved Unified Memory System

This newly launched Apple M4 chipset retains apple’s unified memory architecture shortly known as UMA, not the same but with the better and improved memory management. This means that

1. We can manage data faster which results in improved performance in multi-layer vide editing projects, compiling a big software code and working with files which are majorly larger in size
2. Can handle AI Models efficiently which always required high memory bandwidth.
3. Unified memory still defines that the CPU, Neural Engine including GPU will always share the same memory pool which also reduces the lag and improves efficiency.

Longer Battery Life (Better Power Efficiency)

Special thanks to the refined second generation 3nm technology process and the improved core efficiency. MacBook running on M4 chipset as well other devices which will be powered by M4 chipset in future is going to offer a better battery life compared to the M3 chipset devices. Apple also claims to have

• 20% better power efficiency as compared to previous generation of MacBook during light tasks like Browsing and document creation.
• Media playback can now see significant power savings which makes M4 powered MacBook Air an ideal laptop for travellers.

Also Read: Best Accessories for MacBook Air M4 – Essential Gadgets to Improve Your Experience

Improved Media Engines

As compared to M3 chipset M4 chipset now have upgraded media engines with

• Better Hardware Support for ProRes, ProRes RAW and also HEVC.Faster 4K and 8K Video Editing due to its improved video decoding and encoding.
• Even with higher resolution video editing the real-time previews have been improved.

Apple M4 vs M3 – Real-word Difference

Feature	Apple M3	Apple M4
Process Technology	3nm (1st Gen)	3nm (2nd Gen)
Performance Cores	Standard	Improved with better speed
Efficiency Cores	Standard	Optimised for even lower power
Neural Engine	Good	Enhanced for AI and ML tasks
GPU	Advanced	Hardware ray tracing support
Media Engine	ProRes, HEVC	Enhanced for 8K
Power Efficiency	Excellent	Even better, up to 20% more efficient

Is upgrading worth to a MacBook M4 series.

If you have a previous generation MacBook which are powered by M1 or M2 series processor, then upgrading it will definitely bring a huge performance boost  in your day to day life. Especially in terms when you work a lot on video editing, graphics designing, coding or AI Based apps

On the other hand for M3 Users, the upgrade could be beneficial if you are working on AI-driven apps in your daily life and want to explore the latest AI features, better battery life and a improved version of graphics. Also if you are a casual user then M3 is still quite capable of handling all your entry to mid-level task without any lags

Conclusion

The Apple M4 chipset is not just an incremental upgrade as compared to previous generation – but, it also bring the top notch performance out of the box with it for better AI Processing and also a much enhanced graphics rendering. Which makes it a perfect MacBook with future ready device. Weather you are a student, working professional, video editor, freelancer this newly powered M4 chipset ensures a faster and improved performance in every terms. Also with the introduction of hardware level ray tracing Apple is shaping the future of personal computing to the next level.

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