Apple May Update Entire Mac Lineup with M4 Series Chips

If rumors are true, Apple could be poised to update every Mac model with the M4 chip — something that hasn’t happened in over a decade. While Apple came close to achieving this with the M1 generation, it’s been years since the entire lineup received a simultaneous upgrade.

Recently, Apple released its first Macs featuring the M4 processor: the MacBook Pro, iMac, and Mac mini. Along with the new chip, some models also gained faster Thunderbolt ports, nano-textured displays, and improved cameras.

The notable difference this time is that the M4 upgrade covers nearly the entire Mac lineup, with only the MacBook Air, Mac Studio, and Mac Pro yet to join. According to Mark Gurman, the MacBook Air is expected to receive the M4 in the spring, while the Mac Studio and Mac Pro are set to follow in mid-2025. If all goes as planned, every Mac will soon boast the latest M4 family of processors.

It’s rare to see an all-encompassing processor update for the Mac lineup. The last attempt was during the M1 launch, although the Mac Pro, as Apple’s top-tier model, was left out due to its infrequent update cycle. The Mac Pro’s last refresh was in 2023 with the M2 Ultra. While most Macs now run on the M2 chip, the iMac was skipped, leading to an incomplete upgrade cycle.

Back in 2019, Apple updated a broad range of Macs, excluding the iMac Pro and Mac mini. The last time every Mac received an update within the same year was in 2013 with the “trash can” Mac Pro.

If the rumored M4 upgrade pans out, we could be seeing the first time in over ten years that every Mac is updated, meaning the MacBook Air, Mac Studio, and Mac Pro will soon be equipped with the latest hardware.

As for performance, the M4 chip brings a significant leap over its predecessor across all models. For instance, the M4 Pro delivers a substantial improvement over the M3 Pro, with notable gains in both single-core and multi-core performance. The Mac mini, powered by the M4 Pro, now stands as Apple’s fastest desktop Mac, with CPU performance even surpassing the M2 Ultra.

In graphics performance, the M4 series has made a substantial impact as well. The Pro and Max versions now support mesh shading and ray tracing, while the M4 Max significantly boosts GPU capabilities.