We’re used to Apple holding events where they present new products with a lot of fanfare and fancy videos. The September event always shows off the new iPhone, and the October event presents new Macs. Last year, Apple held a 30-minute event to present new iMacs and MacBook Pros featuring M3 processors.
This year, instead of a single event for several devices, they made individual announcements over three days, each for one new Mac model. Essentially, they announced these new Macs via press release but also created videos shot at Apple HQ for each of them. You can see the videos on the product pages for each Mac, or on YouTube: here are links for videos presenting the M4 iMac, the M4 Mac mini, and the M4 MacBook Pro.
This is a good way to present new products. Most people don’t want to sit through these long promotional videos and only care about one or two products. So here’s what’s new this year.
It’s no surprise that Apple has updated its processors to the M4 family. They have updated these processors roughly every year since the launch of the M1 processor in 2020, and we’re likely to see these updates annually going forward.
The M4, M4 Pro, and M4 Max are a lot like Apple’s previous processors, but faster. That may sound simple, but that’s what we’ve gotten with each update and will probably get in the future. There won’t be any major changes to what these chips can do, other than adding more processing, graphics, and neural engine cores, increasing the memory, and improving things like memory bandwidth. Not that these changes aren’t important, but in the broader scheme of things, they are just incremental updates that are reflected in each year’s Mac lineup.
The new M4 iMac doesn’t look very different from last year’s M3 model, or the 2021 M1 iMac. It has the new M4 processor—just the base chip; the iMac has never been available with the faster versions. Additionally, it includes an improved front camera and offers a nano-texture glass option for the display. The front camera goes from 1080p to 12 Mp—a massive improvement. It’s also a Center Stage camera, meaning it follows you as you move around. Another great camera feature is the built-in Desk View, which can show the items on your desk.
The faster processor will certainly be useful as Apple adds more Apple Intelligence features to macOS, and the iMac. Like all Macs now, even MacBook Air models that are running M2 or M3 processors come with 16 GB memory by default. Forget the need to spend the extra money to upgrade from 8 GB.
Finally, Apple has replaced lighting connectors on the Magic Keyboard, Mouse, and Trackpad, so you’ll be able to use the same USB-C cable with which you charge your iPhone or iPad.
The iMac remains Apple’s desktop for everyone. The all-in-one format is compact and easy to work with, and you can choose from seven colors.
The Mac mini was first released in 2005. It was redesigned to be thinner (mainly because of the removal of its optical drive) in 2010. Other than some color changes, it retained the same form factor for 14 years.
Apple’s new Mac mini is so small it could be called the Mac nano. Now a 5″ x 5″ squircle, it’s halfway between the size of the previous Mac mini and the Apple TV. With two USB-C ports and a headphone jack on the front, and three rear Thunderbolt 5 ports, this is a versatile computer for almost any use.
Available with either the M4 or M4 Pro processor, this smallest Mac ever has enough power for most needs. Sure, it’s not the Mac Studio, though the M4 Pro is about as fast as the M2 Ultra, which is an option on that more expensive Mac. (The Mac Studio will probably be updated next year with an M4 Ultra chip.)
Starting at $599, the Mac mini is a great deal for anyone who already has a display, keyboard, and mouse or trackpad. And that tiny size; it can fit anywhere, either on your desk or tucked away in a room where it works as a server.
Also refreshed is the MacBook Pro, available in 14″ and 16″ models. These top-of-the-line laptops get the fastest processors, with options for the M4, M4 Pro, and M4 Max. Aside from that, the MacBook Pro models get more cores, increased maximum memory, and hardware-accelerated ray tracing, which can make games faster. They also get the 12 Mp Center Stage camera, as on the iMac, which can also do Desk View.
The M4 Max MacBook Pro can be configured with up to 128 GB memory and up to 8 TB storage, making this a powerhouse for the most demanding workloads. The basic M4 has three Thunderbolt 4 ports, and the M4 Pro and M4 Max models have three Thunderbolt 5 ports.
These are the pro laptops, and they start at $1,599 (14″) and $2,499 (16″), but with additional memory and storage can reach more than $7,000 for the fully loaded 16″ M4 Max MacBook Pro.
All these new Macs are available to order now, and ship from November 8.
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