M4 MacBook Pro: Four things to expect with Apple’s next Pro laptop

Apple is expected to hold another Apple Event later this month, with potential updates to various Mac and iPad models. One of those updates is the MacBook Pro, which is expected to have a number of small, but meaningful changes. Reportedly, the new MacBook Pro will be in customers hands starting November 1st.

Faster M4, M4 Pro, and M4 Max chips

Obviously, with a new round of MacBook Pros, we get a new round of chips – and that remains true with the upcoming MacBook Pro. We’ll be seeing the M4 chip, which initially debuted in the iPad Pro earlier this year, alongside the higher end M4 Pro and M4 Pro chips.

The M4 chip has a 10 core CPU, up from 8 cores on the M3. We could potentially see similar core count bumps on the M4 Pro and M4 Max, although there are no concrete leaks for the higher end M4 chips. M4 is around 20-25% faster than M3.

More unified memory

Previous reports from Bloomberg indicated that all M4 Macs would start with at least 16GB of RAM, according to information seen in developer logs. Base model M4 MacBook Pro will start with 16GB of RAM, upgradable to 32GB. Previously, the M3 models started off with 8GB, upgradable to 16GB or 24GB.

M3 Pro currently starts with 18GB of unified memory, and M3 Max starts with 36GB. Although there isn’t direct confirmation of this, M4 Pro and M4 Max will probably start with additional unified memory as well, perhaps 24GB on M4 Pro and 48GB on M4 Max.

Three Thunderbolt ports on all models

According to a packaging leak, the base model M4 MacBook Pro will likely have three Thunderbolt ports on all models. Previously, the base model of the M3 MacBook Pro lineup only had two Thunderbolt ports, with both of them being on the left side.

Space Black on all models

According to that same packaging leak referenced earlier, it also seems likely that the base model M4 MacBook Pro will come in Space Black, rather than Space Gray like the current model does.

The current base model M3 MacBook Pro likely comes in Space Gray because it was ready to launch prior to the M3 Pro and M3 Max models. We know this because the M3 MacBook Pros ran the older macOS Ventura operating system out of the box, whereas M3 Pro and M3 Max models ran the latest macOS Sonoma.

Wrap up

Are you excited for the new MacBook Pros? The base model is sounding like a very compelling offer with 16GB of memory and Space Black. Let us know in the comments below.

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