The chip that was supposed to be the next generation of Apple silicon has suddenly become a footnote in Apple history.
The golden age of artificial intelligence has just begun, with AI tools now available that help people get more things done. But Apple’s presence in AI has been muted, to put it kindly. Apple needs to do something to make an impression and tell the world it’s keeping up with the times.
Apparently, Apple plans to use its upcoming AI-enhanced M4 chip to make that impression. While initial reports said that the M4 will appear in new Macs coming this fall, a new report by Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman says that the M4 could debut in a new iPad Pro at Tuesday’s “Let Loose” event. It appears that the fall season or WWDC24 in June (where Apple is expected to show off AI-enhanced updates to its various operating systems) can’t come soon enough for Apple.
Gurman states that the M4 is a “strong possibility” for the new iPad Pro. If it does happen, delivering the chip at this time would be a dramatic change from Apple’s typical chip cycle. The M3 arrived just a bit over six months ago with Apple unveiling not just the base M3 chip, but also the Pro and Max versions at the same time. That was a change in itself, but this would be a much bigger one.
If the M4 iPad Pro arrives that means the M3’s cycle in Apple’s Mac lineup is effectively done. While the M3 is overall an excellent chip, its legacy will be a disappointing one.M3: An incremental performance upgrade
The M3 chip was the first 3nm Mac chip–a process introduced with the A17 Pro in the iPhone 15 Pro. The 3nm process allows for increased transistor density that can translate into better performance power efficiency.
While the M3 clearly offers an improvement over the M2 that was produced with an enhanced 5nm process, we experience what is usually accepted as an incremental performance boost of 15 to 20 percent. While any boost is good, 15 to 20 percent isn’t eye-popping.
