Apple's 'New Product Week' kicks off today; featuring MacBook’s equipped with the M4 chip and additional offerings. What should we anticipate?

 

Apple's 'New Product Week' kicks off today; featuring MacBook’s equipped with the M4 chip and additional offerings. What should we anticipate?

Following the introduction of the M4 chip in the iPad Pro in May, Apple’s marketing chief Greg “Joz” Joswiak announced a “week of announcements” on X (formerly Twitter), highlighting upcoming developments related to new Macs. Anticipated updates include macOS 15.1 Sequoia featuring Apple Intelligence, new Mac models equipped with the M4 chip, and refreshed accessories, scheduled between October 28 and November 1.

 

Insider sources suggest that new MacBook Pros and a completely redesigned Mac Mini are on the horizon, with the latter expected to be only slightly larger than an Apple TV. Additionally, the 24-inch iMac, which received an update to the M3 chip in October 2023, may also see enhancements next week.

 

New M4 chip variants for Macbook Pros

The upcoming Macs are expected to feature the M4 chip. Following the trend of previous years, Apple will provide various models within the M4 chip family, in addition to the standard version that delivers enhanced performance. The "Pro" and "Max" variants are anticipated to be included in the higher-end MacBook Pro models, among other devices.

 

Currently, there is no detailed information available regarding the M4 Pro and Max chips, apart from the fact that they are manufactured using TSMC's advanced 3nm process, the same technology employed for Apple's A18 and M4 chips. Besides enhancements in CPU and GPU performance, these chips may also experience improvements in the NPU, which handles various AI-related tasks for Apple.

For AI: Macs and Macbooks with more RAM

New Macs and MacBooks are expected to feature enhancements beyond just upgraded processors. The upcoming generation of Macs is anticipated to include a standard RAM increase, moving from the previous eight gigabytes to a minimum of 16 gigabytes. Additionally, Apple is exploring the possibility of 32GB models.

 

The MacBook models equipped with the M3 chip previously offered 24GB of RAM. There has been a longstanding demand for Apple to increase the RAM capacity in MacBooks, despite some executives defending the lower RAM specifications.

 

The potential for a RAM upgrade is driven by the introduction of macOS Sequoia, which incorporates Apple Intelligence features that necessitate additional memory. For comparison, even Google's Pixel 9 smartphones are equipped with at least 12GB of RAM to effectively manage various tasks.

 

For entry-level models such as the MacBook Air, eight gigabytes remains adequate for less intensive applications. Based on our observations, this amount of RAM is generally sufficient for most office-related tasks.

WiF-i 7: Faster WLAN, at least for professionals?

Apple has the opportunity to enhance its WLAN capabilities, particularly for its premium MacBook models, by incorporating the new Wi-Fi 7 standard. Currently, this technology is exclusively available on the iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max (in testing).

The iPad Pro equipped with the M4 chip, similar to the standard iPhone 16, utilizes the somewhat outdated Wi-Fi 6e standard. In contrast, Wi-Fi 7 offers download speeds reaching up to 46 Gbps, making it five times quicker than the 9 Gbps provided by Wi-Fi 6E. Additionally, Wi-Fi 7 functions on 320MHz channels and utilizes the 6GHz band, aiming to significantly minimize interference and alleviate signal congestion.

Accessories: Get rid of the legacy of lightning

There are likely to be modifications in the accessories for the Magic series, particularly as Apple must comply with EU regulations mandating the transition to USB-C by the end of 2024. This leaves the company with limited time to implement these changes. Consequently, it is highly probable that Apple will introduce the Magic Mouse, external keyboards, and Magic Trackpad with USB-C connectivity instead of Lightning.

 

It remains unclear whether Apple will undertake a redesign of accessories that have seen little change over the years. However, the company might be inclined to adopt a similar approach as it did with the AirPods Max, which were updated in September to include only a USB-C port and new color options.

 

For those anticipating an update to the MacBook Air, patience will be necessary. The Air models were last refreshed in March 2024, and the introduction of the new M4 processors is not expected until early 2025.