Fans of Apple might be in for an exciting surprise as the tech giant appears to be gearing up for the release of the highly anticipated M4 MacBook Pro lineup. Reports had previously suggested that Apple would begin mass production of these models in the fourth quarter of this year, with the mini-LED panels for the 14-inch and 16-inch models expected to be delivered in July or August.
This timeline is further supported by what seems to be an alleged retail box of the smaller M4 MacBook Pro, hinting that an official announcement could be just around the corner. The retail box is rumored to belong to a higher-tier version of the M4 MacBook Pro, featuring 16GB of unified RAM and 512GB of solid-state storage.
The image of the retail box was shared by a leaker, ShrimpApplePro, who advises caution but adds credibility to the leak. According to the image, the M4 MacBook Pro will boast the powerful M4 SoC, paired with 16GB of unified RAM and 512GB of NVMe storage. A closer Zoom into the image reveals some of the specifications, although not all the text is clearly legible.
What we do know is that the M4 chipset in the new MacBook Pro will feature a 10-core CPU, similar to that of the top-end OLED iPad Pro. This suggests that while the new MacBook Pro will benefit from the updated Apple Silicon, its overall hardware design will likely remain consistent with the current M3 models.
Interestingly, the base model of the M3 MacBook Pro comes with just 8GB of unified RAM and 512GB of storage. This has led to speculation that the retail box in the leaked image belongs to a more premium configuration of the M4 MacBook Pro. Apple has been known to offer lower memory options even on its high-end devices, but there’s hope that these specs might be standard for the base model.
In addition to the M4, rumors have been swirling about the upcoming M4 Pro and M4 Max variants, which promise even more impressive performance. Previous Geekbench 6 tests have shown that the M4 easily outperforms the M3 Pro and the Snapdragon X Elite. The new Apple Silicon leverages the ARMv9 architecture, featuring Scalable Matrix Extension (SME) for more efficient handling of complex workloads. This upgrade is set to significantly boost gaming and multi-threaded performance compared to previous versions.
All eyes are now on Apple for the official announcement. However, if you’re eager and can’t wait, now might be a good time to snag a deal on the current-generation M3 MacBook Pro, starting at $1,299. Whether you wait or dive in now, Apple’s next wave of laptops promises to be worth the excitement.
