When will Apple upgrade all of its Macs to M4?
Apple's entire Mac lineup is expected to be updated to the M4 chip -- but not all at once. Here's when to expect the next upgrade to Apple's desktop and laptop hardware.
A selection of Macs
The Mac range is one that is diverse enough to see updates many times in a year. With the introduction of Apple Silicon, those updates became a lot more regular as newer chip generations came out.
With the iPad Pro now using M4 and most of the Macs running on the M3 chip, it's now expected that Mac updates are on the way.
As to what gets updated when, that's another matter entirely.
There have been rumors about potential product launches on the horizon, bringing the Macs in line with the iPad Pro's M4. However, when those upgrades arrive are a different matter entirely.
Based on rumors and previous upgrades, as well as Apple's preference for product launch timings, here's when you can expect the next Mac upgrades.
Probable launch timings
Apple has a fairly static timeline when it hold launch events, barring global catastrophe. Following the hardware no-show at WWDC, the next opportunity will be in the fall.
The iPhone launch event in September tends to be very full up of products, and occasionally Apple bumps its Mac update to a later event. This is typically held in October, and rarely in November.
After that event, we will probably have to wait until March for the next potential Apple presentation of new products. Apple has launched hardware in January before, but it tends to prefer March for its spring events.
However, there's no guarantee that Apple will actually wait for an event to update its Mac hardware. Many times in the past, it has issued press releases for Mac updates, but typically for internal spec bumps rather than major overhauls.
In effect, all timing bets are off if all Apple does is update the chip.
Mac mini: October at the earliest
One of the best prospects for an early upgrade is the Mac mini. The model was among the first to be updated for the M1 and M2 chips, and it continues to be a good candidate this time around.
There were expectations for some form of Mac mini update at the 2024 WWDC. That obviously didn't pan out.
Early renders of a Mac mini overhaul, around the time of the M2 model's release
The last time Apple updated the Mac mini was January 2023, making it over a year and a half since it was upgraded. Rumors have pointed to a Mac mini update between late 2024 and early 2025, putting it firmly in the window of the next batch of updates.
Current rumors for the M4 Mac mini include a long-awaited change in form factor, making it smaller. This seems like an update that would benefit from a presentation rather than a press release, making an October launch more probable.
It is also probable that the M4 Mac mini will be joined by an M4 Pro edition. That could ship at around the same timeframe.
iMac: October at the earliest
Much like the Mac mini, the iMac is among those expected to get an update in late 2024 or early 2025.
However, unlike the Mac mini, we don't have as many previous updates to consider when it comes to upgrade cycles. There was a year and a half wait for an update between the M1 and M3 editions, skipping M2 entirely.
Apple's 24-inch iMac
There's also the problem of the M3 update happening in November 2023. If an update occurs in late 2024, this could end up being just under a year between cycles if it's included in an October event.
Apple has performed Mac chip updates at a cadence shorter than one year in the past, so it's not entirely out of the question at this stage.
Apple may not necessarily limit its iMac changes to being a chip upgrade. Rumors have persisted about an iMac with a larger screen, possibly around 32 inches in size compared to the existing 24-inch version.
MacBook Pro: October at the earliest
The popular portable 14-inch MacBook Pro and 16-inch MacBook Pro are also strong candidates for an October launch. Rumors have clung onto the idea of a late 2024 update for a while for the models.
MacBook Pro
This is also somewhat borne out by the update cycle, as Apple introduced M3-based models in October 2023. A launch at the same time of year is entirely possible given Apple's history, as well as the importance of the MacBook Pro lineup in the overall catalog.
An October launch would also match up with Apple's previous months-long gap between the base M-series chip and the Pro and Max releases in the M1 and M2 generations. The October 2023 update saw all three chip tiers introduced at the same time, and in the MacBook Air lineup.
You could also consider this as a return to that months-gap way of thinking, if you view the iPad Pro update as the M4's formal introduction.
MacBook Air: Spring 2025
The MacBook Pro is on the horizon, but the MacBook Air update could be further away.
Multiple rumors have said that New MacBook Air models are expected to arrive in the spring of 2025. One early August claim from a reliable leaker even changed the timescale to "sometime in 2025."
Since Apple last updated the 13-inch MacBook Air and 15-inch MacBook Air to M3 in March 2024, a spring launch seems most probable for the lineup. Even if it is just a chip-only update.
Mac Studio and Mac Pro: Mid to late 2025
The Mac Studio, effectively a replacement for the Mac Pro for most potential users, hasn't had a great upgrade timeline.
After being introduced in March 2022 with the M1, it was updated to M2 in June 2023, a year and a quarter later. Since then, it's not been updated to M3, and now we have the M4 chip generation to be concerned about.
Mac Studio
An M3 launch is therefore unlikely now, given that M4 exists. However, even though an October update would be about a year and four months after the last update, it's thought that a longer wait could be in store for the models.
Rumors have proposed launches of an updated Mac Studio with estimates between sometime in 2025 to a firmer late-2025 timeline.
As for the Mac Pro, its last update was in June 2023, dragging it kicking and screaming to the age of Apple Silicon.
Apple Silicon Mac Pro
This was at the same time as the Mac Studio, and it's easy to believe that it will follow a similar timeline. Indeed, rumors have said to expect a 2025 update to the Mac Pro.
It's reasonable to believe that Apple could bring out a new Mac Pro alongside the Mac Studio. But since the Apple Silicon Mac Pro wasn't entirely well received, Apple could afford to wait longer before updating it.
Read on AppleInsider
Comments
M4 Ultra will come in March. Every Mac will have M4 by then, except MacBook Air, which will skip M4 and go straight to M5 in May or June.
At this point, the only unknown is whether they will skip the Ultra in future generations, like they did with M3, because we don’t know why they did that.
Hoping for new displays in March as well, but not expecting them.
The lead product has varied, with the M2 MacBook Air in 2022; the M3 iMac in 2023: and M4 iPad Pro in 2024. As I said above, I think MacBook Air will lead again, with M5 in 2025.
I think the lack of an Ultra for M3 was due to factors not in Apple’s control. So I think the Mini-Studio-Pro desktop continuum will also benefit from the regular cadence they’ve established.
EDIT to add: My main criticism would be that I think they should launch the Max Mac Studio at the same time as the Max MacBook Pros, and not wait for the Ultra, which takes longer to develop and doesn’t have the same priority as the higher-volume silicon.
Update for clarification:
What I meant by that, is that Apple is going to want to push the whole “AI” thing further with the release of M4 Macs, which, I can only assume, will have vastly superior “AI” capabilities, especially with the Max and Ultra variants. As it is now, the base M4 has a more performant NPU (38TFLOPS) compared to the M2 Ultra (32TFLOPS)