Russian YouTubers keep showing off alleged M4 MacBook Pros in historic Apple leak

AppleInsiderAppleInsider
Posted:
in Future Apple Hardware edited October 7

Apple's M4 MacBook Pro seems to have made its way to Russian YouTubers after showing up on a private Facebook group in what might be the biggest pre-announcement leak of a retail-packaged Apple product.

A sleek laptop with a vibrant screen displaying colorful backgrounds and icons, placed on a gray couch.
M3 MacBook Pro



Leaks and rumors around Apple products may seem commonplace, but there's never been anything quite like what's apparently happening on Russian YouTube. Just hours after YouTuber Wylsacom posted an unboxing of an alleged M4 MacBook Pro, another has done the same.

A YouTube Short shared by user Romancev768 shows an identical M4 MacBook Pro in space black with 512GB of storage and 16GB of RAM being unboxed. What ties this device to the ones leaked at the end of September are the identical boxes and model numbers.

There are some discrepancies between these boxes and Apple's current retail boxes, like the format is completely different on the spec stickers. The wallpaper is the same on the alleged M4 MacBook Pro boxes as the M3 series, which plays into the potential that these are fake.

Apple has never broken out its chipset into the spec bubbles for the 512GB and 16GB -- here it shows "M4 chip." Apple usually puts the chip in the device name below these bubbles, as in "14-inch MacBook Pro with Apple M4 Pro chip."

The new sticker has a completely different layout, but shows all of the usual regulatory information. These stickers are very easy to fake and print out, and it's the only truly new and unique aspect that can be identified in any of the videos or leaks so far.

The alleged M4 MacBook Pro inside has three Thunderbolt ports, is colored space black, and has 16GB of RAM. A portion of the YouTube Short shows 16GB of RAM and M4 in an easily faked system info box.

Otherwise, the MacBook Pro shown could easily be the existing space black M3 Pro MacBook Pro, which has 18GB of RAM, not 16GB. The bump up to three Thunderbolt 4 ports from two Thunderbolt/USB-4 ports is a surprise, but not impossible.

It is also worth noting the model number and layout suggest these allegedly leaked models were destined for the US market. Apple doesn't currently do business with Russia, so no new MacBook Pro models would be making their way to the country.

There is only one way to know if these leaks are accurate, and that is once Apple reveals the new MacBook Pro models with M4 later in October. If these products are real, they will represent the biggest leak of an Apple product in history, even after the iPhone 4 in a bar, since the packaging was leaked as well.

Rumor Score: Possible

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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 18
    rjharlanrjharlan Posts: 2member
    I can’t help but believe that this is a complete fake. There’s no way that two Russian influencers got their hands on two Macs that haven’t even been introduced to the market! Even the associates haven’t even been introduced to them yet. I think it’s much more likely that they’re searching for eyes on their channels. 
    magman1979seanjwatto_cobra
  • Reply 2 of 18
    seanjseanj Posts: 322member
    This is from a country whose largest export to the world is disinformation… obviously fake.
    blastdoormagman1979mike1JFC_PA9secondkox2watto_cobra
  • Reply 3 of 18
    hammeroftruthhammeroftruth Posts: 1,351member
    rjharlan said:
    I can’t help but believe that this is a complete fake. There’s no way that two Russian influencers got their hands on two Macs that haven’t even been introduced to the market! Even the associates haven’t even been introduced to them yet. I think it’s much more likely that they’re searching for eyes on their channels. 
    Especially if you look closely at the label. The fonts for the model number dont match up with the rest of the label and there is some strange smudging at the bottom of the label on romance’s YouTube short. Apple labels don’t smudge and if you think it could be wear marks from the shipping, then why are they only there and they don’t match the marker color either. 
    gregoriusmwatto_cobra
  • Reply 4 of 18
    musomuso Posts: 33member
    (cough) BULLSH!T (cough, cough) BULLSH!T!

    Sorry, but no, MBPs that haven't even been introduced yet don't come with convenient retail packaging.   Some people will believe anything they see on teh webz.
    \

    magman1979gregoriusmseanjwatto_cobra
  • Reply 5 of 18
    blastdoorblastdoor Posts: 3,558member
    seanj said:
    This is from a country whose largest export to the world is disinformation… obviously fake.
    Disinformation, hydrocarbons, and death.

    Reagan was right about there being an evil empire. But the evil wasn’t due to the communism, it was due to the sadistic authoritarianism inherited from the czars. 
    muthuk_vanalingammagman1979watto_cobra
  • Reply 6 of 18
    diman80diman80 Posts: 38member
    blastdoor said:
    seanj said:
    This is from a country whose largest export to the world is disinformation… obviously fake.
    Disinformation, hydrocarbons, and death.

    Reagan was right about there being an evil empire. But the evil wasn’t due to the communism, it was due to the sadistic authoritarianism inherited from the czars. 
    The story on YT is most likely fake.
    But you guys better seek help from psychiatrist if you react to anything with a word Russia or Russian like that.
    ForumPostwatto_cobra
  • Reply 7 of 18
    NYC362NYC362 Posts: 100member
    If these videos are true, that means someone in a production facility is stealing them and sending them out to Russia.  Considering the size of the box and the security in those places, that's hard pill to swallow.   The other possibility is that they are being shipped to various warehouses and being stolen in transit.  

    Now, if these are supposed to be available in store on November 1, that means the demo units might be delivered around the 25th or 28th of this month.  The ones for retail sale, probably not until the 29th (at the earliest) or 30th.   All of that means, warehouses would need these units in stock around 24th or so.  Using that date, it puts my second notion down for the count.  I don't think these have shipped yet. 

    Overall, I believe these videos are fake. That they come from Russia make me believe that even more as the entire government there is hell bent on creating s*it to disrupt the whole world at this point- from political upheaval to economic distrust, etc.  

    I do hope that whenever Apple does have its event this month, that these videos are proven to be fake. 
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 8 of 18
    seanjseanj Posts: 322member
    diman80 said:
    blastdoor said:
    seanj said:
    This is from a country whose largest export to the world is disinformation… obviously fake.
    Disinformation, hydrocarbons, and death.

    Reagan was right about there being an evil empire. But the evil wasn’t due to the communism, it was due to the sadistic authoritarianism inherited from the czars. 
    The story on YT is most likely fake.
    But you guys better seek help from psychiatrist if you react to anything with a word Russia or Russian like that.
    No I don’t need to see a psychiatrist, nor do any of my Russian friends who agree with me on this. Maybe you should stop watching RT…
    magman1979mike1beowulfschmidtwatto_cobra
  • Reply 9 of 18
    sphericspheric Posts: 2,674member
    Is there reason to assume this person is actually in Russia? 
    diman80ForumPost9secondkox2watto_cobra
  • Reply 10 of 18
    magman1979magman1979 Posts: 1,301member
    This is from Russia, need more be said?

    And western media / worshipers, er I mean viewers, being gullible and stupid as is now the norm, what a surprise!
    seanjwatto_cobra
  • Reply 11 of 18
    magman1979magman1979 Posts: 1,301member

    diman80 said:
    blastdoor said:
    seanj said:
    This is from a country whose largest export to the world is disinformation… obviously fake.
    Disinformation, hydrocarbons, and death.

    Reagan was right about there being an evil empire. But the evil wasn’t due to the communism, it was due to the sadistic authoritarianism inherited from the czars. 
    The story on YT is most likely fake.
    But you guys better seek help from psychiatrist if you react to anything with a word Russia or Russian like that.
    And you need to get a clue and GTFO
    seanjwatto_cobra
  • Reply 12 of 18
    mikethemartianmikethemartian Posts: 1,486member
    diman80 said:
    blastdoor said:
    seanj said:
    This is from a country whose largest export to the world is disinformation… obviously fake.
    Disinformation, hydrocarbons, and death.

    Reagan was right about there being an evil empire. But the evil wasn’t due to the communism, it was due to the sadistic authoritarianism inherited from the czars. 
    The story on YT is most likely fake.
    But you guys better seek help from psychiatrist if you react to anything with a word Russia or Russian like that.
    Are you with the Ministry of Truth?
    mike19secondkox2seanjwatto_cobra
  • Reply 13 of 18
    MarvinMarvin Posts: 15,474moderator
    rjharlan said:
    I can’t help but believe that this is a complete fake. There’s no way that two Russian influencers got their hands on two Macs that haven’t even been introduced to the market! Even the associates haven’t even been introduced to them yet. I think it’s much more likely that they’re searching for eyes on their channels. 
    There's a report that hundreds were being sold privately from a warehouse:

    https://www.tomshardware.com/laptops/apple-macbook-pro-m4-leakage-gets-serious-with-200-units-reportedly-up-for-sale-on-social-media

    Apple sometimes stocks products in store before launch so that they are available for order the same day as the announcement.

    If it's real, it's not like this would be a huge leak for them, it's a minor refresh. The M4 chip is already available in the iPad and most of the rest of the Mac is unchanged vs M3 other than the extra TB port on the 14" model, like the 16" model.

    If it was the Pro/Max models then it would be more interesting.

    This may also suggest an event soon, I doubt they'd ship boxes 3 weeks in advance but this could vary by country. Last year, they announced the event for the 30th October on the 24th. They usually do events on Monday/Tuesday so that leaves 14th, 15th, 21st, 22nd, 28th, 29th October. Earliest announcement would be today or tomorrow, latest would be 23rd, within 2 weeks.
    9secondkox2watto_cobra
  • Reply 14 of 18
    diman80diman80 Posts: 38member
    seanj said:
    diman80 said:
    blastdoor said:
    seanj said:
    This is from a country whose largest export to the world is disinformation… obviously fake.
    Disinformation, hydrocarbons, and death.

    Reagan was right about there being an evil empire. But the evil wasn’t due to the communism, it was due to the sadistic authoritarianism inherited from the czars. 
    The story on YT is most likely fake.
    But you guys better seek help from psychiatrist if you react to anything with a word Russia or Russian like that.
    No I don’t need to see a psychiatrist, nor do any of my Russian friends who agree with me on this. Maybe you should stop watching RT…
    I did not write anything about the state. This article is about tech and bloggers from Russia, yet you bring your hatred toward the state into the comments. It’s not fair to judge all people based on your feelings about the government. 
    And for the record, I’ve never watched RT or had any Russian channels by any means. Well-brought-up people keep the focus on the topic and not let themselves badmouth others.
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 15 of 18
    libertyandfreelibertyandfree Posts: 186member
      Wow a lot of hate and venom being thrown about.  We all have no idea if this is real or fake.  It could be real and what’s so hard to believe that some Russians got a hold of pre released hardware?. Russia has a lot of close ties to China, where they are manufactured, and if they were stolen then they could show up anywhere in the world.  Moreover, just because a foreign country has policies you do not agree with doesn’t make everything coming out of them fake or disinformation.   Heck the good old USA has done plenty of disinformation over the years but I still believe in them most of the time.  
    muthuk_vanalingamwatto_cobra
  • Reply 16 of 18
    9secondkox29secondkox2 Posts: 3,099member
    I believe the box and spec sticker are totally fake. I’ve posted before how the placement of the sticker, verbiage, spec representation, and other issues are off. 

    however, I’m leaning toward the actual laptop as being real. 

    Doubtful they got a retail unit. That would be a whole different ballgame. But possibly a unit meant to be destroyed due to something amiss in manufacturing. Instead a Foxconn connection misdirected this example. 

    Could be an early test unit too. 

    Then again, apple themselves could be behind this weird leak mixed with fake stuff. Just like they pay Gurman to leak stuff. 
    edited October 9 watto_cobra
  • Reply 17 of 18
    seanjseanj Posts: 322member
    diman80 said:
    seanj said:
    diman80 said:
    blastdoor said:
    seanj said:
    This is from a country whose largest export to the world is disinformation… obviously fake.
    Disinformation, hydrocarbons, and death.

    Reagan was right about there being an evil empire. But the evil wasn’t due to the communism, it was due to the sadistic authoritarianism inherited from the czars. 
    The story on YT is most likely fake.
    But you guys better seek help from psychiatrist if you react to anything with a word Russia or Russian like that.
    No I don’t need to see a psychiatrist, nor do any of my Russian friends who agree with me on this. Maybe you should stop watching RT…
    I did not write anything about the state. This article is about tech and bloggers from Russia, yet you bring your hatred toward the state into the comments. It’s not fair to judge all people based on your feelings about the government. 
    And for the record, I’ve never watched RT or had any Russian channels by any means. Well-brought-up people keep the focus on the topic and not let themselves badmouth others.
    No you made huge assumptions that myself and others were xenophobic towards Russians, simply for pointing out the issues in Russia that extend far beyond the state. Ask any Russian who has escaped to the West and they will tell you how Putin has twisted and distorted Russian culture to pursue his political aims. As a result he has produced a society where corruption, crime, dishonesty and racism are rampant. Hardly surprising given that Putin is a kleptocrat who has had link with Russian organised crime since his early days in St Petersburg after his mediocre KGB career.
    But this did not all begin with Putin, Russia’s dysfunctional society can be back through Stalinism and Communism and even back to the days of the Tsar. Putin has simply amplified the worst of Russian society while destroying the best of its culture. 
    Which is why if you visit any Russian city today you’ll find ordinary people, and if you go online you’ll find Russian bloggers, all backing Putin in his genocidal war aims.
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 18 of 18
    kikirikikikiriki Posts: 1member
    seanj said:
    This is from a country whose largest export to the world is disinformation… obviously fake.
    I’m curious what were you thoughts after realizing it was not fake lol
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