On April 12th, according to renowned tipster Mark Gurman, Apple is ramping up the development of its M4 series chip, which will focus primarily on AI capabilities.
The leak suggests that Apple plans to unveil multiple Mac models featuring the M4 chip by the end of this year or early next year. These models include a brand-new iMac, a lower-end 14-inch MacBook Pro, high-end 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models, as well as the Mac mini.
Gurman stated that the M4 chip will come in three versions, ranging from entry-level to mid-to-high-end. The entry-level chip is codenamed Donan, the mid-range chip is codenamed Brava, and the high-end chip is codenamed Hidra.
Boosted by this news, Apple's stock price rose over 4% on Thursday, closing up 4.3%, marking the largest single-day gain since May 5, 2023—rising 4.69% that day to $175.04, with the market value increasing by $112 billion in a single day.
It is understood that the M4 chip will be built using the same 3nm process as the M3 chip, but TSMC is expected to use an upgraded version of the 3nm process, which will further improve performance and energy efficiency.
Additionally, the M4 chip will feature an upgraded neural network engine, with a significantly increased number of computing cores compared to the previous generation, enabling it to perform more complex AI computations.
It is reported that AI will become the next focus breakthrough for PCs, with other Windows manufacturers also actively developing AI PCs.
