Apple Might Skip The 9-Core CPU Version Of The M4 For Its Base MacBook Pro And Offer An Upgraded 10-Core Version As Standard, With Double The RAM

The 14-inch and 16-inch M4 MacBook Pro models are expected to be announced later this year, along with a redesigned Mac mini and an iMac powered by the same chipset. Now, Apple typically equips its base portable Macs with chipsets with a lower CPU and GPU count, which makes sense. However, this year is going to be slightly different because even though there are two M4 variants available for the iPad Pro lineup, Apple will use the top-end version that sports a 10-core CPU.

The 10-core CPU version of the M4 MacBook Pro was previously doing the rounds, showing that it was also equipped with 16GB of unified RAM

The M4 equipped with a 10-core CPU will also feature a 10-core GPU, and thanks to the improved second-generation 3nm process, Apple has equipped its chipset with more performance cores than efficiency ones, which would explain why the 14-inch MacBook Pro that was taken for a Geekbench 6 spin by a Russian YouTuber obtained such incredible single-core and multi-core scores. As for the rest of the configuration, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman has highlighted in his latest ‘Power On’ newsletter that the minimum amount of unified RAM that these Macs will start with is 16GB.

“For at least the base-level MacBook Pro, it appears that Apple may skip that nine-core CPU configuration and only produce versions with the 10-core unit. For the first time, Apple is also likely to start shipping at least some low-end Macs with 16 gigabytes of memory at minimum. Apple Intelligence, coming on Monday, only requires 8 gigabytes, but it could use up to a few gigabytes at a time, which won’t leave much for other tasks.”

Earlier, we reported that Apple had accidentally leaked some M4 MacBook Pro configurations and noticed that the base versions featured 16GB unified RAM, along with 512GB storage, with the top-end models sporting 28GB unified RAM. We feel that Apple is finally taking the specifications of its expensive machines more seriously, as 8GB memory in 2024 is laughable, especially after seeing how much RAM a few programs can chew up. The 16GB configurations will also be advantageous for developers to utilize effectively in loading up high-resolution textures in AAA games, as the M4 is capable enough to run demanding titles.

Another improvement for productivity enthusiasts that was showcased by another Russian YouTuber was that the M4 MacBook Pro can be used with two external monitors while its lid is opened, which is something that was sorely missing from the M3 version. It is possible that the new SoC features twice the number of Thunderbolt controllers as the M3, making this possible. As for the other changes and features, we shall have more updates ready for you in the coming hours, so stay tuned.