Apple Mac Studio with M4 Ultra SoC Reportedly Delayed, MacBook Air Remains on Schedule

[GGforever]

Apple's M4-equipped MacBook Pro, Mac mini, and 24" iMac lineups are set to debut next week. The M4 family of desktop-class SoCs, which will soon be joined by the M4 Pro and M4 Max, is likely to bring substantial performance improvements to the aforementioned Mac models. If the recently leaked benchmarks are anything to go by, the M4-powered lineup appears poised to outperform Intel's "Lunar Lake" rather comfortably, while bringing the heat to AMD's "Strix Halo" as well as Intel's upcoming "Arrow Lake-H"-powered notebooks.

For those interested in the thin-and-light segment, the MacBook Air has always presented itself as a very decent option. According to recent reports by Mark Gurman, the M4-equipped MacBook Air is scheduled for launch sometime during January to March of 2025, with mass production set to start soon. The Mac Studio, which was supposedly slated to launch alongside the MacBook Air, is now delayed by a few months and will possibly see the light of day during the second quarter of 2025.




Although the passively cooled MacBook Air with the M4 SoC will not be as performant under sustained loads as its actively cooled "Pro" sibling, it should, however, feature a significant performance improvement compared to Intel's Core Ultra 9 288V-powered systems. The Mac Studio, on the other hand, will be powered by the M4 Max and M4 Ultra SoCs, both of which are expected to be strong performers with impressive generational improvements, considering the standard M4's Cinebench performance.

Interestingly, an M4-flavoured Mac Pro is also said to be in development, with a rumored launch date during the middle of 2025, right around the time for WWDC. This is quite plausible, considering that Apple generally prefers to unveil "Pro" Macs during its annual WWDC event. The M2 Ultra-powered Mac Pro was widely criticized for not being powerful enough, which may not be the case this time around. Rumor has it that Apple is hard at work to make the Mac Pro more powerful, thanks to a top-tier M4 SoC codenamed "Hidra" that may be marketed as the M4 Ultra, or perhaps even the M4 Extreme with even more CPU and GPU cores.

View at TechPowerUp Main Site | Source

 

[bonehead123]

Well, performance improvements are one thing, but price is another, and is usually always an issue with the fruity machines...

However, should they manage to somehow keep the prices in check, or god forbid lower them, even a little, then they will probably sell a buttload of the new models, above & beyond what they normally would anyways

 

[sepheronx]

I am waiting on Mac Mini's with the M1 to end up at recylcing plants so I can pick one up and learn more of them. There is also a Linux Distro built and utilized around the ARM processors from Apple so I am quite excited to try those too.

 

[cvaldes]

I am waiting on Mac Mini's with the M1 to end up at recylcing plants so I can pick one up and learn more of them. There is also a Linux Distro built and utilized around the ARM processors from Apple so I am quite excited to try those too.

Since the M1 is still supported by Sequoia and will have Apple Intelligence's initial set of features, it will probably be a couple more years before you find M1 Macs at the junkyard/recycling center.

The Intel-powered Mac mini 2018 is the last model supported by Sequoia so I expect whatever macOS that follows will be the last one that supports M1-powered Macs. So you're still looking at a few more years before you will find them in quantity at your local recycler. You might be better offer just buying a used one if you are really curious.

But your patience will reward you. Eventually...

 

[sepheronx]

Since the M1 is still supported by Sequoia and will have Apple Intelligence's initial set of features, it will probably be a couple more years before you find M1 Macs at the junkyard/recycling center.

But your patience will reward you. Eventually.

I got the patience of a god. Some say I am rather very divine

 

[Neo_Morpheus]

There is also a Linux Distro built and utilized around the ARM processors from Apple so I am quite excited to try those too.

Its called Asahi Linux and its being developed without any help from crApple.

Not bad, but not great either.

I know that you want a free M1 Mac Mini, but this is not a bad place to start:

https://swappa.com/listing/view/LYJW26204

or this:

Apple Mac mini (256GB SSD, M1, 8GB) Silver - MGNR3LL/A (November, 2020) for sale online | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Apple Mac mini (256GB SSD, M1, 8GB) Silver - MGNR3LL/A (November, 2020) at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!

www.ebay.com

 

[kondamin]

Its called Asahi Linux and its being developed without any help from crApple.

Not bad, but not great either.

I know that you want a free M1 Mac Mini, but this is not a bad place to start:

https://swappa.com/listing/view/LYJW26204

or this:

Apple Mac mini (256GB SSD, M1, 8GB) Silver - MGNR3LL/A (November, 2020) for sale online | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Apple Mac mini (256GB SSD, M1, 8GB) Silver - MGNR3LL/A (November, 2020) at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!

www.ebay.com

All of them with 8GB, by the people that no longer include a charger "for the environment" but have no problem selling computers with to little memory

 

[SOAREVERSOR]

All of them with 8GB, by the people that no longer include a charger "for the environment" but have no problem selling computers with to little memory

While I wouldn't buy with less than 16 Mac OS has vastly better memory management than Windows. Windows is horrible at it. The move to their on SOC and ditching x86 has helped as well.

Generally though people who buy more well equipped Macs keep them for a long time as well. They last longer than Windows devices. So those aren't going to show up that often.

 

[GoldenX]

As long as they stop selling 8GB of RAM e-waste, we're good.

Having the best CPU in production is pointless if opening 5 tabs kills performance.

 

[cvaldes]

All of them with 8GB, by the people that no longer include a charger "for the environment" but have no problem selling computers with to little memory

The Mac mini does not have a "charger" [sic]. It doesn't have an AC adaptor ("wall wart") either. The PSU is built-in. It ships with a different power cord (a.k.a. "destination kit") depending on the market.

And a Mac mini is not an iPhone.

But keep spouting nonsense. A time honored Internet tradition.

As long as they stop selling 8GB of RAM e-waste, we're good.

Having the best CPU in production is pointless if opening 5 tabs kills performance.

Not everyone browses the Internet with 5-10 tabs. There are more usage cases than your own.

Just to let you know...

 

[GoldenX]

Not everyone browses the Internet with 5-10 tabs. There are more usage cases than your own.

Just to let you know...

That would be a solid argument... In 2014, and if the device started at 600 bucks.
We're in 2024 now.

 

[kondamin]

The Mac mini does not have a "charger" [sic]. It doesn't have an AC adaptor ("wall wart") either. The PSU is built-in. It ships with a different power cord (a.k.a. "destination kit") depending on the market.

And a Mac mini is not an iPhone.

But keep spouting nonsense. A time honored Internet tradition.






Not everyone browses the Internet with 5-10 tabs. There are more usage cases than your own.

Just to let you know...

riiiight Because the phone isnt that companies main product and others didn’t follow them in that consumer unfriendly penny Pinching practice.


the very limited memory sets a hard limit on it’s usefulness and Is a form of forced obsolesence.
nevermind the joke that is soldered storage which destroys it self by constant swapping.

 

[Scrizz]

Not everyone browses the Internet with 5-10 tabs. ...

Just to let you know...

You're right. I run many more tabs.

 

[SOAREVERSOR]

riiiight Because the phone isnt that companies main product and others didn’t follow them in that consumer unfriendly penny Pinching practice.


the very limited memory sets a hard limit on it’s usefulness and Is a form of forced obsolesence.
nevermind the joke that is soldered storage which destroys it self by constant swapping.

This isn't isolated to apple in either case though. Many devices now go with everything being soldered onto it. And again, a Mac will do MUCH better with 8 or 16gb of memory vs Windows because MacOS crushes Windows and laughs at it when it comes to memory management and combine that with Apples SOC being much more memory efficient than x86 and this is not an apples to apples comparison or even an apples to oranges. Would I buy one with 8, well no. My MBP has 64gb. However in many cases 8gb is just fine on Mac where it's stupid on Windows. Most people on Mac also use Safari which is not the RAM eater Chrome is complicating things further.

As for storage it's quasi the same thing. MacOS itself and Apples own Office/editing/productivity programs that are built into it are not the memory and storage hogs that Microsoft Office or Adobe are.

You have to sort of look at who is buying what apple devices. The air and the mini are their low end. They command a premium because the OS, default apps, build quality, and support are just flat out better than what you're going to getr with a Windows device and that does matter. Hence in the US the mall for the upper middle class or rich people has an apple store and there are no stores in it that sell Windows devices. But if you go to say the mall with the Best Buy they are going to have Windows devices they sell with 8/128 and procs lower than an i3 and that's what makes up the majority of sales. Sure for half as much, but those are not usable.

Then we get into what people are using these for. A lot of stuff is now app or cloud based. The processing is not being done on your local machine. The people who are going to be doing heavy lifting on their machine are going to go with the pro or studio lines and kit them out. As expensive as those can get they aren't that out of line when compared to workstations that pack Xeons and Quadros and all the other stuff that workstation class Windows laptops use. But the catch is those Windows laptops aren't sold at the mall. And most people who have 3-5 thousand bucks or more at a laptop that work is not providing them are going to skip right past Windows and buy a Mac in the first place.

Apple is expensive but they aren't ripping you off for what you get. And for most people Apple Care+ combined with the genius bar is a vastly better support system and experience than having to deal with an RMA from the makers of Windows laptops. That's factored into many peoples purchases. The store also holds free classes on how to use their devices and people seem to love that.

This also helps Macs contain their resale value much longer than a Windows laptop does.