Apple Inc. is in the process of refreshing its line of Mac computers with M4 processors in an effort to improve performance for artificial intelligence capabilities, according to a report published by Bloomberg‘s Mark Gurman today.

Just a year after the company introduced the next-generation M3 chip to improve the performance of its devices, we are now being told that Apple is upping the ante in order to keep up with the evolution of AI. In what’s turning out to be a battle of the chips, Microsoft Corp. also just announced new Qualcomm Snapdragon X Series chips that are also optimized for AI.

Gurman says the iMac, low-end 14-inch MacBook Pro, high-end 14-inch MacBook Pro, 16-inch MacBook Pro, and Mac mini machines will be the first to receive the M4 chips in 2024, followed by updates to the 13-inch and 15-inch MacBook Air models sometime in the middle of 2025. The Mac Studio and the Mac Pro will get the update a bit later that year if the reports are correct.

The news about the upgrade comes at what looks like a difficult time for Apple and its Mac range. PC sales have been down in general for some time now, but Apple’s Macs have had a particularly testing time. Sales plunged 40% from 2022 to 2023 and things have kept slipping since, so it looks like Apple is betting on this massive upgrade to change its fortunes regarding the Mac.

It’s reported that lower-end machines such as the Mac Mini will be fitted with an M4 chip codenamed Donan. For the midrange, the chip will go by the name of Brava, and for high-end devices such as the Mac Book Pro, the chip is the Hydra. It’s believed the Pro will be capable of supporting 500 gigabytes of RAM compared with the current 192 gigabytes. All three versions of the chip will have AI-processing capabilities above what the M3 is capable of.

It’s certain that consumers will know a lot more about the M4 chips and what they can do when Apple hosts the Worldwide Developer Conference in June.

Photo: Tayyab Ejaz/Unsplash