New Macs based M4 chip will get up to 512 GB of integrated memory, M4 is expected to be released in late 2024

According to Mark Gurman from Bloomberg, Apple will begin updating its Mac lineup with M4 processors by the end of 2024. The M4 chip will be focused on enhancing performance and artificial intelligence capabilities.

Last year, Apple introduced the M3, M3 Pro, and M3 Max chips in October, so it's quite possible that the M4 lineup will appear around the same time. Gurman suggests that the entire Mac lineup should receive the M4 by late 2024 or early 2025.

Initially, iMac, 14-inch budget MacBook Pro, 14-inch high-end MacBook Pro, 16-inch MacBook Pro, and Mac mini will be updated with M4 chips, followed by the 13-inch and 15-inch MacBooks. Air models are expected in spring 2025, Mac Studio in mid-2025, and Mac Pro later in 2025.

Apple is gearing up for the production of the M4 chip, which is expected to be introduced in at least three main variants. The chips are codenamed Donan for entry-level versions, Brava and Hidra for the higher-end ones. The Donan chip will be used in MacBook Pro, MacBook Air, and lower-tier Mac mini models, while Brava chips will be used in higher-tier MacBook Pro and Mac mini models.

The Hidra chip is designed for the Mac Pro, suggesting it belongs to the Ultra or Extreme level. As for the Mac Studio, Apple is currently testing versions with an M3 chip and a variant of the M4 Brava processor, which is expected to be of a higher level than the M4 Pro and M4 Max Brava chips.

Furthermore, the M4 versions of Mac desktops will support up to 512GB of unified memory, significantly exceeding the current limit of 192GB.

The M4 chips will be built on the same 3nm process as the M3 chips, but Apple's supplier TSMC is likely to use an enhanced version of this process to improve performance and energy efficiency. Additionally, Apple plans to introduce a significantly improved Neural Engine with an increased number of cores for handling artificial intelligence tasks.