Apple's New M4 Chip: Setting the Bar Higher for iPads

Apple just rolled out the M4 chip, and it's causing quite a stir. Set to power the next batch of iPad Pros, this chip is more than just a spec bump; it's a clear sign that Apple is seriously upping its game in AI technology.

The M4 is the latest in the line of Apple Silicon, building on the M3's capabilities but with some serious enhancements. What stands out most about the M4 is its Neural Engine. Apple is hyping this up as the top AI processor out there, beating anything you'd find in today's AI PCs. And from what we're hearing, it sounds like they might be right.

In terms of specs, Apple's new chip offers more than just incremental updates. It’s got 10 CPU cores now, up from 8 in the M3. Interestingly, Apple’s focusing more on efficiency this time around. They've kept the GPU the same, but they've bumped up the memory bandwidth to 120GB/s. The RAM is another story, though. It’s maxing out at 16 GB, which is actually less than what you can get on an M3 MacBook Pro. It seems like a strange choice, but maybe Apple has their reasons.

Performance-wise, Apple's making some bold claims. They're saying that with the M4, graphics rendering in certain apps, like Octane X 2024.1, is up to four times faster than older models with the M2 chip. That’s not a small improvement. And general processing in apps like Affinity Photo is reportedly 1.5 times faster. But Apple's been a bit vague on how all this power translates to everyday tasks, especially the AI stuff. They've teased capabilities like being able to effortlessly pull a subject out of a 4K video background in Final Cut Pro, but they're light on the details.

As for getting your hands on one of these new iPad Pros, they're available for pre-order now and will be on store shelves by May 15, 2024. Prices are starting at $999 for the 11-inch model with 256GB of storage and going up to $1,299 for the 13-inch model.