# Apple’s M4 Chip Family: Core Count Enhancements and Design Advancements
Apple has officially introduced its M4 chip family, which will drive the upcoming range of Macs, including the newly announced M4 MacBook Pros. The M4 series brings several important enhancements across the M4, M4 Pro, and M4 Max chips, featuring significant core count boosts and architectural upgrades. Below is an overview of the new M4 series and its comparison with the earlier M2 and M3 chip families.
## Summary of the M4 Chip Family
The M4 series includes three primary chips: the M4, M4 Pro, and M4 Max. Every chip is offered in two variants: a slightly scaled-down base version and a more potent, fully equipped variant. The M4 and M4 Pro experience increases in core counts, while the M4 Max emphasizes architectural improvements, especially regarding memory bandwidth and GPU capabilities.
### M4 Chip: Core Count Enhancements
The M4 chip is the first in Apple’s Silicon series to boost the maximum core count for its entry-level processors. Earlier models, such as the M1, M2, and M3, all utilized a 4+4 distribution between performance and efficiency cores. In contrast, the M4 now features a 4+6 layout, incorporating six efficiency cores. Although efficiency cores are not intended for high-performance tasks, they enhance multithreaded performance in applications that can utilize additional cores.
#### M4 Chip Specifications:
| **M4 Version** | **CPU P/E-cores** | **GPU Cores** | **RAM Options** | **Memory Bandwidth** | **Display Support** |
|—————-|——————-|—————|—————–|———————-|———————|
| M4 (Low) | 4/4 | 8 | 16/24GB | 120GB/s | Up to 2 displays |
| M4 (High) | 4/6 | 10 | 16/24/32GB | 120GB/s | Up to 3 displays |
The M4 chip is integrated into several products, such as the $1,299 iMac, $599 Mac mini, and $1,599 MacBook Pro. The increase in efficiency cores is anticipated to enhance performance in multithreaded scenarios, though it may not materially benefit single-threaded applications.
### M4 Pro: A Return to Originality
The M4 Pro represents a substantial enhancement over the M3 Pro, which was perceived as more of a lateral move than a genuine advance. The M4 Pro reinstates higher core counts, featuring up to 10 performance cores and 4 efficiency cores, along with a considerable boost in memory bandwidth.
#### M4 Pro Chip Specifications:
| **M4 Pro Version** | **CPU P/E-cores** | **GPU Cores** | **RAM Options** | **Memory Bandwidth** | **Display Support** |
|——————–|——————-|—————|—————–|———————-|———————|
| M4 Pro (Low) | 8/4 | 16 | 24/48/64GB | 273GB/s | Up to 3 displays |
| M4 Pro (High) | 10/4 | 20 | 24/48/64GB | 273GB/s | Up to 3 displays |
The M4 Pro is available in devices like the $1,999 14-inch MacBook Pro, $2,499 16-inch MacBook Pro, and $1,399 Mac mini. The most significant enhancement is the boost in memory bandwidth, which escalates from 153.6GB/s in the M3 Pro to 273GB/s in the M4 Pro. This is expected to lead to improved performance for memory-heavy tasks, such as video editing and 3D rendering.
### M4 Max: Design Improvements
In contrast to the M4 and M4 Pro, the M4 Max does not feature a notable rise in core counts. Instead, Apple has concentrated on architectural enhancements, especially regarding memory bandwidth and GPU performance. The M4 Max comes in two versions, with the fully enabled variant providing up to 40 GPU cores and 546GB/s of memory bandwidth.
#### M4 Max Chip Specifications:
| **M4 Max Version** | **CPU P/E-cores** | **GPU Cores** | **RAM Options** | **Memory Bandwidth** | **Display Support** |
|——————–|——————-|—————|—————–|———————-|———————|
| M4 Max (Low) | 10/4 | 32 | 36GB | 410GB/s | Up to 5 displays |
| M4 Max (High) |
