Following popular corporate events that litter the calendar like Lobsterfest and Shark Week, Apple tried something new this year with an unofficially known holiday. Mac Week. (Luckily for Apple, this coincides with Thursday’s earnings call!) The company’s three-day product launch for its desktop hardware. M4 chipbuilt for Apple Intelligence. We’re reminiscing about everything Apple spit out this week, including other goodies like the new iMac, Mac mini, MacBook Pro, and the official arrival of Apple Intelligence to iOS, iPadOS, and macOS.
iMac (M4)
The iMac running M4 it has the same design (apart from some new colors) but packs more horsepower inside. Apple says the all-in-one desktop is 1.7x faster for everyday productivity and 2.1x faster for more demanding tasks like gaming or photo editing. Like all the new Macs announced this week, it loses the measly 8GB of RAM previously seen on the cheapest Macs and goes up to 16GB as a base. (Woo!)
The new iMac still features a 24-inch 4.5K Retina display encased in an aluminum unibody design. However, it adds a new nano-textured glass screen option for reduced glare and a 12MP Center Stage camera that supports Apple’s Desk View.
You can pre-order the M4 iMac now for $1,299. Delivery and in-store sales begin November 8.
Mac mini (M4, M4 Pro)
A small Mac that lives up to Apple’s “mini” brand more than ever. 2024 Mac mini it’s a five-inch-by-five-inch box that’s only two inches tall. (That’s slightly bigger than the Apple TV 4K!)
The new Mac mini is available in M4 and M4 Pro configurations. Apple says the M4 variant is up to 1.8 times faster than the M1 model from four years ago. Its graphics are up to 2.2 times faster. It should also be better for Apple Intelligence: It supports 38 TOPS (tera operations per second) of AI processing power. That dwarfs the 18 TOPS from the (only one year old) M3 chip. It also starts with 16 GB of RAM.
For the first time, the machine ditches the old USB ports. There are two USB-C ports on the front and three Thunderbolt USB-C ports (along with HDMI and Ethernet) on the back.
The M4 Mac mini is available for pre-order. It starts at $599, and the souped-up M4 Pro variant starts at $1,399. Coming November 9th.
MacBook Pro (M4, M4 Pro, M4 Max)
Most of Apple’s Mac sales are in the MacBook line, which makes sense. Not only can you use them on the go, but you can grab a Thunderbolt cable and connect them to your monitor of choice to double as a desktop. And so it was the culmination of Mac Week MacBook Pro powered by the new M4.
The only new Mac with three chip tiers is the MacBook Pro M4, M4 Pro and M4 Max. Apple says the M4 Pro is up to three times faster than the M1 Pro, and the M4 Max is up to 3.5 times faster than the M1 Max. The M4 variant is up to 1.8 times faster than the 13-inch MacBook Pro powered by the M1 for photo editing. For demanding work like rendering scenes in Blender, it’s 3.4 times faster.
Its Neural Engine for Apple Intelligence (and other AI) is three times more powerful than M1. Helping out on the AI front (and for all-around performance) is the same 16GB of RAM as the base.
The laptop offers the same nanotextured display option as the iMac and 1,000 nits of brightness for SDR content. It also adopts a 12MP Center Stage camera for better indoor video calling capabilities. The device has three Thunderbolt 4 ports and an estimated 24 hours of battery life — Apple says it’s the longest on a Mac ever.
The new MacBook Pro is available in the familiar 14-inch and 16-inch models. The smaller model with the M4 chip starts at $1,599, the M4 Pro variant starts at $1,999, and the ultra-high-end M4 Max will set you back at least $3,199. The 16-inch MacBook Pro starts at $2,499 with the M4 Pro chip, while the M4 Max flavor is $3,499 and up.
Apple Intelligence is coming
Apple’s first wave of on-device AI features already in the hands of consumersno beta software required. This round includes proofreading, rewriting and writing tools such as summaries, live call transcriptions, and notice summaries.
The beginnings of a smarter Siri also came with the bundle, including written prompts and an improved ability to recognize stutters or self-interruptions. You can also tell the world, “This isn’t the ugly Siri you’re used to!” you get a neat new shiny border that announces. But for more significant overhauls, like better understanding of personal context, you’ll have to wait for the next wave of Siri updates.
Now the bad news. Apple Intelligence is only available on a handful of new devices in each of Apple’s major product categories. For iPhone, this is the iPhone 15 Pro / Pro Max and the new iPhone 16 series (including non-Pro models). While the new iPad mini (with the A17 Pro chip) is an exception, you’ll need a model with an M-series chip in your iPad. When it comes to Macs, you also need an M-series Apple silicon model that stretches back to the last four years.
Apple Intelligence (first round) requires iOS 18.1, iPadOS 18.1, or macOS Sequoia 15.1. X.2 variants of each OS will bring the next wave of AI features, such as ChatGPT integration and Image Playground.
AirPods Pro 2 hearing features
Not to be missed among the higher profile announcements a new range of hearing health products for AirPods Pro 2 the owners.
Hearing features announced at Apple’s iPhone launch in September include a “clinically validated” hearing test, hearing protection (like for concerts) and the ability to use the device as a hearing aid if it detects mild to moderate impairment. (If severe, this will refer you to a specialist.)
Engadget’s audio guru, Billy Steele, is the person to follow to learn more about these features. He tested them extensively, including Take hearing tests with an Apple representative and hearing protection that works with AirPods at test-driving concerts.
