Apple has "formally begun development" of the MacBook Pro M4 - Gurman

During a Q&A session focused on the Apple Car, Mark Gurman from Bloomberg touched on several other topics, including Apple "formally starting development" of the new MacBook Pro with the M4 processor. However, he did not provide any additional details about the yet-to-be-announced Apple chip.

Apple introduced the M1 processor for Mac in November 2020, followed by the M2 in June 2022, and the M3 chip in late October 2023, with an interval of approximately one and a half years. If this trend continues, the M4 will be released in the first half of 2025. However, if the interval shortens to one year, a release at the end of 2024 is possible, according to MacRumors.

The last time Apple updated the MacBook Pro lineup was in October, introducing the M3, M3 Pro, and M3 Max processors. As part of this update, Apple discontinued the 13-inch MacBook Pro and replaced it with a new base model of the 14-inch MacBook Pro with the M3 chip. Apple also updated the iMac and MacBook Air with the M3 chip, leaving the Mac mini, Mac Studio, and Mac Pro as the only current-generation computers still equipped with M2 family chips.

It is expected that Apple's chip manufacturing partner TSMC will begin mass production of chips based on the 2nm process technology in the second half of 2025, so the M4 will most likely be 3nm, like the M3. However, the M4 chip is likely to be manufactured using an enhanced version of TSMC's 3nm process technology to improve performance and energy efficiency.