Apple Introduces M4 Chip: A New Era of

Apple has unveiled its latest breakthrough in silicon technology, the M4 chip, powering the all-new iPad Pro. Built using second-generation 3-nanometer technology, the M4 chip is a system on a chip (SoC) that sets new standards in performance and efficiency, enabling the revolutionary design of the new iPad Pro and offering a substantial leap over its predecessor.

A Leap in Performance with M4

The M4 chip delivers groundbreaking performance with 28 billion transistors and a new 10-core CPU that includes four high-performance cores and six efficiency cores. This architecture provides:

1.5x Faster CPU Performance: Compared to the M2 chip, boosting workflows across demanding apps like Logic Pro and LumaFusion.
Next-Generation GPU: A new 10-core GPU featuring Dynamic Caching and hardware-accelerated ray tracing, providing four times faster rendering performance in apps like Octane.
Power Efficiency: Capable of delivering the same performance as the M2 chip using just half the power.

Johny Srouji, Apple's Senior Vice President of Hardware Technologies, emphasized the importance of custom silicon in enabling breakthrough products:

"The power-efficient performance of M4, along with its new display engine, makes the thin design and game-changing display of iPad Pro possible, while fundamental improvements to the CPU, GPU, Neural Engine, and memory system make M4 extremely well suited for the latest applications leveraging AI."

A New Display Engine for Ultra Retina XDR

The M4 chip features a new display engine specifically designed for the Ultra Retina XDR display in the iPad Pro. Key features include:

Tandem OLED Support: Harnesses the light of two OLED panels to deliver stunning precision and color accuracy.
ProMotion Support: Enables refresh rates ranging from 10Hz to 120Hz.
Brightness Compensation: Maintains uniform brightness across the entire display.

The Most Powerful Neural Engine Ever

Apple's fastest Neural Engine to date, the M4 chip's 16-core design is capable of handling up to 38 trillion operations per second—60 times faster than the first Neural Engine in the A11 Bionic. Together with next-generation ML accelerators, the M4 Neural Engine delivers:

AI-Powered Features: Enables features like Live Captions, Visual Look Up, and real-time audio transcription in StaffPad.
4K Video Editing: Easily isolates subjects from backgrounds in Final Cut Pro.
Privacy-Preserving AI Workloads: Handles inference workloads efficiently while minimizing the impact on app memory and battery life.

Advanced Media Engine for Streaming

The Media Engine in the M4 chip supports popular video codecs, including H.264, HEVC, and ProRes. It also brings hardware-accelerated AV1 decoding to the iPad for the first time, enabling power-efficient playback of high-resolution video.

Sustainable Power Efficiency

The M4 chip's power efficiency helps the new iPad Pro deliver all-day battery life while meeting Apple's high environmental standards. This results in reduced energy consumption over the device's lifetime.

Apple's commitment to sustainability is evident as it continues to pursue carbon neutrality across its entire supply chain by 2030.

Conclusion

The M4 chip represents a giant leap in performance and efficiency for Apple's iPad Pro, delivering an unprecedented combination of power and advanced features. With this latest chip, the iPad Pro sets new benchmarks for AI capabilities, display technology, and overall user experience, reinforcing Apple's position at the forefront of technological innovation.