Reports says Apple to be upgrade M4 models starting with base Macs to 16GB RAM

Apple is reportedly gearing up to introduce significant performance enhancements in its next-generation Mac models, which will be equipped with the new M4 chips and expanded memory capacities. A Bloomberg report suggests that Macs featuring the M4 chip will likely come standard with a minimum of 16GB of RAM, marking a substantial improvement over the current base model M3 Macs, which start with 8GB of RAM.

The report reveals that Apple has initiated rigorous testing on four new Mac models to ensure they are compatible with third-party applications. These models are identified as “16,1,” “16,2,” “16,3,” and “16,10” in the developer test logs. All four models are expected to be powered by the base M4 chip and will likely feature either 16GB or 32GB of RAM. If these details are accurate, the standard RAM configuration for M4-powered Macs will double from the previous generation, starting at 16GB compared to the 8GB found in M3 models. Additionally, these new Macs could support up to 32GB of memory, a step up from the 24GB limit on M3-powered devices.

Apple has emphasized that its suite of artificial intelligence features, branded as Apple Intelligence, requires increased processing power, which in turn necessitates more RAM. This aligns with the speculation that the upcoming Mac devices will include enhanced memory capabilities to support these advanced features.

The report also highlights that one of the four models currently being tested features an eight-core central processing unit (CPU) paired with an eight-core graphics processing unit (GPU). The remaining three models are equipped with 10-core CPUs and GPUs. The 10-core CPU configuration in these models mirrors the setup of the M4 chip that was introduced in the iPad Pro earlier this year, with four cores dedicated to high performance and six cores optimized for efficiency. The eight-core CPU in the fourth model offers an equal split between performance and efficiency cores.

It’s important to note that these specifications pertain to the base-level M4 chip, and there is no available information yet on the higher-tier M4 Pro and M4 Max chips.

The M4-powered MacBook Pro and Mac Mini are anticipated to debut in October, following the launch of the iPhone 16 series. Additionally, new MacBook Air, Mac Studio, and Mac Pro models equipped with the M4 chip are expected to be released next year.