Apple has unveiled the M4 chip, the latest iteration of their powerful processor line. This chip promises a substantial leap in performance for the new iPad Pro, making it a powerhouse for demanding tasks.
Power Efficiency Meets Stunning Display: The Core of the M4 Chip
The M4 chip boasts several key features. First, it’s built on a second-generation 3-nanometre process. This cutting-edge technology translates to improved power efficiency compared to previous chips, allowing the iPad Pro to maintain its sleek design without sacrificing performance. Additionally, the M4 features an entirely new display engine specifically designed to drive the stunning Ultra Retina XDR display on the iPad Pro. This display engine ensures exceptional precision, colour accuracy, and brightness uniformity for an unparalleled visual experience.
Unleashing Processing Power: A CPU and GPU Built for Performance
In terms of raw processing power, the M4 chip delivers significant improvements. It houses a new 10-core CPU, capable of up to 1.5 times faster performance than the M2 chip found in the previous iPad Pro. This translates to smoother and faster workflows, whether you’re working with complex orchestral music files in Logic Pro or adding demanding effects to 4K video in LumaFusion.
The graphics capabilities of the iPad Pro also receive a major boost with the M4 chip. The new 10-core GPU builds upon the next-generation graphics architecture introduced in the M3 chip family. This GPU features Dynamic Caching, an innovative technology developed by Apple that dynamically allocates local memory in hardware and real-time. This significantly increases the average utilization of the GPU, leading to enhanced performance for even the most demanding professional applications and games.
Another exciting addition is hardware-accelerated ray tracing, which makes its debut on the iPad Pro with the M4 chip. This technology allows for even more realistic shadows and reflections in games and other graphically rich experiences. Hardware-accelerated mesh shading is also integrated into the GPU, delivering greater efficiency and capability in geometry processing. This translates to more visually complex scenes in games and graphics-intensive applications.
With these advancements in both CPU and GPU, the M4 chip maintains Apple’s industry-leading performance per watt. It can deliver the same performance as the M2 chip while using only half the power. Compared to the latest PC chip in a thin and light laptop, the M4 can achieve similar performance using just a quarter of the power.
The Most Powerful Neural Engine Ever: Supercharged AI on iPad Pro
The M4 chip also boasts Apple’s most powerful Neural Engine ever. This dedicated block within the chip accelerates AI workloads. Clocking in at a staggering 38 trillion operations per second, it’s a breathtaking 60 times faster than the first Neural Engine introduced in the A11 Bionic chip. When combined with next-generation machine learning accelerators in the CPU, the high-performance GPU, and higher-bandwidth unified memory, the Neural Engine makes the M4 an exceptionally powerful chip for AI tasks. This translates to seamless functioning of AI features within iPadOS, such as Live Captions for real-time audio captions and Visual Look Up, which can identify objects in videos and photos. These features allow users to accomplish complex AI tasks quickly and directly on their iPad Pro.
Stream Smoothly, Efficiently: The Advanced Media Engine
For content creators and streamers, the M4 chip brings an advanced Media Engine, the most sophisticated yet on an iPad. In addition to supporting popular video codecs like H.264, HEVC, and ProRes, it introduces hardware acceleration for the AV1 codec for the first time on iPad. This translates to more power-efficient playback of high-resolution video content from streaming services, ensuring a smooth and enjoyable viewing experience.
Power Efficiency Meets Sustainability
Finally, the power efficiency of the M4 chip contributes to the all-new iPad Pro meeting Apple’s high standards for energy efficiency. This translates to all-day battery life, minimizing the need for frequent charging and reducing the device’s overall environmental impact. Apple’s commitment to sustainability is further highlighted by their current status as a carbon neutral company for global corporate operations. By 2030, they aim to achieve carbon neutrality across their entire manufacturing supply chain and the life cycle of every product.
A New Era of Performance on iPad Pro
The M4 chip marks a significant advancement in Apple silicon technology. This powerful and efficient chip equips the new iPad Pro with exceptional performance, making it a versatile and capable device for professionals, creators, and anyone who demands the best from their mobile device. You can experience Apple’s M4 chip on the new iPad Pro which is open for pre-order now on the Apple website.
