M3 vs. M4 Chip Buyer's Guide: How Much Better Really Is M4?

Apple has announced its M4 Mac models, which feature significant upgrades over the M3 chip. The M4 chip is made using TSMC's enhanced 3nm technology, has 28 billion transistors, and a 4.3 GHz CPU clock speed. It also has a 16-core Neural Engine that can perform 38 trillion operations per second, a 111% increase over the M3 chip. The M4 chip has a more power-efficient GPU and LPDDR5X memory with a 120 GB/s memory bandwidth, a 20% increase over the M3. According to Geekbench benchmarks, the M4 chip has a 25.1% improvement in single-core performance, 30.5% in multi-core performance, and 21.4% in Metal GPU performance. While the M4 chip has notable enhancements, the practical differences for users upgrading from an M3 system may not be as radical as the specifications suggest. The M3 chip already delivers impressive performance and efficiency, making it a formidable contender. The M4 chip is likely aimed at users looking to upgrade from M1 chips or older Intel systems, where the jump in performance is far more pronounced. For existing M3 users, the decision to upgrade may hinge more on specific needs and applications rather than a broad expectation of enhanced performance. Overall, the M4 chip pushes the boundaries of what is possible with Apple silicon, but it may not represent a radical shift for those already using the M3.