Apple M4 Max (14 cores)

The 14-core Apple M4 Max is a powerful ARM architecture processor (SoC) for laptops and mini-PCs that debuted in Sep 2024. It features 10 performance CPU cores running at well over 4 GHz along with 4 efficient cores running at under 3 GHz. The 32-core M4 Max GPU and at least 36 GB of fast 410 GB/s LPDDR5x on-package memory depending on the configuration are included as well, as is USB 4 and Thunderbolt 5 support.

The built-in 16 core neural engine (up to 38 TOPS) is found across the whole M4 chip family. Furthermore, all M4 processors are thought to be based on the ARM v9.4-A architecture to a certain degree.

Performance

The M4 Max is set to be just a bit faster than the 14-core M4 Pro, meaning it outguns the 16-core M3 Max by a small margin. This is nothing to scoff at, yet it's the new integrated graphics adapters that are the real stars of the show.

Graphics

The 32-core M4 Max GPU has hardware support for ray tracing as well as mesh shading and other modern technologies. It supports external displays with resolutions as high as "8K" and it can HW-decode a few popular video codecs such as h.264, h.265 and AV1.

Its gaming performance is set to be about as good the GeForce RTX 4050 Laptop. Please keep in mind that very few games have been compiled specifically for Apple silicon Macs meaning most titles have to be run via emulation layers. Some of them are displayed with visual artefacts as a result, or don't start at all.

Power consumption

The slower M4 Pro (14 cores) consumes around 80 W when under full load but is happy with just 2 W to 7 W when idling. We presume the 14-core M4 Max needs just slightly more juice than its slower brother to keep going.

The 2nd generation 3 nm TSMC process the M4 Max is built with delivers good power efficiency, as of late 2024.

Series

Apple M4

Series: M4

Apple M4 Max (16 cores)	2.59 - 4.51 GHz	16 / 16
Apple M4 Max (14 cores) «	2.59 - 4.51 GHz	14 / 14
Apple M4 Pro (14 cores)	2.59 - 4.51 GHz	14 / 14
Apple M4 Pro (12 cores)	2.59 - 4.51 GHz	12 / 12
Apple M4 (10 cores)	2.89 - 4.46 GHz	10 / 10
Apple M4 (9 cores)	2.9 - 4.4 GHz	9 / 9
Apple M4 (8 cores)	2.9 - 4 GHz	8 / 8

Clock Rate

2592 - 4512 MHz

Level 2 Cache

4 MB

Number of Cores / Threads

14 / 14
10 x 4.5 GHz Apple M4 P-Core
4 x 2.6 GHz Apple M4 E-Core

Power Consumption (TDP = Thermal Design Power)

80 Watt

TDP Turbo PL2

80 Watt

Manufacturing Technology

3 nm

Features

Unified Memory LPDDR5X-8533 (410 GB/s), 16-Core Neural Engine, Dual Media Engine (Encoding / Decoding: H.264, HEVC, ProRes, ProRes RAW, AV1 Decoding only)

GPU

Apple M4 Max 32-Core GPU

64 Bit

64 Bit support

Architecture

ARM

Announcement Date

11/30/2024