Apple M4 Pro (14 cores) vs Apple M4 Max (16 cores)
Apple M4 Pro (14 cores)
► remove from comparison
The 14-core Apple M4 Pro 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 up to 4.5 GHz along with 4 efficient cores running at up to 2.6 GHz. The 20-core M4 GPU and at least 24 GB of fast 273 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
In our testing, the M4 Pro delivered multi-thread benchmark scores very close to those of the 16-core M3 Max as well as the Intel Core i9-12950HX. Some small generation-to-generation improvement is obviously present but it's the new integrated graphics adapters that are the real stars of the show.
Graphics
The 20-core M4 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 at least as good as that of the GTX 1660 Ti 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.
- The Witcher 3 1080p Ultra = 53 fps (close to the GTX 1660 Ti Laptop)
- Baldur's Gate 3 1440p Ultra = 42 fps (close to the GeForce RTX 4050 Laptop)
- Cyberpunk 2077 2.1 Phantom Liberty 1080p Ultra = 40 fps (close to the GTX 1660 Ti Laptop)
Power consumption
When under heavy CPU and GPU load, the SoC briefly consumes around 80 W before settling at around 70 W later. With no load at all, it makes do with 2 W to 7 W. A single P-core of the chip eats around 6 W when under heavy load.
The 2nd generation 3 nm TSMC process the M4 Pro is built with delivers good power efficiency, as of late 2024.
Apple M4 Max (16 cores)
► remove from comparisonThe 16-core Apple M4 Max is a powerful ARM architecture processor (SoC) for laptops and mini-PCs that debuted in Sep 2024. It features 12 performance CPU cores running at well over 4 GHz along with 4 efficient cores running at under 3 GHz. The 40-core M4 Max GPU and at least 48 GB of fast 546 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 around 15% faster than the 16-core M3 Max. This is very, very impressive.
Graphics
The 40-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 4070 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
To let so many CPU and GPU cores breathe, some really high TDP figures are required. We assume the chip consumes 90 W to 100 W when under full load.
The 2nd generation 3 nm TSMC process the M4 Max is built with delivers good power efficiency, as of late 2024.
| Model | Apple M4 Pro (14 cores) | Apple M4 Max (16 cores) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Series | Apple M4 | Apple M4 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Series: M4 |
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| Clock | 2592 - 4512 MHz | 2592 - 4512 MHz | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| L2 Cache | 4 MB | 4 MB | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Cores / Threads | 14 / 14 10 x 4.5 GHz Apple M4 P-Core 4 x 2.6 GHz Apple M4 E-Core | 16 / 16 12 x 4.5 GHz Apple M4 P-Core 4 x 2.6 GHz Apple M4 E-Core | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| TDP | 40 Watt | 90 Watt | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| TDP Turbo PL2 | 46 Watt | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Technology | 3 nm | 3 nm | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Features | Unified Memory LPDDR5X-8533 (273 GB/s), 16-Core Neural Engine, Media Engine (Encoding / Decoding: H.264, HEVC, ProRes, ProRes RAW, AV1 Decoding only) | Unified Memory LPDDR5X-8533 (546 GB/s), 16-Core Neural Engine, Dual Media Engine (Encoding / Decoding: H.264, HEVC, ProRes, ProRes RAW, AV1 Decoding only) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| iGPU | Apple M4 Pro 20-Core GPU | Apple M4 Max 40-Core GPU | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Architecture | ARM | ARM | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Announced | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Manufacturer | www.apple.com |
Benchmarks
Average Benchmarks Apple M4 Pro (14 cores) → 100% n=12
Average Benchmarks Apple M4 Max (16 cores) → 106% n=12
- Average benchmark values for this graphics card* Smaller numbers mean a higher performance
1 This benchmark is not used for the average calculation
