Apple, aiming to boost sluggish computer sales, is preparing to overhaul its entire Mac line with a new family of in-house processors designed to highlight artificial intelligence.

The company, which released its first Mac with M3 chips five months ago, is already nearing the production of the next-generation – M4 processor – according to people familiar with the matter. The new chip will come in at least three main variants, and Apple is looking to update every Mac model with it, said the people, who asked not to be identified because plans have not been announced. Is.

The new Macs are running at a critical time. After peaking in 2022, Mac sales fell 27 percent in the last fiscal year that ended in September. In the holiday period, revenue from the computer line was flat. Apple tried to breathe new life into the Mac business last October with a launch event focused on the M3, but those chips didn’t offer big performance improvements over the M2 from last year.

Apple is also playing catch-up in AI, where it is seen as lagging behind Microsoft, Alphabet’s Google and other tech peers. The new chips are part of a broader push to build AI capabilities into all of its products.

Apple plans to release the updated computers starting later this year and extending into early next year. There will be new iMacs, a low-end 14-inch MacBook Pro, high-end 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pros, and Mac minis – all with M4 chips. But the company’s plans may change. An Apple spokesman declined to comment.

Apple shares rose 4.3 percent to $175.04 in New York on Thursday, the biggest one-day gain in 11 months. They were down 13 percent this year as of Wednesday’s close.

The move will mark a quick refresh schedule for the iMac and MacBook Pro, as both lines were just updated in October. The Mac Mini was last upgraded in January 2023.

Apple then plans to follow up with more M4 Macs during 2025. This includes updates to the 13-inch and 15-inch MacBook Air by spring, the Mac Studio in the middle of the year and the Mac Pro in late 2025. The MacBook Air received the M3 chip last month, while the Mac Studio and Mac Pro were updated with M2 processors last year.

The M4 chip line includes an entry-level version dubbed Donnan, more powerful models called Brava and a top-end processor codenamed Hedra. The company plans to highlight the AI ​​processing capabilities of the components and how they will integrate with the next version of macOS, which will be announced at Apple’s annual developer conference in June.

The Donnan chip is coming to low-end versions of the entry-level MacBook Pro, new MacBook Airs and Mac Mini, while the Brava chips will power a pricier version of the high-end MacBook Pro and Mac Mini. For the Mac Studio, Apple is testing versions with the as-yet-unreleased M3-era chip and M4 Brava processor variants.

The high-end Apple desktop, the Mac Pro, is set to get the new Hydra chip. The Mac Pro remains the lowest-selling model in the company’s computer lineup, but it has a vocal fan following. After some consumers complained about the features of Apple’s in-house chips, the company is looking to improve the machine next year.

As part of the upgrade, Apple is considering allowing its high-end Mac desktops to support half a terabyte of memory. The current Mac Studio and Mac Pro top out at 192 gigabytes — much less capacity than Apple’s previous Mac Pro, which used an Intel Corporation processor. Earlier machines worked with off-the-shelf memory that could be added later and handled up to 1.5 terabytes. With Apple’s in-house chips, memory is integrated more deeply into the main processor, making it harder to add more.

Apple’s main focus this year is to add new artificial intelligence features to its products. The company plans to preview several new features at its June developer conference. A large portion of these features are designed to run on the devices themselves, rather than on remote servers, and faster chips will help drive this growth. Apple is also planning an AI-focused upgrade to this year’s iPhone processor.

The company’s switch to in-house chips was part of a long-running initiative known as Apple Silicon. The tech giant started using its semiconductors in the original iPad and iPhone 4 in 2010 before bringing the technology to the Mac in 2020. The goal is to better integrate its hardware and software with core components and move away from processors made by Intel. .

So far, the effort has been successful, helping to increase performance and simplify the redesign of devices like the latest MacBook Air, iMac and MacBook Pro. Apple’s Mac chips are based on the same basic Arm Holdings Plc architecture as the processors in the iPhone and iPad, enabling thinner products with better battery life and less need for cooling fans.

© 2024 Bloomberg LP