CUPERTINO - Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL). announced the release of its M4 chip, the latest addition to its custom silicon lineup, designed to power the new iPad Pro. The M4 chip, built on second-generation 3-nanometer technology, is notable for its system on a chip (SoC) architecture, enhancing the power efficiency for which Apple silicon is known.
The M4 chip enables the iPad Pro's slim design and supports the device's new Ultra Retina XDR display, promising exceptional color and brightness. Apple's senior vice president of Hardware Technologies, Johny Srouji, emphasized that the M4's power-efficient performance and new display engine make possible the iPad Pro's thin design and advanced display, while improvements to the CPU, GPU, Neural Engine, and memory system render it highly suitable for AI applications.
The M4 chip boasts a 10-core CPU, with up to four performance cores and six efficiency cores, and offers up to 1.5 times faster CPU performance compared to the previous M2 chip. This enhancement is expected to benefit professional workflows, such as complex music production and 4K video editing.
Additionally, the M4's 10-core GPU introduces features like Dynamic Caching and hardware-accelerated ray tracing and mesh shading to the iPad for the first time, aiming to elevate gaming and graphics-intensive applications.
One of the standout features of the M4 is its Neural Engine, which Apple claims is capable of 38 trillion operations per second, making it the fastest they have ever produced. This level of performance is designed to support AI tasks, such as real-time audio captions and object identification in videos and photos, directly on the iPad Pro.
The M4 also includes an advanced Media Engine that supports popular video codecs and introduces hardware acceleration for the AV1 codec, enhancing high-resolution video playback from streaming services.
Apple's commitment to the environment is reflected in the M4's energy efficiency, contributing to the iPad Pro's all-day battery life and aligning with the company's goal to achieve carbon neutrality across its manufacturing supply chain and product lifecycle by 2030.
The unveiling of the M4 chip and its integration into the iPad Pro underscores Apple's ongoing innovation in personal technology. This information is based on a press release statement from Apple Inc.
InvestingPro Insights
As Apple Inc. continues to push the boundaries of personal technology with its new M4 chip for the iPad Pro, the company's financial metrics reflect its robust market position. With a towering market capitalization of $2.8 trillion, Apple stands as a testament to its enduring appeal to investors and consumers alike. The company's P/E ratio, a measure of its current share price relative to its per-share earnings, stands at 28.47, indicating investor confidence in its future growth despite trading at a premium relative to near-term earnings growth.
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