全新 Mac mini 即将在明天开售，这台史上最小的苹果电脑主机，个头不大，来头却不小。

在体积减小了 40% 多的同时，还能把 CPU 和 GPU 都往上提了提，更重要的是，加上教育优惠，你能用不到四千块，买到一台搭载 M4 芯片、16GB 内存起步的苹果电脑。

我们也在第一时间上手体验了这台苹果全新的「性能小钢炮」。

除开 Mac mini 的常规评测，我们这回还对它的 USB-C 接口有了兴趣，一方面，Mac mini 把两个常用的 Type-C 接口放到了正前方，以后拔插数据充电线变得非常方便；另外，苹果官网的一处改动引起了我们的注意。

苹果先前在官网里，曾把新款 iMac 与 Mac mini 放在了 70W、96W 和 140W 的 USB-C 电源适配器兼容性列表中，不过很快就将其删除，表明新款的 iMac 与 Mac mini 现在并不支持通过 USB-C 端口供电。

不过我们仍然很好奇：全新 Mac mini 是不是真的支持通过 Type-C 接口受电？如果支持，那是被什么限制了 Type-C 接口受电的能力？苹果官网的新闻，到底是编辑错误，还是不小心泄露了「秘密」？

为了搞清这次「官网乌龙」事件，爱范儿第一时间拿到了 Mac mini M4 Pro，并在制糖工厂的明日实验室，用专业的仪器和软件，进行了详细测试。

先说结论：

• Mac mini M4 机身背面的三个雷雳 4/5 端口，均不能作为受电端口，也就是不能通过雷雳口给 Mac mini 供电。
• Mac mini M4 机身前面的两个 USB-C 端口（支持 USB 3，速率最高可达 10Gb/s），虽然目前均不能作为受电端口，但苹果的确做好了 Type-C 接口受电在硬件层面的工作（至少是做完了一部分），这个端口其实是所谓的 dual role port，即可以对外供电也可以向内送电。

关于 Type-C 接口的那些事儿

在开始实验前，我们需要先了解几个小众知识，我们从这次事件的主角讲起。虽然长得一样，但是不一定所有的 Type-C 接口都能用于供电。

全新 Mac mini 一共有五个 Type-C 接口。

机身背面的 Type-C 接口的协议是雷雳 (Thunderbolt) 5 / USB 4，是 Intel 与苹果合作研发的一种高速数据传输接口，它能把数据、视频、音频和电力的传输集合到一个单独的接口上。

相比于普通的 USB-C，雷雳接口在以下几个方面有显著的优势：

• 更高的数据传输速率
• 更强的视频输出能力
• 支持 PCI-e 数据传输
• 更高的电力输送能力
• 更好的兼容性和扩展性

但是我们想强调，并不是所有的雷雳接口都能够实现以上功能，有些设备上的雷雳接口只能用于数据传输或显示输出，比如刚刚发布的 Mac mini M4 就是如此。

另外两个放在正面的 Type-C 接口支持 USB 3，其最大的特点是传输速率最高可达 10Gb/s。

实测下来，新 Mac mini 的 Type-C 接口同样不支持为主机供电，也就是说现在想让 Mac mini 通电开机，只能通过主机上的传统电源接口。

而问题，也出在了这里。

有协议，但没达成的 Mac mini

随着 Type-C 接口在各种消费电子设备的普及，USB-IF（爱范儿也是 USB-IF 的成员之一）也发布了 USB PD 协议规范。苹果自 iPhone 8 开始，就一直使用的是 USB Power Delivery 协议受电。

USB PD 协议允许设备在多个方向上高效传输电力，并支持多种功率级别和电压配置，从而满足不同设备的需求。

简单来说，协议的作用是让特定品牌的受电和供电设备，达成一致的目标，我想要更快的充电速度更高的电压，同时你也得同意才行。

那么，供电和受电双方想要达成一次快充，有几个非常重要的事儿。

• 设备必须配备 USB Type-C 接口，因为标准的 USB PD 协议通过 USB Type-C 接口实现。
• 充电器、设备电源管理芯片和控制器必须支持 USB PD 协议。
• 受电设备（如笔记本电脑、智能手机等）必须能够接收和处理 USB PD 信号。

我们在实验室里给新款 Mac mini 前后 USB-C 端口依次尝试接上制糖工厂 IonBridge 可编程 PD 电源后，设备都没法正常运行，按下开机键没有任何反应。

这是意料之中的结果，然而我们在设备前面两个 USB-C 端口连接电源时，发现了一些有趣的现象。

供受电设备在达成 PD 协议通讯的过程中，会相互交换数据，可以理解为两者在互查户口，看看暗号是否能对上、个人信息是否准确，彼此是不是找对了人。

而这个通讯的过程，可以用 Cypress CY4500 EZ-PD 协议分析器抓包，以分析 PD 协议的相互通讯过程。

按理来说，如果双方无法达成协议，则不能进行正常的通讯，没有通讯过程和数据传输，EZ-PD 协议分析器也就不会抓取到任何的数据信息。

而我们在测试中发现，EZ-PD 协议分析器捕捉到了制糖工厂 IonBridge 可编程 PD 电源的 Source Capabilities 广播，供应了 5V 电压。

根据 USB PD 3.2 规范的 8.3.3.2 Policy Engine Source Port State Diagram 之规定，在受电设备 (sink) 插入后，供电设备 (source) 的 Policy Engine 应该进入 PE_SRC_Send_Capabilities 状态，同时在 Vbus 供应 vSafe5V 电压。

因此可以证明，Mac mini 的前置端口硬件设计上满足了 USB PD 的受电设备 (sink) 的要求。然而，Mac mini 并未对 Source Capabilities 进行任何响应。从 IonBridge 的内置 debug 接口上来看，也是证明了 Source Capabilities 报文广播后未响应 (SourceCapabilityTimer timeout) 后重新广播 Source Capabilities。

对于上述较为专业的技术过程，我们专门做了一张简单易懂的流程图，并且标明了充电流程具体有哪些阶段，简单说跑完图中的流程，充电就能正常进行。

所以，Mac mini M4 Pro 机身正面的 USB-C 端口，有可能后续支持 PD 协议。这说明，苹果在 USB-C 电源适配器的兼容性列表中移除了新款 Mac mini，说不定不是编辑错误无中生有，而是不小心把今后的计划公布出来了。

验证与结论

虽然我们通过制糖工厂 IonBridge 可编程 PD 电源和 Cypress CY4500 EZ-PD 成功捕捉到了含有 PD 快充协议芯片的电源和 Mac mini M4 Pro 的 PD 报文。

但从数据来看，此次通讯只有制糖工厂 IonBridge 可编程 PD 电源在发出广播，受电设备没有对此回应，有点唱独角戏的感觉。

因此目前为止，电源仍然无法通过 USB-C 端口向 Mac mini M4 Pro 供电。

到这里还完，因为实验没有对照就不算严谨，也并不完整。

之后我们还用相同的设备和软件，对新款 Mac mini 后面的雷雳接口进行了测试，结果如下：

CY4500 EZ-PD 在接通制糖工厂 IonBridge 可编程 PD 电源后，没有捕捉到任何通讯的数据包。从制糖工厂 IonBridge 可编程 PD 电源的内部 Type-C phy 状态上看，也没有识别 CC Pin 上 Rd 的阻值。

这也刚好证明了两件事情：

• 直接证明 Mac mini M4 Pro 后方的三个雷雳端口没有 PD 的物理支持能力，不能用于给 Mac mini M4 Pro 供电。
• 间接证明了设备前方的 USB-C 端口的潜在的受电能力。

实验和结论到这里差不多就结束了，不过我们仍想强调：

我们目前没有拆开机器，还不能得知设备中是否有相应的电源管理芯片，使得设备有能力协商 PD。

我们目前也不清楚前置端口是否有对应的升降压电路，能够从正面的 USB-C 取得正确的电压，并且 feed 到整机的 power rail 给整机供电。

目前未加电状态下，背面 Type-C 接口的 CC Pin 对地阻值为 580Ohm，不符合 PD 要求的 5.1k Rd 要求。

一个可能的结果是，在苹果的研发过程中，此机可能曾经支持过 PD 协议，但由于某些原因，此支持被砍掉了，或者是由于工期问题，硬件完成而软件未完成。

利好策略，多来点

其实，关于「Mac mini 能否用 Type-C 接口供电」的话题，早已不是什么新鲜事儿，前几年就有博主对老款 Mac mini 进行了魔改，让其体积缩小了 1/3，还能直接通过充电宝供电。

既然苹果对 Mac mini 的期许是「小形态+高性能」，那大家就总想探寻它的体积下限究竟在哪里，毕竟在掌机一般大小的主机市场里，苹果的性能和体验，应该算是独一份儿的。

我们的这次实验，也正是在满足自己和大家的好奇心，看看那个理想中真正的「移动电脑主机」究竟来了没。

现在结论也很明确：还没来，不过快了。

而苹果这回在官网的乌龙事件，也在无意中暴露了它们的计划。在 Mac mini 上被捕捉的通讯协议包，看似是一种偶然，但其实是从侧面证明了，这台 Mac mini，造的非常苹果。

无论苹果的产品有多少的质疑和槽点，你都不得不承认的一点是，这是一家打着长期主义旗号的企业。它们的许多做法可能不会被理解，不过都是在为未来布局，

2017 年，苹果在 iPhone X 机型上率先采用一体式的 L 形电池，通过新形状的形态优点，有效利用了手机的空间，同时也保持设备的轻薄性和高效能。

在 iPhone X 上量产且大批量搭载后，被苹果验证为可行的电池形态方案，直到最新发布的 iPhone 16 系列机型上，仍然延续着这种设计。

两个月前，iPhone 16 系列正式发布，苹果将多年不变的 6GB 运行内存，改为 8GB 标配，全新的 Mac mini 也从 8GB 升级为 16GB，为的是更好地在苹果设备上，运行 Apple Intelligence 的各项功能。

虽然到目前为止，发布会上的功能还没有一个用户完全体验到，国行版的用户甚至还没有见过它的身影。

但长期主义促使苹果要把一些「不可改变」的事项先行，软件和系统的问题可以通过 OTA 升级，但硬件不行，也不现实，所以我们会在某些苹果产品上看到一点相较于以前，更加超前的配置。

即使我们还用不到苹果智能，但更大的运行内存也同时提升了日常的用机体验，后台被杀的次数会进一步降低；即使没什么人会用 Type-C 接口给 Mac mini 充电，但未来的某一天系统支持后，mini 的使用场景又会被脑洞大开的用户，玩出新的花样。

多想一点、多做一点，于苹果而言能增加用户粘性，硬件有足够的冗余空间，用户的换机周期就能再长一点；于用户来说多年前的旧手机还能体验到新功能，并且二手市场的价格也能有足够的保障。

利好双方的产品路线，苹果在做，也希望再多做一点。

#欢迎关注爱范儿官方微信公众号：爱范儿（微信号：ifanr），更多精彩内容第一时间为您奉上。

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In the light of recent news, you might now be wondering whether you can afford to wait until next year in the hope that Apple then releases the M4 Mac of your dreams. To help guide you in your decision-making, this article explains what chip options are available in this month’s new M4 models, and how to choose between them.

CPU core types

Intel CPUs in modern Macs have several cores, all of them identical. Whether your Mac is running a background task like indexing for Spotlight, or running code for a time-critical user task, code is run across any of the available cores. In an Apple silicon chip like those in the M4 family, background tasks are normally constrained to efficiency (E) cores, leaving the performance (P) cores for your apps and other pressing user tasks. This brings significant energy economy for background tasks, and keeps your Mac more responsive to your demands.

Some tasks are normally constrained to run only on E cores. These include scheduled background tasks like Spotlight indexing, Time Machine backups, and some encoding of media. Game Mode is perhaps a more surprising E core user, as explained below.

Most user tasks are run preferentially on P cores, when they’re available. When there are more high-priority threads to be run than there are available P cores, then macOS will normally send them to be run on E cores instead. This also applies to threads running a Virtual Machine (VM) using lightweight virtualisation, whose threads will be preferentially scheduled on P cores when they’re available, even when code being run in the VM would normally be allocated to E cores.

macOS also controls the clock speed or frequency of cores. For background tasks running on E cores, their frequency is normally held relatively low, for best energy efficiency. When high-priority threads overspill onto E cores, they’re normally run at higher frequency, which is less energy-efficient but brings their performance closer to that of a P core. macOS goes to great lengths to schedule threads and control core frequencies to strike the best balance between energy efficiency and performance.

Unfortunately, it’s normally hard to see effects of frequency in apps like Activity Monitor. Its CPU % figures only show the percentage of cycles that are used for processing, and make no allowance for core frequency. It will therefore show a background thread running at low frequency but 100%, the same as a thread overspilt from P cores running at the maximum frequency of that E core. So when you see Spotlight indexing apparently taking 200% of CPU % on your Mac’s E cores, that might only be a small fraction of their maximum capacity if they were running at maximum frequency.

There are no differences between chips in the M4 family when it comes to each type of CPU core: each P core in a Base variant is the same as each in an M4 Pro or Max, with the same maximum frequency, and the same applies to E cores. macOS also allocates threads to different types of core using the same rules, and their frequencies are controlled the same as well. What differs between them is the number of each type of core, ranging from 4 P and 4 E in the 8-core variant of the Base M4, up to 12 P and 4 E in the 16-core variant of the M4 Max. Thus, their single-core benchmark results should be almost identical, although their multi-core results should vary according to the number of cores.

Game Mode

This mode is an exception to normal CPU and GPU core use, as it:

• gives preferential access to the E cores,
• gives highest priority access to the GPU,
• uses low-latency Bluetooth modes for input controllers and audio output.

However, my previous testing didn’t demonstrate that apps running in Game Mode were given exclusive access to E cores. But for gamers, it now appears that the more E cores, the better.

GPU cores

These are also used for tasks other than graphics, such as some of the more demanding calculations required for Machine Learning and AI. However, experience so far with Writing Tools in Sequoia 15.1 is that macOS currently offloads their heavy lifting to be run off-device in one of Apple’s dedicated servers. Although having plenty of GPU cores might well be valuable for non-graphics purposes in the future, for now there seems little advantage for many.

Thunderbolt 5

M4 Pro and Max, but not Base variants, come equipped with Thunderbolt ports that not only support Thunderbolt 3 and 4, but 5, as well as USB4. Thunderbolt 5 should effectively double the speed of connected TB5 SSDs, but to see that benefit, you’ll need to buy a TB5 SSD. Not only are they more expensive than TB3/4 models, but at present I know of only one range that’s due to ship this year. There will also be other peripherals with TB5 support, including at least one dock and one hub, although neither is available yet. The only TB5 accessories that are already available are cables, and even they are expensive.

TB5 also brings increased video bandwidth and support for DisplayPort 2.1, although even the M4 Max can’t make full use of that. If you’re looking to drive a combination of high-res displays, consult Apple’s Tech Specs carefully, as they’re complicated.

Although TB5 will become increasingly important over the next few years, TB3/4 and USB4 are far from dead yet and are supported by all M4 models.

Which M4 chip?

The table below summarises key figures for each of the variants in the M4 family that have now been released. It’s likely that next year Apple will release an Ultra, consisting of two M4 Max chips joined in tandem, in case you feel the burning desire for 24 P and 8 E cores.

Models available next week featuring each M4 chip are shown with green rectangles at the right.

There are two variants of the Base M4, one with 4P + 4E and 8 GPU cores, the same as Base variants in M1 to M3 families. There’s also the more capable variant, for the first time with 4P + 6E, which promises to be a better all-rounder, and when in Game Mode. It also has an extra couple of GPU cores.

The M4 Pro also comes in two variants, this time differing in the number of P cores, 8 or 10, and GPU cores, 16 or 20. Those overlap with the M4 Max, with 10 or 12 P cores and 32 or 40 GPU cores. Thus the gap between M4 Pro and Max isn’t as great as in the M3, with the GPUs in the M4 Max being aimed more at those working with high-res video, for instance. For more general use, there’s little difference between the 14-core Pro and Max.

Memory and storage

Chips in the M4 family also determine the maximum memory and internal SSD capacity. Apple has at last eliminated base models with only 8 GB of memory, and all now start with at least 16 GB. Base M4 chips are limited to a maximum of 32 GB, while the M4 Pro can go up to 64 GB, and the 16-core Max up to 128 GB, although in its 14-core variant, the Max is only available with 36 GB (I’m very grateful to Thomas for pointing this out below).

Unfortunately, Apple hasn’t increased the minimum size of internal SSD, which remains at 256 GB for some base models. Smaller SSDs may be cheaper, but they are also likely to have shorter lives, as under heavy use their small number of blocks will be erased for reuse more frequently. That may shorten their life expectancy to much less than the normal period of up to 10 years, as was seen in some of the first M1 models. This is more likely to occur when swap space is regularly used for virtual memory. I for one would have preferred 512 GB as a starting point.

While Base M4 chips come with SSDs up to 2 TB in size, both Pro and Max can be supplied with internal SSDs of up to 8 TB.

I hope this proves useful in guiding your decision.

上周，苹果按照一天一台的节奏，发布了首批搭载 M4 芯片的 Mac，分别是：

• iMac（搭载 M4 芯片）
• Mac mini（搭载 M4 与 M4 Pro 芯片）
• MacBook Pro（搭载 M4、M4 Pro 与 M4 Max 芯片）

作为目前 Mac 家族当之无愧的明星，MacBook Pro 在经历泄露事件后热度不减，依旧作为压轴登场，而在大家期待的 MacBook Air 之前到来，更多关于 Mac 的爆料提前来了。

在这代 MacBook Pro 上，M4 系列芯片获得了更强的 NPU，为即将到来的 Apple Intelligence 做足了准备。

不过，根据 Mark Gurman 的爆料来看，M4 Max 还不算最顶——缺席了 M3 系列芯片的 Ultra 型号将会回归。

与它的前辈 M1 Ultra 和 M2 Ultra 相似，M4 Ultra 也将使用号称「胶水大法」的 UltraFusion 技术将两块 M4 Max 连接起来。

由此，M4 Ultra 最多将会配备 32 核 CPU 与 80 核 GPU 以及 32 核 NPU，在晶体管数量上也将达到 M4 Max 的两倍。

作为参考，M2 Ultra 在 Geekbench 6 多核测试中得分为 21241，而 M2 Max 的得分为 14621，M4 Ultra 也一样，虽然有边际效应的影响，但双倍芯片依旧能带来强大的性能提升。

由于第一批搭载 M4 芯片的 Mac 已经完成发布，M4 Ultra 更有可能出现在尚未发布的机型上，考虑到本身的定位，M4 Ultra 可能与 M2 Ultra 一样，首发于明年较为高端的 Mac Studio 与 Mac Pro 上，为 Apple Intelligence 提供充足的 NPU 以及光线追踪提供性能支持。

除了 M4 Ultra，后续的 M 系列芯片也有消息。

明年，苹果将会推出 M5 芯片，据推测，这将会是常规升级的一代，按照苹果的一贯作风，M5 可能只是对功耗、制程等方面进行进一步的补充与优化。

虽然 2025 年的 M5 芯片看起来可能有些乏善可陈，但 2026 年的 MacBook Pro 一定不会让大家失望。

根据爆料显示，2026 年的 MacBook Pro 将会有三个变化。

按照芯片制程进度，2026 年的 MacBook Pro 将搭载使用台积电 2nm 工艺制作的 M6 芯片。

相较于目前的 M4 芯片使用的 3nm 工艺，制程工艺的缩小意味着晶体管间的距离更小，这有两个好处：电流的损耗与泄漏会更小、以及可以在相同的空间中容纳更多的晶体管。

也就是说，M6 芯片的功耗会更低，性能会更高。

除了芯片，外观也可能会有变化。

按照苹果对 MacBook Pro 五年一更新的计划，的确也快到 MacBook Pro 换新设计的时候了。

上一次更新，苹果设计接班人 Evans Hankey 抛弃了上一代 Jony Ive 主导的楔形机身，将饱受争议的蝶式键盘与 Touch Bar 移除，SDXC 卡槽与 HDMI 接口的回归也揭示了功能性的全面提升。

这样的设计改动获得了大家的一致好评，在一定程度上被视作苹果「拨乱反正」的象征：功能性不再为设计让步，两者达到一个舒适的平衡。

但苹果显然还有更多想法：现在这一代 MacBook Pro 显得比较笨重，苹果想要将它做得更薄。

目前，设计了这代 MacBook Pro 的 Evans Hankey 已经于 2023 年初离职，接任她的 Molly Anderson 虽然已经成为苹果设计总管，但并没有像 Jony Ive 与 Evans Hankey 那样被任命为苹果副总裁。

她的设计代表作是今年 WWDC 上 M4 首秀的 iPad Pro，在她的带领下，iPad Pro M4 在实现了机身厚度变薄的同时，保住了电池容量，并提供了比以前好 20% 的散热性能。

如果不出意外，新 MacBook Pro 的设计也将由她主导，能否在更薄的机身下控制住桌面级元器件的散热，就要看其功力究竟如何了。

苹果今年很爱玩屏幕，比如在刚刚发布的 MacBook Pro 与 iMac 上，苹果就将首次出现于 iPad Pro M4 上的纳米涂层玻璃普及到 Mac 家族的显示屏上了。

在 2026 年，MacBook Pro 的屏幕将迎来整体更新，可能会由目前的 MiniLED 技术升级为 OLED 技术。

这种升级可以带来更高的对比度、更广的色域、更快的响应时间以及更薄的设计，提升视觉体验和电池续航，同时减少光晕效应并改善可视角度，使其更加适合创意和专业用户的需求，不过烧屏的风险也随之而来，能否撑得住 Pro 系列的专业用户使用，还有待观察。

随着 M4 芯片的推出，Apple Intelligence 已经拥有了一个可用的环境，只等落地，而在可预见的未来，进一步优化的 M5 芯片、更强大的 M6 芯片、新的机身设计和显示技术将相继面世，MacBook Pro 的发展步伐不可谓不快。

不过对于有迫切换机需求的朋友来说，当下的产品才是最重要的，爱范儿为目前发布的 M4 Mac 准备了三篇详细评测，哪一款 Mac 最值得购买？M4 芯片三种型号怎么选？在各个使用场景下表现怎么样？这些问题，我们将一次给你解决。

你会选择今年的 Mac 吗？还是做一个等等党，等待更香的型号？

（置入投票）

#欢迎关注爱范儿官方微信公众号：爱范儿（微信号：ifanr），更多精彩内容第一时间为您奉上。

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Almost exactly a year after it released its first Macs featuring chips in the M3 family, Apple has replaced those with the first M4 models. Benchmarkers and core-counters are now busy trying to understand how these will change our Macs over the coming year or so. Before I reveal which model I have ordered, I’ll try to explain how these change the Mac landscape, concentrating primarily on CPU performance.

CPU cores

CPUs in the first two families, M1 and M2, came in two main designs, a Base variant with 4 Performance and 4 Efficiency cores, and a Pro/Max with 8 P and 2 or 4 E cores, that was doubled-up to make the Ultra something of a beast with its 16 P and 4 or 8 E cores. Last year Apple introduced three designs: the M3 Base has the same 4 P and 4 E CPU core configuration as in the M1 and M2 before it, but its Pro and Max variants are more distinct, with 6 P and 6 E in the Pro, and 10-12 P and 4 E cores in the Max. The M4 family changes this again, improving the Base and bringing the Pro and Max variants closer again.

As these are complicated by sub-variants and binned versions, I have brought the details together in a table.

I have set the core frequencies of the M4 in italics, as I have yet to confirm them, and there’s some confusion whether the maximum frequency of the P core is 4.3 or 4.4 GHz.

Each family of CPU cores has successively improved in-core performance, but the greatest changes are the result of increasing maximum core frequencies and core numbers. One crude but practical way to compare them is to total the maximum core frequencies in GHz for all the cores. Strictly speaking, this should take into account differences in processing units between P and E cores, but that also appears to have changed with each family, and is hard to compare. In the table, columns giving Σfn are therefore simply calculated as
(max P core frequency x P core count) + (max E core frequency x E core count)

Plotting those sum core frequencies by variant for each of the four families provides some interesting insights.

Here, each bar represents the sum core frequency of each full-spec variant. Those are grouped by the variant type (Base, Pro, Max, Ultra), and within those in family order (M1 purple, M2 pale blue, M3 dark blue, M4 red). Many trends are obvious, from the relatively low performance expected of the M1 family, except the Ultra, and the changes between families, for example the marked differences in the M4 Pro, and the M3 Max, against their immediate predecessors.

Sum core frequencies fall into three classes: 20-30, 35-45, and greater than 55 GHz. Three of the four chips in the M1 family are in the lowest of those, with only the M1 Ultra reaching the highest. The M4 is the first Base variant to reach the middle class, thanks in part to its additional two E cores. Two of the M4 variants (Pro and Max) have already reached the highest class, and any M4 Ultra would reach far above the top of the chart at 128 GHz.

Real-world performance will inevitably differ, and vary according to benchmark and app used for comparison. Although single-core performance has improved steadily, apps that only run in a single thread and can’t take advantage of multiple cores are likely to show little if any difference between variants in each family.

Game Mode is also of interest for those considering the two versions of the M4 Base, with 4 or 6 E cores. This is because that mode dedicates the E cores, together with the GPU, to the game being played. It’s likely that games that are more CPU-bound will perform significantly better on the six E cores of the 10-Core version of the iMac, which also comes with a 10-core GPU and four Thunderbolt 4 ports.

Memory and GPU

Memory bandwidth is also important, although for most apps we should assume that Apple’s engineers match that with likely demand from CPU, GPU, neural engine, and other parts of the chip. There will always be some threads that are more memory-bound, whose performance will be more dependant on memory bandwidth than CPU or GPU cores.

Although Apple claims successive improvements in GPU performance, the range in GPU cores has started at 8 and attained 32-40 in Max chips. Where the Max variants come into their own is support for multiple high-res displays, and challenging video editing and processing.

Thunderbolt and USB 3

The other big difference in these Macs is support for the new Thunderbolt 5 standard, available only in models with M4 Pro or M4 Max chips; Base variants still only support Thunderbolt 4. Although there are currently almost no Thunderbolt 5 peripherals available apart from an abundant supply of expensive cables, by the end of this year there should be at least one range of SSDs and one dock shipping.

As ever with claimed Thunderbolt performance, figures given don’t tell the whole story. Although both TB4 and USB4 claim ‘up to’ 40 Gb/s transfer rates, in practice external SSD performance is significantly different, with Thunderbolt topping out at about 3 GB/s and USB4 reaching up to 3.4 GB/s. In practice, TB5 won’t deliver the whole of its claimed maximum of 120 Gb/s to a single storage device, and current reports are that will only achieve disk transfers at 6 GB/s, or twice TB4. However, in use that’s close to the expected performance of internal SSDs in Apple silicon Macs, and should make booting from a TB5 external SSD almost indistinguishable in terms of speed.

As far as external ports go, this widens the gap between the M4 Pro Mac mini’s three TB5 ports, which should now deliver 3.4 GB/s over USB4 or 6 GB/s over TB5, and its two USB-C ports that are still restricted to USB 3.2 Gen 2 at 10 Gb/s, equating to 1 GB/s, the same as in M1 models from four years ago.

My choice

With a couple of T2 Macs and a MacBook Pro M3 Pro, I’ve been looking to replace my original Mac Studio M1 Max. As it looks likely that an M4 version of the Studio won’t be announced until well into next year, I’m taking the opportunity to shrink its already modest size to that of a new Mac mini. What better choice than an M4 Pro with 10 P and 4 E cores and a 20-core GPU, and the optional 10 Gb Ethernet? I seldom use the fourth Thunderbolt port on the Studio, and have already ordered a Kensington dock to deliver three TB5 ports from one on the Mac, and I’m sure it will drive my Studio Display every bit as well as the Studio has done.

If you have also been tempted by one of the new Mac minis, I was astonished to discover that three-year AppleCare+ for it costs less than £100, that’s two-thirds of the price that I pay each year for AppleCare+ on my MacBook Pro.

I look forward to diving deep into both my new Mac and Thunderbolt 5 in the coming weeks.

10 月初，全新的 MacBook Pro 在尚未公开前，直接被几位博主提前开箱上手，堪称苹果自 iPhone 4 以来最严重的产品泄露事件。

原本以为苹果会把发布会提前举办，接住这泼天的流量。结果，苹果跟赌气似的选择跳过发布会，还一天发一件，终于在 iMac 与 Mac mini 之后，全新 MacBook Pro 携 M4 全系列芯片登场。

还是熟悉的配方，这代 MacBook Pro 在外观上并没有太大变化，我们直接将目光先聚焦在今天的重点上——M4 系列芯片。

与 iMac 不同，MacBook Pro 上使用的 M4 芯片均为满血状态，配备 10 核 CPU 与 10 核 GPU，与昨天发布的 Mac mini 对齐。

搭载 M4 标准版芯片的 MacBook Pro 在编辑照片等任务上比配备 M1 的 13 英寸 MacBook Pro 快 1.8 倍，在 Blender 中执行渲染任务时，速度可达 3.4 倍。

搭载 M4 标准版的 MacBook Pro 另一个变化，就是同样起步就配备 16GB 内存，最高支持 32GB。

面对与日俱增的 AI 需求，电脑对内存的需求也在不断攀升。全力押注 AI 的苹果也到了不得不违背「祖宗之法」的时候了。

此前，搭载 M3 芯片的 MacBook Pro 在闭合的情况下，支持一台分辨率最高达 6K (60Hz) 的外接显示器，以及另一台分辨率最高达 5K (60Hz) 的外接显示器。

现在好了， M4 MacBook Pro 开盖也能连两台显示器。

昨天出现在 Mac mini 上的 M4 Pro 继续登场，最多集成 14 核 CPU 与 20 核 GPU 以及 16 核 NPU，M4 Pro 性能与配备 M1 Pro 的 16 英寸 MacBook Pro 相比，在 Mason Redshift 中渲染场景的性能高达 3 倍。

同时，M4 Pro 对应的起步内存与 M4 芯片也拉开了差距，升级到 24GB，最高支持 48G 内存。

为了 AI，苹果还想了别的办法——搭载了 M4 Pro 的 MacBook Pro 的内存带宽比上一代大幅增加了 75%——这是任何 AI PC 使用的芯片的两倍。

除了前两天已经发布的 M4 标准版与 M4 Pro，最大杯 M4 Max 也终于在今天亮相。

按照惯例，M4 Max 与 M4 Pro 一样分为高低两个配置，低配 14 核 CPU、32 核 GPU、16 核 NPU；高配 16 核 CPU、40 核 GPU 以及 16 核 NPU。

M4 Max 芯片版本的 MacBook Pro 内存从 36GB 起步，最高支持选配 128GB。

M4 Max 的性能也稳步提升，据苹果宣称，M4 Max 在 Maxon Redshift 场景渲染中的性能最高可达 M1 Max 的 3.5 倍，可轻松完成视觉效果、3D 动画和电影配乐等繁重的创意工作量，在 Xcode 中编译代码时，构建性能速度也能高达 2.2 倍。

在人工智能方面，M4 Max 的提升较为明显，可以提供比 M1 Max 快 3 倍以上的神经引擎，配合增大的内存，开发人员可以轻松与具有近 2000 亿个参数的 LLM 交互。

在拓展方面，新 MacBook Pro 也变得更为强大，在 M4 Max 加持下，可以在开盖的情况下，最多外接 4 个额外显示器。

除了核心性能，M4 MacBook Pro 的接口也有所升级。

之前的 M3 MacBook Pro 入门级配备 2 个雷雳 4 接口，现在 M4 MacBook Pro 将从 3 个雷雳 4 接口起步，与更高配置机型看齐，Pro 与 Air 的界限进一步分明；

M4 Pro 与 M4 Max 机型则配备昨天在 Mac mini 上首次出现的雷雳 5 接口，可以实现高达 120 Gb/s 的数据传输速度，吞吐能力是雷雳 4 接口的 2 倍以上。

在新的 MacBook Pro 上，苹果引入了全新的纳米纹理面板，可以在明亮环境中显示高达 1000 尼特的 SDR 内容，并以 1600 尼特的峰值亮度显示 HDR 内容，屏幕旁边的摄像头也升级了——一个支持自动将用户居中的 1200 万像素的摄像头，同时也支持「桌上视角」功能。

最后，苹果宣称新 MacBook Pro 的续航最长可达 24 个小时，并且支持快充，最快只需要 30 分钟就可以充电 50%，续航烦恼进一步得到解决。

苹果向来钟爱于深空灰和银色这类具有光泽感的配色，去年发布的深空黑配色却打破常规，黑得更为深邃，呈现一种强烈而沉稳的金属质感。

以往深空黑色专属于 M3 Pro 与 M3 Max，现在，最便宜的 M4 MacBook Pro 也能享受到这种高级感了。

M4 系列的 MacBook Pro 依然分为 14 和 16 英寸两种规格，其中 14 英寸可选择 M4、M4 Pro、M4 Max 三种性能版本，而 16 英寸可选择 M4 Pro 或 M4 Max 两种性能版本。这样的方案与前代保持一致。

最后，公布一下价格：

14 寸 M4 MacBook Pro ：

• 搭载 M4 芯片起售价为 12999 元
• 搭载 M4 Pro 芯片的起售价为 16999 元
• 搭载 M4 Max 芯片的起售价为 26999 元

16 寸 M4 MacBook Pro ：

• 搭载 M4 Pro 芯片的起售价为 19999 元
• 搭载 M4 Max 芯片的起售价为 27999 元

搭载 M4 系列芯片的 MacBook Pro 将于 11 月 1 日上午 9 点接受预购，11 月 8 日正式发售。

2020 年底，苹果自研的 M1 芯片登场，彼时，大家聊得最多的，还是大数据、云计算和元宇宙。

四年过去，AI 成了目前最炙手可热的话题。

话题永远与产品息息相关，作为苹果最专业的便携终端，MacBook Pro 起步内存集体「升杯」，显然已经为迎接 AI 时代做好了准备。

不过，由于国行版本的 AI 功能的暂时缺席，M4 MacBook Pro 更大的意义也许在于，机身终于来到一个相较前代，定位更清晰、结构更合理、功能更齐全的舒适区。

你会选择 M4 MacBook Pro 吗？你觉得哪个版本是性价比之选？

欢迎在评论区给出你的看法。

#欢迎关注爱范儿官方微信公众号：爱范儿（微信号：ifanr），更多精彩内容第一时间为您奉上。

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Apple silicon Macs are the first Apple computers to feature fully secure boot processes as one of their fundamental design goals. Although similar in some ways to those in Apple’s devices and in Intel Macs with T2 chips, there are substantial differences. Unlike T2 Macs, secure Boot in Apple silicon is maintained even when starting up from external storage, a feature completely unsupported by devices. Non-standard configurations are also available to give greater flexibility with reduced security modes, which are absent from devices. This article explains how to manage Secure Boot on Apple silicon Macs.

Full Security

By default, Apple silicon Macs start up in Full Security, the mode recommended by Apple for normal use. That requires:

• Following pre-boot stages, a Signed System Volume (SSV) is loaded from its snapshot, with its seal intact and signature verified.
• The only kernel extensions loaded during boot are those supplied by Apple in macOS. No third-party kernel extensions can be loaded.
• System Integrity Protection (SIP) is fully enabled.

Because they run outside the privileged space of the kernel and its extensions, third-party system extensions and their relatives can be loaded and used fully.

Booting in Full Security applies full control and verification of all components from the Boot ROM, through the Low-Level Bootloader (LLB) and iBoot ‘firmware’, to the kernel and its extensions in the SSV. If any part of that sequence fails to verify, the boot process is halted and, depending on where the failure has occured, the Mac is either put into DFU or Recovery mode for the user to address the problem. This not only ensures robust security throughout, but it also guards against potential conflicts such as those arising with third-party kernel extensions, and unintentional corruption of any component.

Changing security

Control over boot security is applied using Startup Security Utility when booted in paired Recovery (except in Big Sur, as explained below). Access this by starting the Mac up into normal paired Recovery with a single long hold of the Power button. When the first screen has loaded, click the Options button, then from the Utilities menu select the Startup Security Utility command.

You will then be prompted to select the boot volume group whose security policy will be set. Note that in macOS 12.0.1 and later this must be the same as that for the paired Recovery being used.

By default that will already be in Full Security. Set the new policy as explained below, and click the OK button. To apply that policy, select the Restart command to exit Recovery and start up in normal user mode.

Startup Security Utility changes the LocalPolicy settings for that boot volume group; those are stored in the iSCPreboot volume on the hidden Apple_APFS_ISC container on the internal SSD of that Mac. Full details of LocalPolicy are given in Apple’s Platform Security Guide, and explained here.

Big Sur is a notable exception to the requirement to change security settings in the paired Recovery volume: it doesn’t have a paired Recovery volume, but boots into Recovery from a hidden container on its internal SSD, from where Startup Security Utility controls security settings for all mounted boot volume groups.

Fallback Recovery (frOS) is unable to change LocalPolicy, thus Startup Security Utility is unavailable when booted in frOS, its most distinctive feature.

Although the bputil command tool gives access to security settings, its use to modify them is hazardous, and shouldn’t be attempted unless you know what you’re doing and are prepared to have to restore that Mac in DFU mode. It is, though, sometimes useful as an aid to solving problems with LocalPolicy settings, as explained here.

Reduced Security

When reducing security settings, the only other option available is Reduced Security, which forms the gateway to Permissive Security as well. There are two other common reasons for selecting Reduced Security, though: to enable the loading of third-party kernel extensions, and to run older versions of macOS.

To enable the loading of third-party kernel extensions, Reduced Security must be set, and the upper checkbox ticked. Once this has been applied by a restart, installation and loading of the kernel extension can proceed using its installer and Privacy & Security settings. That doesn’t enable loading of the kext on demand, as in the past, as it has to be merged into a signed Auxiliary Kernel Collection, from where it can loaded during startup.

Although Apple states that Reduced Security is required to run older versions of macOS, that doesn’t appear to be required at present. Reduced Security differs from Full Security in that LLB and iBoot trust ‘global’ signatures that are bundled with macOS rather than using personalised signatures for iBoot and beyond. For many, this may appear to be an insignificant reduction compared with Full Security, although it does add the risks of loading third-party kexts when used for that purpose.

Permissive Security

Startup Security Utility doesn’t offer Permissive Security as an option until Reduced Security has been selected and an action has been taken to downgrade that to Permissive Security. The most likely reason for doing this is to partially or completely disable SIP using csrutil, and once that has been performed this third setting is shown in Startup Security Utility.

Just as with Reduced Security, this offers two further options in checkboxes, including that to enable the loading of third-party kernel extensions.

The main reason for using Permissive Security is to reduce SIP settings, and I have recently provided a guide to the controls available in csrutil. The normal sequence for changing those is to start up in paired Recovery, open Startup Security Utility, set that to Reduced Security and click on the OK button. Following that, open Terminal, run the appropriate csrutil command, then restart the Mac, which will automatically be in Permissive Security.

The security effects of Permissive Security are determined largely by changes made to SIP and other controls. Although signatures are still validated throughout the chain of boot stages, ‘global’ signatures are trusted for iBoot and beyond, as are boot objects signed locally by the Secure Enclave. At its most extensive, this allows the use of a fully untrusted kernel, such as a debug or custom version. The penalty is that some decryption keys are no longer available, and those restrict features available in macOS, such as Apple Pay, which is normally disabled.

Reversing Permissive Security requires fully enabling SIP using csrutil, undoing any other relevant security settings, then using Startup Security Utility to set a higher level of security. In some cases, that may entail installing a fresh macOS with its SSV. Apple also notes that, on Apple silicon Macs, SIP settings aren’t stored in NVRAM but in the LocalPolicy.

External Boot Volumes

With the notable exception of Big Sur, boot security settings are saved into the LocalPolicy for the boot volume group containing that paired Recovery system, although all LocalPolicy settings are saved to the internal SSD, never to an external disk. This relies on the concept of ownership, as explained here. This can bring its own problems, as explored here.

Summary

• Unless there’s a good reason, leave boot volume groups in Apple silicon Macs in Full Security.
• If your Mac needs to load a third-party kernel extension, run it in Reduced Security with those kernel extensions enabled.
• Partially or completely disabling SIP requires Permissive Security, which brings significant penalties, and may require more extensive work to undo.
• Use Startup Security Utility rather than bputil.

Reference

Apple’s Platform Security Guide

If you’ve become blasé with the tail end of the summer’s sport, Olympics and Paralympics, events next week should make compulsive viewing. Apple starts with its regular September launch of iPhones, and a day later we’ll be enthralled by the first TV debate between the two main contenders in the US presidential election. My money is on the iPhone 16 to win.

With those new iPhones comes the next major version of iOS, and hot on its heels macOS Sequoia 15.0. Without its AI features, that might seem the least exciting announcement of the week, but it prepares the ground for the next batch of Macs to be announced most probably in October, for shipping the following month. All commentators seem agreed that they will come not with M3 chips, but will be the first Macs to use the M4 family.

By now, different M-series chips are becoming blurry, so I’ll try to draw distinctions between them, and suggest why Apple has rushed through the M3 as if it might have been better-named the M2.5.

M1, November 2020

Skipping silently over Apple’s Developer Transition Kit from the summer of 2020, Apple silicon Macs started at a leisurely pace, as the four members of the M1 family rolled out over nearly 18 months. Their CPU cores ranged from the base version with 4 P and 4 E cores, 4P+4E in short, up to the impressive Ultra at 16P+4E. There was little separation, though, between the Pro and Max versions, which both came with 8P+2E, and only really differed in their GPUs. Thus, in the M1 there only two fundamentally different CPU core configurations, 4P+4E and 8P+2E, each with up to four cores in a cluster. Both core types used Arm’s instruction set architecture (ISA) from 2018, designated ARMv8.5-A.

M2, July 2022

Some of us assumed that first cycle would prove the model for its successors, but we were wrong and getting wronger as time progresses. After a break of just four months, Apple leaped into the M2 cycle, which it shortened to just a year from the 4P+4E M2 base version in July 2022. This cycle Apple bumped the number of E cores in the higher versions, taking the Ultra to 16P+8E, but still leaving little distance between the Pro and Max versions, both with 8P+4E, and two fundamental core configurations and clusters of four.

What might have appeared at the time to be small change, an increment in the ISA to ARMv8.6-A from 2019, brought enhancements in matrix maths, support for bfloat16 numbers to help with AI, and additional virtualisation capability. Although the M2 series appeared evolutionary in performance, it has also proved more capable.

M3, November 2023

Introduction of the M3 came again after a brief break of around four months, in November 2023. This time there was no phased release, gradually building up through Pro and Max to Ultra. The lesser three all came together, and put more distance between Pro and Max versions. The base M3 stuck with the proven combination of 4P+4E, the Pro scaled up to 6P+6E, then the Max nearly doubled that at 12P+4E, making three fundamental core configurations. That was over nine months ago, and there’s still no sign of any doubled-up Ultra version. To match the M3 Pro and Max core counts, they now form clusters of up to six cores, a significant advance on the two previous families.

While the M3 kept to Arm’s ARMv8.6-A ISA, Apple redesigned the GPU to support Dynamic Caching, Mesh Shading, and hardware-accelerated ray tracing. There’s one oddity, though: as this is the same ISA as the M2, with its enhanced support for virtualisation, Apple has stated that nested virtualisation coming in Sequoia requires not an M2 chip, but the M3, with its identical ISA. I have yet to see an explanation for that requirement.

M4, May 2024

In the absence of any M3 Ultra, Apple caught us off-guard when in May of this year (only six months after the M3) it launched new iPad Pros with what we must assume is the base M4 version of 4P+6E, and the next Arm ISA of ARMv9.2-A from 2020. That enhances vector and matrix maths, and brings support for 1 GHz timers, enabling nanosecond time resolution. In addition to the GPU features added in the M3, those in the M4 now also have hardware accelerated AV1 decoding.

There have, of course, been many other changes between M1 and M4, including higher operating frequencies for CPU cores, growth in the capability of the neural engine (ANE), and better support for external displays in the base version.

M1 to M4

Assuming that we’re soon to be treated to a range of Macs running members of the M4 family, the pace of change is accelerating. Landmarks along the route so far include:

• Increased E cores and ARMv8.6-A ISA in the M2.
• Three core configurations, clusters of six cores, and extended GPU hardware support in the M3.
• Increased E cores, ARMv9.2-A ISA and extra GPU hardware support in the M4.

For those who have whetted their appetite for Apple silicon with an M1 or M2, the leap up to M4 should prove exhilarating. Bring on the M4 Mac Studio, please, no matter who ends up as President.

Postscript and non-apologia

A few have commented to me, either below or by email, that they find this article somehow “offensive” for its references to the US Presidential Election, specifically for “belittling” it. If you have reached the end of this article and feel that to be true, then once you have finished reading this postscript, please go back and read its first paragraph again, slowly and without imagining words or meanings that simply aren’t there.

The introductory paragraph is what is known in American (but not, yet, British) English as a lede, and introduction. It establishes that there are two important events taking place early this coming week: Apple’s Event, which is the link to the main body of the article, and the televised debate between “the two main contenders in the US presidential election”. I hope we all agree that those are both important events.

I deliberately refer to the latter as enthralling, a word whose implications appear not be understood by many. A thrall is literally a slave, someone in bondage, and the word has ambiguous connotations of both being fascinating and attention-holding (its more common usage today), and enslaving mentally or morally. I simply cannot think of a more appropriate word to describe that hugely important debate, and cannot understand how anyone could construe that as in any way belittling.

The sentence at the end of that lede, “my money is on the iPhone 16 to win” is a reference to the unpredictability of elections (don’t forget that we in the UK had our own General Election just two months ago), and for those who have deeper insight into events a reference to gambling. As any American knows, betting in the US on the outcome of the Presidential Election is illegal, although betting on events such as the date of the next general election, or its outcome, remains perfectly legal in the UK. However, there were several scandals in the UK concerning people close to the former Prime Minister who placed successful bets on that date, and the hidden reference here is to those scandalous events still under investigation.

The final para in the article then refers back to the lede, a common technique when rounding off articles. In no way does it dismiss the importance of the election, but is an expressed wish that whatever disaster might or might not take place, there are many of us looking forward to Apple’s future M4 Macs, in my case specifically a new Mac Studio M4. Yes, it is a little light-hearted, after all this article is more of an editorial, as I’m sure you’re aware.

If you still find this offensive, then I’m sorry, but you really do need to read what is written, and not what you wish to imagine it’s saying.