M4 vs M3 and M2: A Comprehensive Comparison of Apple Silicon Chips
The new iPad Pro has recently been unveiled by Apple, featuring its latest M4 chip. This new chip is a significant upgrade from its predecessors, the M3 and M2. In this article, we will dive deep into the improvements and differences between the M4, M3, and M2 chips, specifically focusing on the CPU, GPU, Neural Engine, and other specifications.
CPU, GPU, Neural Engine specs
| M4 | M3 | M2 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| CPU | 9 or 10-core | 8-core | 8-core |
| GPU | 10-core | Up to 10-core | Up to 10-core |
| Neural engine | 16-core | 16-core | 16-core |
| RAM | 8 or 16GB with iPad Pro (24GB likely with future Macs) | Up to 24GB | Up to 24GB (max 16GB with iPad Pro) |
| Storage | Up to 2TB with iPad Pro (8TB likely with future Macs) | Up to 8TB | Up to 8TB |
| Memory bandwidth | 120GB/s | 100GB/s | 100GB/s |
| Process | 3nm 2nd-gen | 3nm | 5nm |
| Transistor count | 28 billion | 25 billion | 20 billion |
With the M4 chip, Apple has increased the transistor count to an impressive 28 billion, compared to 25 billion for the M3 and 20 billion for the M2. This demonstrates a remarkable 40% increase in just two years.
CPU benchmark scores
According to Apple, the M4 CPU is up to 50% faster than the M2. Although Apple hasn’t provided a detailed comparison between the M4 and M3 CPUs, early benchmark scores for the M4 iPad Pro show a single-core score of ~3,700 and a multi-core score of ~14,000. In comparison, the M3 Mac CPU benchmarked at a single-core score of ~3,100 and a multi-core score of ~12,000. This indicates that the M4 CPU is up to 18% faster for single-core performance and up to 21% faster for multi-core performance.
GPU and media engines
Apple claims that the M4 GPU is 4x faster than the M2, and the M3 GPU is up to 1.8x faster than the M2. As per Apple’s numbers, the M4 GPU is up to ~2x faster than the M3 GPU. Early Metal benchmark scores for the M4 iPad Pro show an average score of 53,000, compared to the M3 average Metal score of 46,571, resulting in a 13% faster Metal performance for the M4. The M4 also offers hardware-accelerated support for H.264, HEVC, ProRes, and ProRes RAW, including 8K video support, just like the M3 and M2.
Neural Engine
The M4 introduces a more powerful Neural Engine, surpassing any AI PC today. With 38 trillion operations per second, the M4’s Neural Engine more than doubles the 18 trillion ops/sec of the M3 and nearly triples the 15.8 trillion ops/sec of the M2.
External display support
Currently, the M4 only supports one external display with the iPad Pro. However, this may change with the introduction of the first M4 Macs, as even the M3 MacBook Air supports up to 2 external displays when the lid is closed.
Conclusion
The M4 chip demonstrates impressive performance improvements over the M3 and M2. However, the decision to upgrade should be based on individual requirements. For professionals who demand the latest and most powerful Apple technology, the new M4 iPad Pro is a worthwhile investment. On the other hand, for users who don’t need the absolute fastest performance, it may make more sense to wait for the M4 to appear in Macs or for the release of the M4 Pro, Max, and Ultra chips. The M4 iPad Pro is currently available at Apple, Amazon, and other retailers.
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