The tech giant will launch three new MacBook Pro models in late October, incorporating generative artificial intelligence in macOS Sequoia and new advanced tools.
The launch of three main MacBook Pro models (along with new versions of the Mac Mini and iPad Mini) was first reported by the ever-reliable Mark Gurman. In his Power On newsletter , he said that MacBook Pro models will include a 14-inch variant with the low-end Apple Silicon M4 chip, and 14- and 16-inch variants with the M4 Pro and M4 Max chips.
There’s no mention of a consumer-focused MacBook Air on that list ; the M4 MacBook Pro will be the lowest-priced laptop in this round of updates. In the past, this model has been something of a hybrid, built using the MacBook Air’s internals but adding a fan to boost the power available from the M4 chip.
The Air is expected to launch in late Q1 2025 (around the same time as the next-generation iPhone SE). The Apple Silicon M4 launched in May 2024. For the first time, the new M series debuted not on a Mac, but on an iPad — specifically the seventh-generation iPad Pro. Fans of these laptops have waited nearly six months for an M4-powered MacBook when it hits stores in November.
Apple will undoubtedly lean heavily on generative AI in the new MacBooks. The marketing strategy with the somewhat forced acronym Apple Intelligence was the central point of the launch of the iPhone 16, although it has not yet released the software. With Microsoft focusing on generative AI in Windows 11, macOS will have to implement AI quickly if it does not want to be left behind further.
Two generative AI features being tested and likely to be included in macOS Sequoia when it launches with new MacBooks are Writing Tools , which help summarize and rewrite text in select apps, and improvements to Siri , which will allow for more natural-language requests to the existing voice assistant.
Given the rapid expansion of AI tools over the past twelve months, this seems more like an early taste of AI rather than Apple being at the forefront, ready to revolutionise the market with a full toolbox. Still, with these new features delayed on the iPhone, their late arrival on the MacBook seems to fit the brand.
