A Russian YouTuber has allegedly posted the first-ever unboxing video of an unannounced Mac, and claims to have revealed the specs of the M4 MacBook Pro we expect Apple to unveil later this month.
Determining the authenticity of the video is a difficult task, but it’s not that hard to make an educated guess about how accurate the specs are likely to be.
It’s impossible to tell if the video is real
Given that we don’t expect any changes to the external design of the M4 MacBook Pro, the video itself doesn’t give any real clues. Yes, it has one more Thunderbolt port than the existing base model, but the M3 Pro and M3 Max have three.
The box itself is the same one we’ve seen before, which again tells us nothing. Sure, it fits if both are real; but if both are fake, it would make sense to use an existing fake box to create your fake video — or at least copy it.
The claimed specs also make sense — but again, that could be because they’re real, or because a scammer would naturally choose legitimate specs that match previous reports.
There are a couple of questionable aspects. As Gurman points out, the wallpaper shown is the same as the previous model. Also, we noted at the time that the box listed “Apple ID” rather than the company’s new “Apple Account” nomenclature (though we’ve seen other inconsistencies with that).
In short, the video may or may not be real, but that’s not really the point.
The claimed m4 MacBook Pro specs are credible
The claimed specs for what is said to be the base model are as follows:
- 10-core CPU, 10-core GPU (up from the M3's 8-core CPU)
- 16GB of RAM (up from 8GB)
- 512GB of storage
- Three Thunderbolt 4 ports (up from two on the base model)
Apple Intelligence in particular is known to be a glutton for RAM, with the iPhone 16 lineup getting a bump to 8GB, so giving the upcoming MacBook more capacity in that area would make sense.
The specs also highlight Apple's problem
In the days of the Intel Mac, Apple was stuck with the American chipmaker's CPU refresh cycle, and the pace of progress wasn't all that impressive.
With Apple Silicon, the Cupertino company completely transformed both the power and battery life of the MacBook, and the first-generation M1 chip gave anyone still using an Intel Mac a compelling reason to upgrade. Each subsequent generation of M-series chips adds to that appeal for Intel owners.
The hardest part, though, is convincing existing Apple Silicon Mac owners to consider upgrading. Admittedly, I went with the most powerful M1 MacBook Pro in the lineup, but even so, my 2021 Mac still feels blazing fast, I’m still amazed at how cool and quiet it is when doing heavy-duty tasks like video editing, and I still can’t believe the battery life is real.
It’s probably not news that I’m not even remotely tempted to upgrade my three-year-old machine: Even the most hardcore of us tend to operate on a five-year cycle when it comes to Macs. But what’s even more remarkable, I think, is that my 2021 MacBook still feels like brand new, and my appreciation for the performance jump from Intel machines hasn’t faded.
My heaviest task is editing 4K video, and my current machine allows me to do that without any noticeable lag or the need for proxy frames. I don’t need more power (at least until 8K video becomes mainstream).
As for battery life, I can use my Mac without power for 8-10 hours. I don't need a long battery life.
I suspect those two things are true for the vast majority of M-series Mac owners, and that's the problem Apple faces now.
Back in the Intel days, people upgraded less because there was rapid innovation and more because they weren't getting the combination of power and battery life they really wanted, and an incremental approach was better than nothing. But when we've already had everything we want and need for years on end, the pressure on Apple to keep pushing the boundaries and adding new features has never been greater.
Image: Michael Bauer/9to5Mac
