The recently launched M4 MacBook Pros have generated significant buzz, but not solely for their performance. Apple remained relatively quiet on direct performance comparisons between the M4 chips and their predecessors. However, leaked benchmarks have surfaced, offering a glimpse into the potential power of the M4 Max and M4 Pro.
On X (formerly Twitter), user James Atkinson unearthed Geekbench 6 benchmark results for the M4 Max, revealing a remarkable single-core score of 4,060 and a multi-core score of 26,675. These scores surpass any existing PCs or laptops currently on the market. Industry insider @LeakerApple also highlighted the M4 Max GPU’s impressive performance, claiming it’s roughly 90% as powerful as the M2 Ultra chip found in the 2023 Mac Studio.
It’s crucial to remember that these benchmarks are unofficial and could potentially be fabricated. However, if genuine, they signify Apple regaining a substantial performance lead over its competitors.
The single-core score, in particular, is unprecedented. Our own testing database shows current Intel and Qualcomm laptop chips scoring well below 3,000 in Geekbench 6, a far cry from the M4 Max’s result. Even the M3 Max in the 14-inch MacBook Pro achieved a single-core score of 3,174. This leaked score seemingly validates Apple’s claim of having the fastest core on the market.
The M4 Max, designed for Apple’s high-end MacBook Pro, boasts up to 12 performance cores, 4 efficiency cores, and 40 GPU cores. Its 128GB of unified memory and 546GB/s memory bandwidth represent a fourfold increase over its predecessor, as per Apple.
Further Geekbench 6 benchmarks positioned the standard M4 chip in the MacBook Pro as the next most powerful, followed by the M4 Pro in the Mac mini. Within the previous generation, the M3 Pro in the MacBook Pro outperformed the M3 Max in the MacBook Pro.
Independent testing will ultimately determine the true performance capabilities of these new chips. With the M4 MacBook Pro launching on November 8, we anticipate seeing third-party reviews and benchmarks around that time.
