Desperate for a MacBook Pro M4? Here’s some good news – another rumor points firmly to a launch later in 2024

14-inch MacBook Pro M3 on a desk
(Image credit: Future)

Apple’s MacBook Pro with M4 is on track for a launch in the final quarter of 2024, if the latest in a line of rumors about the next-gen laptop is to be believed.

This comes from a regular source of Apple info, Ross Young, who heads up Display Supply Chain Consultants, and has told us before that a MacBook Pro M4 is inbound for later in 2024.

That speculation was based on the timing of display panel shipments for the MacBook Pro M4 happening in Q3. As Apple Insider reports, Young has just told us that screens for the MacBook Pro 14-inch and 16-inch with M4 silicon have started shipping in July and August, just as predicted.

This lines up with a theoretical Q4 launch, of course – the displays for the laptop have to be shipped well in advance, so the devices can be put together, tested, and shipped themselves – as Young noted in a post on X which, oddly, has now been deleted.

In short, the likelihood is a fall (September or October) reveal for the MacBook Pro M4, followed by the laptops going on sale shortly after.


MacBook Pro 14 M3 Max being held in an outstretched arm

(Image credit: Future / Lance Ulanoff)

Analysis: M4 Macs aplenty

The rumors around the MacBook Pro M4 are fairly consistent and coming through quite regularly now, so while we can never be sure about anything filtering down from the grapevine, a late 2024 release seems to be a pretty solid possibility when you add up all the separate bits of speculation.

There is an oddity here, as mentioned, which is Young deleting his post on X. It’s a bit unusual for this to happen, seeing as Young, and other well-known leakers, spill details that they shouldn’t all the time – but maybe this particular nugget trod on somebody’s toes (a source, presumably) in a painful manner, somehow? We can only speculate (ironically) about that.

These MacBook Pros likely won’t be the only Apple devices to arrive this year packing the M4 processor, which has so far only graced the iPad Pro. Leaker Mark Gurman also expects Mac mini and iMac models with the M4 SoC to be launched later in 2024. (The iMac could be getting bigger with a larger-screened model, while the Mac mini M4 might shrink, incidentally).

We’ll doubtless get other M4 machines next year, too, and Gurman believes they will be the MacBook Air (which will surely happen), Mac Pro, and Mac Studio.

You might also like

Darren is a freelancer writing news and features for TechRadar (and occasionally T3) across a broad range of computing topics including CPUs, GPUs, various other hardware, VPNs, antivirus and more. He has written about tech for the best part of three decades, and writes books in his spare time (his debut novel - 'I Know What You Did Last Supper' - was published by Hachette UK in 2013).

Read more
A person holding the 15-inch MacBook Air at Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) in 2023.
Apple MacBook Air M4 announcement due any day now, according to industry insider
smiling person freelancer outdoors working on laptop computer MacBook by Apple with smartwatch Apple Watch, iPhone smiling, show thumb up, like gesture.
Apple fans, get ready for another MacBook refresh - M4 MacBook Air reportedly set to launch this year, amid M5 chip rumors
What an Apple MacBook Air M4 might look like on a coffee table
Apple MacBook Air M4: news, rumors, and everything we know
A person holding the 15-inch MacBook Air at Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) in 2023.
Don’t buy a MacBook Air – a new M4 version is tipped to land within weeks
Person playing a game on new MacBook Air
What to expect from Apple Macs in 2025
The MacBook Air M3 sitting on a red sofa
Fresh M4 MacBook Air rumors point to an imminent launch, but it could be a modest update
Latest in Macbooks
Apple MacBook Air M3 on yellow background with lowest price text overlay
Forget the MacBook Air M4: here are 9 older-model MacBook deals from $629.99
MacBook Air mute key
The new M4 MacBook Air finally fixes an Apple keyboard annoyance that's been around for decades
Apple MacBook Air 13-inch (M4) REVIEW
The Apple MacBook Air 13-inch (M4) is the best ultraportable – and the new price makes it even more appealing
The Apple MacBook Air M2 on a red background with text saying Lowest Price next to it.
The excellent MacBook Air M2 drops to an unbelievable price of $699 - yes, really
Collage of Apple tech on a pink background, including MacBook, iPad, AirPods and Apple Watch
Massive Apple sale live at Best Buy: get a MacBook Air for $699, Apple Watch for $299 and cheap AirPods
Apple MacBook Air M3
The M3 MacBook Air is officially discontinued, but the M2 MacBook Air will live on elsewhere and that's good news
Latest in News
Two Android phones on a green and blue background showing Google Messages
Struggling with slow Google Messages photo transfers? Google says new update will make 'noticeable difference'
Elayne, Egwene, and Nynaeve dressed regally and on horseback in The Wheel of Time season 3
'There's a reason why we do it': The Wheel of Time showrunner responds to fans who are still upset over the Prime Video show's plot alterations
Google Pixel 9
Android 16 could bring an improved Samsung DeX-style desktop mode to more phones
An Nvidia GeForce RTX 4060 Ti
Nvidia could unleash RTX 5060 and 5060 Ti GPUs on PC gamers tomorrow, but there’s no sign of rumored RTX 5050 yet
AI writing
ChatGPT just wrote the most beautiful short story, and I wonder what I'm even doing here
Google Chrome dark mode
Google updates Chrome extension rules to ban affiliate link injection without user action or benefit