Apple M3 vs M4 Chip Comparison

Apple's latest M4 chip was released in May 2024 for the iPad Pro, with Macs following in October. Apple have made some very lofty claims, but how does it benchmark compared to the M3 and is it worth the upgrade? In this article, we take an in-depth look at the M4's CPU, GPU and NPU performance.

Benchmark comparisions

M3 vs M4 CPU Comparison

The M4 chip comes in two configurations: a 9-core CPU (3 high-performance, 6 high-efficiency) and a 10-core CPU (4 high-performance, 6 high-efficiency). This is an upgrade from the M3's 8-core CPU (4 high-performance, 4 high-efficiency). Like its predecessor the M4 is built on 3-nanometer architecture but with 12% more transistors bringing the total to 28 billion. This increase boosts overall efficiency, which is reflected in improved benchmark scores.

When benchmarking using Geekbench 6 we found the M4 to have a 23% increase in single-core performance. There is a 12% increase in multi-core performance when comparing the M3 8-core and M4 9-core CPUs, and a 23% increase in when comparing the M3 8-core to the M4 10-core.

M3 vs M4 GPU Comparison

Like the M3 the M4 includes the latest GPU features such as dynamic caching and mesh shading, enhancing both performance and energy efficiency. The M4 comes standard with a 10-core GPU while the M3 base model has an 8-core GPU and a 10-core GPU is an upgrade option. When comparing the Geekbench Metal scores for the M3 10-core GPU and the M4 10-core GPU we see a modest 13% improvement in performance for the M4 GPU.

M3 vs M4 NPU (Neural Processing unit) Comparison

A NPU (Neural Processing Unit) is the part of a chip that looks after AI (artificial intelligence) and machine learning. Apple's name for this part of the chip is the Neural Engine, which was first introduced in 2017 with the A11 chip for the iPhone 8. Both the M3 and M4 chips have 16-core Neural Engines.

While Apple claims the M4 chip performs 38 trillion operations per second (TOPS) compared to 18 TOPS for the M3, this isn't an accurate comparison. The M4 was measured using INT8 benchmarks, while the M3 used FP16. When both are assessed with INT8, the M4 shows only a 5% improvement in TOPS.

When benchmarking with Geekbench AI 1.1.0 (using Core ML framework, Single Precision) the M3 Neural Engine produces a score of 4123 versus 4725 for the M4 Neural Engine, a difference of 14.6%.

M3 vs M4 Summary

The M4 release appears to be an incremental performance increase with only relatively modest improvements in performance (despite some of their marketing!) when compared to the M3 chip, similar to the jump between M2 and M3. Unless you need the very cutting edge device then their might not be an immediate need to upgrade.

List of devices with the M3 chip

List of devices with the M4 chip

We have a wide selection of refurbished M3 and M4 series devices available for immediate dispatch, including refurbished iPad Pro 11-inch and 13-inch models.