TECH NEWS – With Qualcomm looking to respond to Apple’s technology, a new chip from the two companies could reach consumers somewhat sooner, perhaps proving that competition tries to get the best out of the parties (while monotonous dominance tends to do the opposite).

We’ve already written that a new MacBook Pro with Apple’s M4 chip is officially in development, but even then we were told that this didn’t mean an imminent release, and that it wouldn’t be unveiled until sometime around the spring of 2025. But now there is a new timeline from Canalys, which has outlined revised plans: the M4 could launch a little earlier, sometime in the first quarter of 2025, so within a year.

The M3, M3 Pro, and M3 Max were announced last October, but the M3 Ultra has yet to be unveiled (we’ll see it in future Mac Pro and Mac Studio machines). Nevertheless, the M4 could launch as early as early 2025, but its announcement could slip to the second quarter, between April and June next year, as there are several hidden factors involved in the release date. Qualcomm is also trying to shake up the market.

Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X Elite chip, which could appear in several laptops in 2024, could also be made in a weaker version. The top-of-the-line model will be 12-core, but reportedly 10-core and 8-core versions could also hit stores. The 12-core Snapdragon X Elite multi-core could have better performance than the M3, with the lower-core versions competing with Apple’s MacBook Air.

Both the M4 and Snapdragon X Elite could be built with artificial intelligence, and could be accompanied by Intel and AMD solutions, in addition to the same time when the M4 could launch. Intel’s Arrow Lake and Lunar Lake, while AMD’s Strix Point (8050) could go head-to-head with Apple’s and Qualcomm’s hardware.

Source: WCCFTech, Canalys