(Reuters) – Apple is moving closer to producing M4 computer processors that will have artificial intelligence processing capabilities and plans to update every Mac model with them, Bloomberg News reported on Thursday, citing people familiar with the matter.
The company plans to release updated computers late this year and early next year, and they will include new iMacs, affordable 14-inch MacBook Pros, high-end 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pros, and Mac minis. , the message says.
PC makers are experiencing a downturn after the end of a boom in sales of devices for work and homeschooling caused by the pandemic. The industry is pinning its hopes on a revival with a new generation of laptops and desktops with more powerful chips that can handle artificial intelligence tasks such as document summarization without the need to send data to the cloud.
Intel (NASDAQ:) is preparing such chips, as are its competitors, including Qualcomm (NASDAQ:). Reuters reported that Nvidia (NASDAQ:) also plans to leverage its strength in artificial intelligence chips to enter the PC market with a new chip as early as 2025.
According to a Bloomberg report, Apple (NASDAQ:) plans to show off the artificial intelligence processing capabilities of its new chips and how they will integrate with the next version of macOS.
Apple did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
The news comes ahead of Apple’s annual developer conference in June, with reports suggesting the iPhone maker could announce a new artificial intelligence partnership and introduce significant changes to iOS.
Mac sales fell 27% in Apple’s latest fiscal year, which ended in September. In October, Apple introduced current-generation M3 chips and the new MacBook Pro and iMac computers that feature them.