Prominent tech analyst Gene Munster has observed a "surprise takeaway" from Apple Inc.'s AAPL iPad launch event on Tuesday where the company unveiled the M4 chip.
What Happened: Munster took to X, formerly Twitter, on Tuesday to express his thoughts on the significance of the M4 chip announcement.
He believes that this development indicates Apple’s growing speed in updating its silicon and its focus on making hardware a competitive advantage in the field of artificial intelligence (AI).
“I have a surprise takeaway from the $AAPL iPad event. Apple is getting a lot faster at updating its silicon with the announcement of the M4 chip."
Apple first announced the first M-series branded chip in 2020, powering Macs. A year later, it announced the first iPad with an M-series chip, the 2021 iPad Pro.
It took Apple 19 months to launch the M2 chip, and since then, the time gap has continued to fall. The M3 chip came out 16 months later, and the M4 chip took just 7 months.
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"This is important as more AI features are run on device, and Apple looks to make hardware an AI competitive advantage,” Munster added.
Apple's M4 chip is designed to enhance AI-related tasks, particularly in the new iPad Pro model. The M4 chip is expected to deliver a significant performance boost for AI tasks, with a new neural engine capable of 38 trillion operations per second.
Why It Matters: Munster’s observation aligns with Apple’s recent focus on AI. The company’s AI strategy, set to be announced at the Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) in June, has industry experts excited, with Wedbush's Dan Ives saying the "AI revolution" is now headed to Cupertino.
Despite Apple CEO Tim Cook keeping details about the iPhone AI close to the chest, Tesla investor Ross Gerber anticipates a new upgrade cycle for the company following the launch of Cupertino’s AI solutions for iPhones.
Apple’s recent unveiling of the new AI model ReALM, which outperforms OpenAI’s GPT-4, is another indication of the company’s growing focus on AI. The new model could be leveraged to enhance Siri, Apple’s virtual assistant, and further strengthen its position in the AI market.
Price Action: Apple's shares were trading 0.44% up in premarket trading after closing at $182.40 on Tuesday, according to Benzinga Pro.
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Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of Benzinga Neuro and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
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