AWS M4 & M4 Pro Mac Instances for Apple App Development
- Amazon Web Services (AWS) has recently unveiled its next generation of Mac instances, the M4 and M4 pro, built on Apple's latest M4 silicon.
- The introduction of Mac instances in 2020 (original proclamation) filled a crucial gap for developers needing cloud-based environments for Apple-specific progress tasks.
- The M4 Mac instances (mac-m4.metal) are based on the Apple M4 Mac mini,featuring a 10-core CPU (4 performance,6 efficiency),a 10-core GPU,a 16-core Neural Engine,and 24 GB of unified...
AWS Launches New M4 and M4 Pro Mac Instances Powered by apple’s M4 Chip
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Amazon Web Services (AWS) has recently unveiled its next generation of Mac instances, the M4 and M4 pro, built on Apple’s latest M4 silicon. These new EC2 instances promise significant performance improvements for developers building applications for Apple’s ecosystem – macOS, iOS, iPadOS, tvOS, and watchOS.
The introduction of Mac instances in 2020 (original proclamation) filled a crucial gap for developers needing cloud-based environments for Apple-specific progress tasks. The M2 series followed in 2023 (InfoQ coverage), and now the M4 instances represent the latest step in AWS’s commitment to supporting the apple developer community.
Diving into the Specs: M4 vs. M4 Pro
The M4 Mac instances (mac-m4.metal) are based on the Apple M4 Mac mini,featuring a 10-core CPU (4 performance,6 efficiency),a 10-core GPU,a 16-core Neural Engine,and 24 GB of unified memory. Stepping up to the M4 Pro instances (mac-m4pro.metal) provides a more powerful configuration with a 14-core CPU, a 20-core GPU, the same 16-core Neural Engine, and a generous 48 GB of unified memory. Both instance types include 2 TB of local SSD storage.
| Feature | M4 (mac-m4.metal) | M4 Pro (mac-m4pro.metal) |
|---|---|---|
| CPU | 10-core (4 performance, 6 efficiency) | 14-core |
| GPU | 10-core | 20-core |
| Neural Engine | 16-core | 16-core |
| Unified Memory | 24 GB | 48 GB |
| Local SSD Storage | 2 TB | 2 TB |
According to AWS, these new instances deliver up to 20% better build performance compared to the previous M2 series. This translates to faster build times and the ability to run more Xcode simulators in parallel, accelerating the development and testing process.
cost Considerations and CI/CD implications
While the performance gains are attractive,the M4 and M4 Pro instances come with a higher price tag. Corey Quinn (Bluesky comment) wryly noted the annual cost can reach $7000 for a Mac Mini equivalent, despite the “Pro” branding and AWS’s Nitro system. This raises questions about cost-effectiveness, particularly for continuous integration and delivery (CI/CD) pipelines.
Older generation Mac instances may still offer a more economical solution for CI/CD, depending on the specific workload and build requirements. A careful cost-benefit analysis is crucial before migrating to the M4 series.
Sébastien Stormacq of AWS (AWS Blog post) highlights the importance of adequate storage: “Select an EBS volume with minimum 200 Gb for development purposes. The 100 Gb default volume size is not sufficient to install xcode.” He also points out that while the local 2 TB SSD offers low latency, its contents are tied to the instance lifecycle and are not persistent.
Availability and Billing
Currently, the M4 and M4 Pro Mac instances are available only in the US East (N. Virginia) and US East (Ohio) regions. They support macOS Sequoia version 15.6 and newer Amazon Machine Images (AMIs).
Like previous Mac instances, billing is per-second, but a 24-hour minimum allocation period applies to comply with Apple’s macOS SLA. purchase options include on-demand instances and Savings Plans.