Unboxing prohibited, the Macbook Pro M4 in “preview” in Russia

A video that appeared on YouTube over the weekend has sparked an uproar in the tech world. The protagonist, an alleged MacBook Pro with M4 chip, shown in a complete unboxing by the Russian YouTuber Wylsacom, weeks before the possible official announcement by Apple. In the video, Wylsacom shows off what appears to be the packaging of the new 14-inch MacBook Pro, complete with technical specifications: M4 chip with 10-core CPU and GPU, 16GB of RAM and 512GB of storage space. All topped off with a Geekbench benchmark which would show a 25% performance increase compared to the current M3 chip.

But will it all be true? Some details raise suspicions. First, the packaging looks identical to the M3 chip models, with the same background image. Apple usually updates the aesthetics of the packaging with each new release. Furthermore, the MacBook in question would feature three Thunderbolt 4 ports, a feature so far reserved for Pro and Max models with M3 Pro and M3 Max chips. To make everything even more enigmatic, the model shown in the video is black, another option previously exclusive to high-end models. It could be a change of strategy on Apple’s part, or a clue to the falsity of the leak.

Wylsacom then shared the model number (A3112) and SKU (MW2U3LL/A) of the alleged MacBook Pro, both unreleased. The model identifier used in Geekbench (Mac16.1) also does not correspond to any Apple device currently on the market. But the bigger question remains: How would Wylsacom get an as-yet-unannounced product into Russia? Sanctions imposed on the country following the war in Ukraine have made importing Apple products extremely difficult. It could be an extremely well-made fake, or an unprecedented flaw in Apple’s security system.