PowerPC G4
designation used by Apple Computer and Eyetech to describe a fourth generation of 32-bit PowerPC microprocessors
PowerPC G4 is a designation formerly used by Apple to describe a fourth generation of 32-bit PowerPC microprocessors. Apple has applied this name to various (though closely related) processor models from Freescale, a former part of Motorola. Motorola and Freescale's internal name of this family of processors is PowerPC 74xx.
Macintosh computers such as the PowerBook G4 and iBook G4 laptops and the Power Mac G4 and Power Mac G4 Cube desktops all took their name from the processor. PowerPC G4 microprocessors were also used in the eMac, first-generation Xserves, first-generation Mac minis, and the iMac G4 before the introduction of the PowerPC 970, dubbed the G5 by Apple.
Apple completely phased out the G4 series for desktop models after it selected the 64-bit IBM-produced PowerPC 970 processor as the basis for its PowerPC G5 series. The last desktop model that used the G4 was the Mac mini. The last portable to use the G4 was the iBook G4, which was replaced by the Intel-based MacBook. The PowerBook G4 was replaced by the Intel-based MacBook Pro.
The PowerPC G4 microprocessors were also popular in other computer systems, such as the AmigaOne series of computers and the Pegasos from Genesi.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “PowerPC G4” is designation used by Apple Computer and Eyetech to describe a fourth generation of 32-bit PowerPC microprocessors. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through PowerPC, designation and used, not as a finished interpretation.
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The citation trail is more important than the brevity of the summary: it shows where individual claims can be examined in context. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 1, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q430856. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference.
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This entry incorporates text from “PowerPC G4” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.