I thought about that as well. I think there is also the question of, How much stock of M3 Pros/Max do we have left? Chips and complete units.
If they are almost out of M3, they’ll jump on M4 as quick as possible. I don’t think they give a rats ass about what people who bought M3 would feel. At the end of the day Apple strive to be inspiring, not customer-oriented. Apple thinks they’ll win customers back anyways if they are inspiring.
On the other hand, if they’re sitting on loads of M3 they won’t release M4 MBPs at all. Few would buy an M3 if M4 is right there, even if it’s more expensive. They know we have the cash, and if we don’t we borrow it.
That decision has probably already been made, and what the answer is, we will probably see soon. The heavy discounts on M3 laptops might be a clue; they want to rid the stock and go full M4, asap.