M4A is AAC in Apple's favorite outfit: the audio-only MP4 your iPhone speaks natively. It was born in 2003, popularized by Apple's iTunes Store, and its real weak spot is older Windows software and stubborn car stereos that expect a .mp3.
MP4 is the world's default video: the file that plays before anyone has to think about it. A container, most often carrying H.264 or H.265 video with AAC audio. That makes it the right destination when what you need is playing everywhere: browsers, phones, TVs, editors, slide decks.