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Need-to-knows
- MacBook Air gets refreshed with the latest M4 chip
- Now starts at 16GB of unified memory instead of 8GB
- New Sky Blue colour option and lowest ever price
- No changes to the display or dimensions
Apple has finally pulled back the curtain on the M4 MacBook Air after weeks of speculation about the release date, and a year of wondering when we’d get an update.
The headline news is that this MacBook Air is cheaper than the release day price of the previous generation M3 MacBook Air. This alone is exciting news as the Apple Silicon MacBook Airs have represented excellent value for a number of years now. This announcement only reinforces that statement.
Oh, and there’s a new Sky Blue colour option too. Here’s all you need to know.
Price: the best value laptop ever?
Remarkably, Apple has announced that the 13-inch M4 MacBook Air will be available from $999/£999. That is a price drop of $100/£100 from the M3 model. Now, for under $1000/£1000, you get access to one of the most powerful consumer chips ever made, macOS and the premium build quality that Apple always brings.
Read Mark’s full M3 MacBook Air review
It’s a stroke of genius from Apple which has received some criticism of late for a disappointing M3 iPad Air release and the controversial iPhone 16e. This pricing is a win for consumers who can buy an incredible laptop that will last a very long time for an extremely reasonable price.
$999 is of course the price for the entry-level model. That gets you 16G/b unified memory, 256GB SSD storage, a 10-core CPU and an 8-core GPU. You can increase the specs all the way up to 32GB unified memory, 2TB SSD storage, a 10-core CPU and a 10-core GPU for $2,199/£2,199.
The 15-inch M4 MacBook Air starts at $1,199/£1,199 and goes all the way to $2,399/£2,399 for the top spec.
For most people out there, a MacBook Pro isn’t necessary which means the MacBook Air makes the most sense. That statement is now even harder to ignore, especially now that it starts with 16GB of unified memory.
What’s new: M4 chip, more external display support and Sky Blue colour
At the core of the new MacBook Air is the M4 chip. This chip has made its way into pretty much every other Apple computer baring the Mac Studio (although, that now has the M4 Max chip) over the past year or so. Therefore, the MacBook Air is now up to speed with Apple’s latest processor range.
The M4 packs a 10-core CPU and a GPU with up to 10 cores. For those of you keeping score at home, that’s two more CPU cores than the M2. Performance gains are much less significant compared to the M3 chip as both of these use 3nm technology.
Crucially though, the M4 chip starts at 16GB of unified memory compared to 8GB for the M3 chip. That improves performance speeds in general but also future-proofs your laptop for longer. The entry-level M4 chip also has support for up to 32GB of unified memories, so if you need that extra power, the option is now there.
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But it’s not just about raw power, the M4 MacBook Air now supports connecting to two external displays which you can do while keeping the laptop’s own screen active. No more shutting the lid to use multiple monitors! It’s a small change, but one that is super handy for those that need it.
And yes, it comes ready for Apple Intelligence if you want that, but it is probably one of the least interesting or useful things about the new MacBook Air.
Apple has also introduced a new front-facing camera. Gone is the 1080p camera of yore, replaced by a new 12-megapixel sensor. But it’s not just about the megapixels, this new camera also supports Center Stage, a feature that automatically keeps you in frame during video calls. It’s a neat trick that we’ve seen on iPads and the Studio Display, and it’s great to see it making its way to the MacBook Air.
And of course, the new Sky Blue colour alongside the Starlight, Silver and Midnight options. While no one has seen it in real life, the press images from Apple make the Sky Blue colour look subtly beautiful. It’s great to see some colour options make their way to Apple’s laptop division, especially after the disappointing Black or White iPhone 16e colours.
What’s the same: display and size
Beyond the colour, there has been no radical redesign. Apple’s stuck with the same wedge-shaped chassis we’ve come to know. No issues there, it does the job just fine.
The M4 MacBook Air comes in two sizes: the same compact 13-inch model and the more expansive 15-inch version. Both feature the same Retina displays we’ve seen in previous models with the same pixel resolution and 500 nits of peak brightness. That means ProMotion, which is present in the M4 MacBook Pro, still hasn’t been added to the MacBook Air.
Chassis dimensions are exactly the same, as is the 1.24kg weight and battery life seems to be the same too, with Apple suggesting you get 18 hours out of the M4 MacBook Air.
In terms of ports, we’re looking at the same setup as before: two Thunderbolt 4 ports, a MagSafe charging port, and a 3.5mm headphone jack. Without getting into the weeds too much, pretty much everything else is the same like the backlit keyboard, Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.3.
Release date
The M4 MacBook Air is available for pre-order now with shipments beginning on the 12th March 2025. As with all new Apple releases, it means the discontinuation of the old model. Therefore, you can no longer buy the M3 MacBook Air from the Apple Store but you can still pick it up from Apple’s refurbished line or from a third-party retailer.
Conclusion: minor upgrades make sense with a lower price tag
Despite the addition of the M4 chip, this is yet another incremental upgrade to an Apple product. Large innovations from Apple are getting fewer and fewer as the years roll on which often leaves fans and the public miffed.
Why pay the same amount of money as last year when you can just get a very slightly less powerful version for a couple of hundred dollars less from another retailer? That’s how the argument goes anyway and Apple just made it much harder to make.
Dropping the price to $999/£999 is a welcome move that can surely only guarantee a slew of sales for the M4 MacBook Air. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it…and make it cheaper. More of this please Apple!
