It’s Apple upgrade season, as the company has just updated the MacBook Air with a new chip, a fresh lick of paint, and a lower asking price, all alongside new versions of the Mac Studio, iPad Air and 10.9-inch iPad. Those upgrades to the MacBook Air should help to reinforce its position as one of the best MacBooks you can buy, with the popular device combining both power and portability in a lightweight package.
There’s a lot to learn about the M4 MacBook Air, from its performance and design to the features it comes with. Here, we’ve rounded up everything we know about the M4 MacBook Air, so whether you’re considering buying one or just want to get the scoop, it’s all here.
M4 MacBook Air: Price and release date
Apple revealed the new MacBook Air on March 5 via press release on its website. Company CEO Tim Cook had teased the laptop two days before, saying in a post on X that “there’s something in the Air.” That’s the same tagline that Apple used when it unveiled the original MacBook Air back in 2008, so it was clearly a signal that a new lightweight laptop was on the way.
The M4 MacBook Air had been rumored for months, and even Apple accidentally included references to it in macOS 15.2. That meant that it was no great surprise to see a new model arrive this spring.
Apple says you can pre-order the MacBook Air today and it will arrive on store shelves on Wednesday, March 12.
In terms of pricing, the 13-inch M4 MacBook Air starts at $999. Impressively, that’s $100 less than the M3 MacBook Air. Apple had previously sold the M2 MacBook Air alongside the M3 version, with the M2 edition occupying the $999 price bracket. Now, both the M2 and M3 versions have been culled from the line-up, leaving just the M4 chip.
As for the 15-inch MacBook Air, that now starts at $1,199 — the same price as before.
M4 MacBook Air: Design
We weren’t expecting any major design changes in the M4 MacBook Air, and that’s almost exactly how things played out. You still get the same flat, all-aluminum design as before, all held together with Apple’s signature build quality.
However, there was one change of note: Apple added a new sky blue color. This is a metallic light blue that Apple says “creates a dynamic gradient when light reflects off of its surface.” It looks lovely. Apple has continued three of the colors from the M3 version (midnight, starlight, and silver), but space grey has been dropped and is no longer available.
Other than that, there’s not a lot that differentiates the M4 MacBook Air from the previous M3 model. You still get 13-inch and 15-inch versions with the same dimensions and weight as before, weighing in at 2.7 pounds and 3.3 pounds, respectively. Combine that with same aluminum chassis design and you get a laptop that looks and feels very familiar.
M4 MacBook Air: Display
The M4 MacBook Air comes in two display options: 13 inches and 15 inches. Specifically, these are 13.6 inches and 15.3 inches across — the same as in the M3 generation. Both sizes use Apple’s Liquid Retina branding, which means resolutions of 2560×1664 pixels and 2880×1864 pixels, while both laptops have a pixel density of 224 PPI.
Those resolutions are augmented by up to 500 nits of brightness. That’s something that differentiates the MacBook Air from the MacBook Pro — on the latter, you’ll get up to 1,600 nits of peak brightness thanks to the Liquid Retina XDR display Apple has fitted into the MacBook Pro.
Back to the MacBook Air, the M4 model comes with the P3 wide color gamut and True Tone technology that automatically matches the display to the ambient color temperature. Unfortunately there’s no ProMotion dynamic refresh rate, although that was never likely as it’s seen as a MacBook Pro exclusive.
Apple explained that the M4 MacBook Air can support two 6K external monitors in addition to its own Retina display. That’s a slightly different situation from what you’d get with the M3 model, which could support two external screens (one at 6K resolution and one at 5K), but only if its lid was closed. Presumably the M4 chip has higher bandwidth than the M3 and that’s what allows this change.
M4 MacBook Air: Performance
With the new M4 chip, Apple says the MacBook Air’s performance has been significantly ramped up. You now get a 10-core CPU, an 8-core GPU (configurable up to 10 cores), and a faster 16-core Neural Engine. And the laptop still runs the chip with a fanless design, which means it’s silent in use.
In terms of performance, Apple says you’ll get up to twice the power of the M1 MacBook Air and 23 times the output of the latest Intel-based MacBook Air (although to be fair, that is from five years ago). Video editing in iMovie is up to twice as fast as in the M1 MacBook Air, Apple claims, as is photo editing in Photoshop. The Neural Engine, meanwhile, is up to three times as fast as the one in the M1 MacBook Air, according to Apple.
In terms of memory, the MacBook Air’s M4 chip starts with 16GB, the same amount as the M3. However, what’s different this time is that you can ramp it up to 32GB — the M3 MacBook Air topped out at 24GB of RAM.
Storage options remain the same. The laptop starts with 256GB and can be customized to have 512GB, 1TB or 2TB of internal storage.
When you get a new M4 MacBook Air, you’ll be able to set it up quickly and easily if you have an iPhone to hand. According to Apple’s press release, “By simply bringing iPhone close to Mac, users can quickly and conveniently sign in to their Apple Account to get their files, photos, messages, passwords, and more on their new MacBook Air.” You can do a similar thing when you buy a new iPhone, iPad, or Apple Watch. Note that this process requires your Mac to be running macOS 15.4 or later.
M4 MacBook Air: Battery
Apple silicon Macs are now well-known for their phenomenal battery life, and it looks like the M4 MacBook Air will be no different. Apple says you’ll get up to 18 hours of video streaming from this machine, alongside 15 hours of wireless web browsing. That’s the same as the M3 model, although the battery in the M4 version is slightly larger at 53.8 watt-hours compared to 52.6 watt-hours.
You get a 30W power adapter with a single USB-C port in the box, but this can be replaced with a compact 35W option with two USB-C ports for an additional $20. A fast charging 70W power adapter also costs $20 over the regular 30W adapter.
M4 MacBook Air: Cameras
One of the main upgrades Apple touted when it released the M4 MacBook Air was its new webcam. It maintains the same 1080p resolution as before, but Apple now says it offers a 12MP resolution. Annoyingly, Apple never provided megapixel data for the webcam in the M3 MacBook Air, but you’d assume it’s lower than that in the new MacBook Air seeing as Apple is making a point of disclosing it this time.
It’s also comaptible with Apple’s Center Stage tech, which can automatically zoom in on you and keep you in the middle of the frame as you move around the room. It’s helpful for video calls and means you don’t need to keep adjusting the camera yourself.
As well as that, the MacBook Air’s front-facing camera now works with Desk View. This uses clever software tricks to show a top-down view of your desk, without needing you to actually point the camera downwards. It’s a good option if you want to demonstrate something on your desk to people on a video call.
