Following on from the surprise announcement of the new iPad Air M3 and iPad 11, Apple has announced the latest iteration of its MacBook Air series.
Considering we hailed its predecessor as “the best MacBook for the vast majority of people”, what’s really new with the MacBook Air M4 and is it worth upgrading if you’re sporting an older M-series MacBook?
We’ve rounded up everything you need to know about the new MacBook Air M4, including its release date, price and specs.
MacBook Air M4 release date
The MacBook Air M4 series will officially launch and be readily available in Apple Stores and authorised Apple Resellers from 12th March 2025.
Customers can currently pre-order the MacBook Air M4 in 28 countries and regions, including the UK and US, via Apple’s website and through the Apple Store app.
MacBook Air M4 price
The MacBook Air M4 is available in two sizes: 13 and 15-inch. Naturally as the smaller of the two, the 13-inch, 256GB model has the cheaper starting RRP of £999/$999, although this price will rise depending on the storage size you opt for.
The 15-inch, 256GB iteration starts at £1199/$1199 and, much like its 13-inch counterpart, this price will increase with higher storage sizes.
MacBook Air M4 design
Regardless of whether you choose the 13- or 15-inch MacBook Air M4, it will sport a durable aluminium enclosure and measure in at just 11mm thin.
In addition to the usual Midnight, Starlight and Silver finishes, the MacBook Air M4 now boasts a stunning Sky Blue shade too. Each MacBook colour will come equipped with a matching MagSafe charger too.
There’s also two Thunderbolt 4 USB-C ports, a 3.5mm headphone jack, MagSafe charging port and a Touch ID key on the Magic Keyboard.
Finally, the MacBook Air M4 now boasts a 12MP camera that’s fitted with Center Stage, which is a huge improvement from the MacBook Air M3’s 1080p offering.
MacBook Air M4 display
Both sizes of the MacBook Air M4 have the same Liquid Retina display with up to 500 nits of brightness and support for up to a whopping one billion colours. Apple also claims the display boasts up to two times the resolution of PC laptops too.
While last year’s MacBook Air could support just one external display, the new MacBook Air can now support up to two 6K external screens, in addition to its own display.
MacBook Air M4 performance
As its name gives away, the new MacBook Air runs on Apple’s M4 chipset which originally launched with the iPad Pro 2024. Apple explains the M4 chip features a 10-core CPU, up to 10-core GPU and support for up to 32GB of memory, which is supposedly up to 2x faster than the MacBook Air M1.
Not only that but the MacBook Air M4 promises to be up to 23x faster than an Intel-based MacBook Air.
Considering the MacBook Air M4 is “built for Apple Intelligence”, it’s unsurprising that its chip’s Neural Engine is promised to be up to 3x faster than the MacBook Air M1, as this speeds up AI-based tasks. However, it’s worth noting that all MacBooks with an M-series chip support the Apple Intelligence toolkit.
Finally, the M4 sports second-generation, hardware-accelerated ray tracing, Apple states you should see more realistic images for “truly immersive gaming”.
MacBook Air M4 software
As we touched upon earlier, the M4 chip enables the running of Apple Intelligence, which is undoubtedly a standout feature of the MacBook Air M4. With Apple Intelligence enabled, you’ll have access to tools such as Image Playground, Genmoji and ChatGPT integration, which can be accessed without you needing to create an OpenAI account.
Otherwise, the MacBook Air M4 will come with macOS Sequoia installed and Apple has teased that the next macOS Sequoia update (15.4) will make it “easier than ever to set up the new MacBook Air with iPhone”. Essentially you’ll just need to bring the iPhone to your Mac and all data stored on your Apple Account will sync over.
MacBook Air M4 battery life
Apple claims the MacBook Air M4 will see up to 18 hours of battery life. Although undoubtedly impressive, it’s worth pointing out that this claim remains unchanged from last year’s MacBook Air M3, however Apple does say Intel-based upgraders will benefit from an additional six hours of battery.
The battery itself contains 100% recycled cobalt and over 95% recycled lithium, which is a first for any Mac.
