The first M4 MacBook Air reviews are out, and the consensus view appears to be that while it may not be an exciting update, it’s a lot of tech for the money – and is the Mac most people should buy.
The other thing reviewers agree on is that the new blue color is a whole new level of subtle, so don’t expect too much of a change in look from the silver …
Six Colors
Jason Snell welcomes the new price, and says that if you’re coming from an Intel Mac, this is the machine to buy.
That’s why perhaps the most important change in the M4 MacBook Air is its base configuration, which starts at $999. When Apple introduced a winning new flat-with-rounded-corners Air design in 2022, it had to keep selling older models in order to get down under a thousand dollars. Three years later, Apple is finally able to sell a brand-new Air—with a generous 16GB of unified memory—at that important price.
So: No more quibbles about stepping back a generation or two to an older model with a lower price. Apple has done away with that strategy for the MacBook Air: The latest and greatest model is the one most people shopping for a Mac should buy, especially if they’re coming from an Intel model.
The Independent
David Phelan agrees, and says that the price of the 15-inch model is particularly noteworthy.
There are reasons why the MacBook Air is so well-liked (Apple even calls it the world’s most popular laptop). The machine has been created to be preposterously slim, sharply designed and appealingly light, with battery life that goes on and on. Those attributes still apply in the latest model but now it has a much more powerful processor, to ensure it runs even faster than before. The lower price, especially in the sumptuously sized 15in model, is the icing on the cake.
Wired
Brenda Stolyar says she’s long been a MacBook Air fan, and while she may have things left on her wish-list, it’s hard not to love this one.
It’s hard not to love the new MacBook Air. It packs everything we loved about the previous version while also addressing almost all the critiques. The lack of ports continues to be my biggest gripe, but I digress […] it’s still an excellent laptop for basic tasks—whether that’s for work, school, or fun. Sure, the upgrades continue to feel iterative, but it’s nice to see the MacBook Air priced at under $1,000 again without skimping on features.
CNET
Joshua Goldman says that while little has changed from the M3 model, that’s just proof of how amazing these M-series machines are.
What continues to amaze me about the M-series MacBook Airs is that they crank out high-level performance and long battery life, yet the body is completely fanless. What’s even more incredible is that the performance gets better year after year. So, while not too much has changed from the last-gen M3 MacBook Air, for the M4 Air, you’ll still get a lot of computing power and upwards of 15 hours of battery life in a thin, light and quiet body. And now it comes in a light metallic blue.
Tom’s Hardware
Andrew Freedman says that while upgrade pricing is “still absurd,” the base machine is great value.
The MacBook Air with M4 is still thin, still powerful, and still excellent. Add in a lower price point and a default 16GB of RAM, and this laptop is one of the best values Apple has offered in a long time [though] RAM and SSD pricing are still absurd.
Gizmodo
Kyle Barr says the machine is a solid buy, but wasn’t the only reviewer to say they had to look hard at the new blue color to see any signs of, well, blue.
The 2025 version of the MacBook Air now starts at its most attractive price point for the best performance yet. Just don’t expect something so different than previous versions. […] Starting $1,000 price point is a solid grab for the average user [but] a cold silver color is not “sky blue.”
Photo: Apple
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