Like Gucci and Hermès, Apple defines itself as a luxury company. Granted, it’s not in the business of horsebit loafers or hand-made scarves, but the iPhone, MacBook and beyond are more than just products of necessity: they’re Veblen goods whose lustre is intrinsically linked to their premium pricing. Within and without, you’ll find attention to detail more closely associated with a Rolex than a Dell. That’s all to say that you don’t often walk into the Apple Store and walk out with a pocket full of spare change. You get what you pay for, and that is usually the best product in its given category.
The new MacBook Air, then, is a remarkable creation. There are plenty of things to like about the latest incarnation of Apple’s ultra-portable laptop — not least its use of the speedy M4 chip and an improved 12-megapixel Center Stage webcam — but its most compelling feature is its price. At £999, it is by far and away the best deal in tech right now. Here’s why…
True blue
Ever since Apple unveiled its redesigned MacBook Air in 2022, I’ve been rocking one as my laptop of choice. At just a smidge over 11mm thin and 1.24kg in weight, it has travelled with me on multiple trips across the Atlantic and North Pacific Oceans, as well as survived years of frenzied keyboard clattering in a rush toward last-minute deadlines. Unlike the scuffs and scratches you’ll see adorning any well-worn Rimowa suitcase, my Air is more or less unaffected by wear or tear. We’ve all had laptops that succumb to sticky keys, screen glitches and worse after a few years of use. That’s not the case here. It might look dainty at first glance, but this Air really is tough as hell.
Aesthetically, the main change to the M4-powered Air is its availability in a new sky blue colourway. Usually, I don’t bother talking about this kind of minutia in a product review but here it’s a great illustration of the Air’s luxury status. To borrow a turn of phrase from Pope John Paul II, of all the unimportant things, colour is the most important. So, the little dopamine hit you get from seeing this soft shade of blue painted across the Air’s recycled aluminium shell is as real as it is delightful. That’s probably why it’s been used across a whole raft of Swiss timepieces of late, including Rolex’s platinum 1908 and Breitling’s latest perpetual calendar.
Now, should you spend £999 on a new laptop just because it comes in blue? Obviously not. Still, this sure is a nice-looking computer in both its 13- or 15-inch variants.
Now with M4
As you’ve no doubt gathered by now, Apple has not reinvented the Air with this latest revision. Nevertheless, its use of the company’s new M4 chip is a worthwhile upgrade rendering this laptop twice as fast as the M1-powered MacBook Air from 2020. In practical terms, this means it’s a trusted companion for most forms of pictorial, audio and even video editing. Should you want to step up your AI game beyond the remit of Apple Intelligence, it’ll have you covered there, too. Of course, the MacBook Pro is still your best bet when it comes to heavyweight computing, but any laptop that can run the heady fantasy of Baldur’s Gate 3 without breaking a sweat is no slouch. As for the MacBook Air’s new 12-megapixel Center Stage webcam, it’s by no means a game changer — but it does cement this laptop’s workhorse status.
If you really want to nitpick, there are some faults you can find with the Air. It’s lacking the MacBook Pro’s Liquid Retina XDR OLED display, for example, but for me the Liquid Retina LCD display is more than good enough for email, Google Sheets and the odd episode of Daredevil snuck in on your lunch break. From its fanless design to its lovely, chunky keyboard and the sheer longevity of its up to 18 hours of battery life, the Air is an incredibly well-rounded creation, one that I’ve routinely recommended to friends over the past four years.
While I’m under no illusion that £999 is a substantial chunk of change for most people to spend on a laptop, the value on offer from the M4 Air is unparalleled. Both Dell’s XPS 13 and the latest Microsoft Surface Laptop are good enough alternatives in their own right, but neither offers the prestige or sheer prowess of Apple’s best-selling computer.
Apple MacBook Air (M4) review
As anyone who has ever spent big on something for a special occasion will know, you’re often caught between the desire to use your purchase regularly and keep it in pristine, box-fresh condition for the rest of eternity. The great joy of Apple’s MacBook Air is that you can revel in its luxury everyday and, now it’s available for £999, that thrill is available to more people than ever before. The best deal in tech just became irresistible.
