When I said I’d bought an M1 MacBook Air in 2025, I must confess I was rather expecting comments along the lines of “what were you thinking?” Instead, the prevailing view appeared to be that there really isn’t any reason to favor the latest and greatest model for my type of use.
Having had the chance to try out the new machine in an Apple Store, I’m not 100% sure I’d favor an upgrade even if it were the same price …
From backup device to mobile Mac
I explained last time that the primary reason for having a MacBook Air at all was simply as a backup machine. I can’t work without a Mac (even if a couple of my colleagues somehow manage to do so on an iPad …), so for many years I’ve held onto an 11-inch MBA as a backup machine that mostly lived in a drawer – right up until it died.
For travel, I consider my 16-inch MacBook Pro sufficiently portable to be worth taking with me, even on weekends away if I want to do things like photo editing. But it’s a bit chunky to carry more casually around London, so my 12.9-inch iPad Pro with Magic Keyboard served as the device I took with me when I wanted to write in a coffee shop for an hour or two.
Back in the Intel days, the primary benefit of the iPad as a mobile laptop was battery-life, but the Apple Silicon MacBook Air models started delivering the same 9-10 hours of real-life use. Using my iPhone as a mobile hotspot covered the few occasions I didn’t have access to Wi-Fi, so there was no longer any reason to make the compromises involved in using an iPad rather than a Mac as a mobile device.
For that reason – and the fact that it’s even lighter – it’s the M1 MacBook Air I’ve been using as my coffee-shop machine. Since it was now seeing more active use, that did make me wonder whether I should just bite the bullet, sell the M1 machine for the same price I paid (just over half the price of the M4), and splash out on a shiny new M4 model.
But it doesn’t offer any real benefit to me
I have to say that using this one made me fall in love with the MacBook Air all over again – and part of that was the iconic wedge design which survived into the first generation of Apple Silicon models. I do absolutely adore that look.
In fact, when I visited an Apple Store to compare the M1 and M4 models side-by-side, the only thing I preferred about the look of the latest model is the smaller bezels. These aren’t noticeable at the bottom, and there’s not a dramatic difference at the sides, so it’s really just the top bezel that makes its presence known.
Size wise, it really doesn’t feel like there’s anything in it at all. The M4 model is slightly slimmer at the back, but the M1 is much slimmer at the front. (Technically, the M1 is very slightly smaller, but that’s only a 21.24cm depth versus 21.5cm.)
The brighter screen and Spatial Audio are both irrelevant to me. MagSafe is nice in principle, but this is a machine I exclusively use on battery power, so not relevant in practice. Same with fast charging – I just don’t need it for a mobile device. Better camera and mic, sure, but not a big deal for a machine primarily used for writing.
So as hard as I tried to talk myself into it, I just couldn’t succeed. I’m sticking with the M1 model I have.
I’ve sometimes joked about the packaging test: I know I’m really sure about a purchase when I dispose of the packaging I’d need to return it. It’s now in the recycling.
Should others follow my example?
It depends.
If you’re buying a MacBook as your only Mac, and you’ll do more demanding tasks like coding or video editing, then your sensible choices are between a MacBook Pro and the latest MacBook Air specced-up as far as budget permits.
But if like me your usage will be a mix of writing, other light tasks like email and web, and perhaps a bit of photo editing, then any Apple Silicon MacBook Air is good enough. At that point, you have to figure out whether any of the M4 features are worth the price difference to you.
For example, the camera and mic differences are significant – so if video calls are a key part of your usage, then the 12MP Center Stage camera and mics with voice isolation could well be deciding factors. Similarly, if you intend to use the machine outdoors, that 25% boost in maximum brightness could be crucial.
What I would say, having checked out UK prices at least, is it probably doesn’t make sense to buy an M2 or M3 model today. Yes, you’re getting the newer design (if you prefer that), but there’s much less of a financial saving with those. You might as well wait a little while for discounting to kick in on the M4.
So, that’s my decision made – please share your own thoughts in the comments.
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