After using the MacBook Air M4 13-inch for a month, I have finally come to understand what it means to be light, powerful, and quiet. It doesn’t require a fan, but it still has enough power to accompany me through the whole school day and meet deadlines. In this MacBook Air M4 review, I will provide details after using it for about a month from the perspective of a student who has been using it – covering everything from design and keyboard to touchpad, performance, and battery life. If you are wondering which is the best MacBook Pro or Air for both studying and gaming, this might be a choice worth considering.
Today’s students need more than just a laptop to type on; they also require something compact enough to carry to school every day, with a battery that lasts all day and is powerful enough to multitask and even create content. The 13-inch MacBook Air M4 is the standout model, thanks to its near-perfect balance of portable design, powerful performance, and impressive battery life.
Apple 13″ MacBook Air M4 Review
Sleek and portable, crafted for modern elegance
The 13″ MacBook Air M4 immediately impressed me with its exquisite appearance — Apple retained its familiar design language, but refined every detail to exude neatness and luxury. The laptop is only 1.13 cm thin and weighs approximately 1.24 kg, making it highly ideal for carrying in a backpack and bringing to school, work, or study groups at a coffee shop without feeling heavy.
Essentially, the notebook retains the same appearance as its predecessor, the MacBook Air M2, but the sophisticated lines, soft rounded corners, and attention to every small detail help bring a high-end look. The more you look at it, the more you love this product.
With a familiar metal material, this laptop model gives a cool and smooth feeling. An interesting detail is that the laptop line offers the most colors, allowing you to easily choose from four options: our MacBook Air M4 review unit is available in Silver, Starlight, Midnight, and Sky Blue. With your favorite color version combined with a compact 13-inch size, you will be more confident to bring your device to class, in seminars, or even when “backpacking,” exploring small and pretty cafes.
Exceptional Precision Trackpad and Responsive Keyboard
One of the things I appreciate about the MacBook Air M4 is the trackpad – and it’s no exaggeration to say that this is the best trackpad on a laptop today. The glass-covered surface, Force Touch support, and exceptionally smooth optimization with macOS make it so that I don’t need to use a separate mouse in most situations: online learning, reporting, light photo editing, web surfing,
Those who have just switched from Windows will be impressed like me because the smoothness and precision of the trackpad is an “Apple specialty.”
The trackpad, when placed next to the MacBook Air M3, remains the same size, and its touch feel is still excellent; nothing has changed. I’ve always liked the trackpad on the MacBook, and it’s perfect, so it’s understandable that Apple doesn’t need to upgrade it.
The 13″ MacBook Air M4’s keyboard retains the same button layout, the same inverted T-shaped arrow cluster, and the fingerprint sensor button to unlock the device, access data files, and make Apple Pay payments. The convenient and practical features found in the previous MacBook Air M2 and M3 models are now introduced in the Air M4 line.
Although the key travel on the MacBook Air M4 is not too deep, the typing feeling is still perfect. The keys have a clear bounce, a light pressing force, and a quick response. For me, typing articles, writing reports, or participating in group discussions are all activities that I can comfortably engage in for long periods. Even if you have never used a MacBook before, it takes only a few minutes to get accustomed to it, and you can type quickly and accurately.
The keyboard also features a built-in light sensor that automatically activates the backlight when the ambient light is low and deactivates it when the light is bright enough. This feature is especially convenient if you often study at night, sit in the library, or study in a group at a coffee shop.
Strong Wireless, Limited Ports
In terms of connectivity, the 13″ MacBook Air M4 has two Thunderbolt 4 USB-C ports that support fast data transfer, high-power charging, and image output to an external display. The laptop also features an additional 3.5mm headphone port, making it suitable for students who still use wired headphones or need to connect external speakers for presentations.
However, the notebook does not have an HDMI or USB-A port. If you frequently need to present, plug in a USB device, or connect to a projector at school, you should consider equipping yourself with a multi-adapter. A compact hub is enough to carry every day without taking up much space in my backpack.
Apple equips the MacBook Air M4 with Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.3, delivering fast and stable wireless connectivity. Although not the latest technology, it remains superior to the popular Wi-Fi infrastructure globally, which primarily utilizes Wi-Fi 5 or Wi-Fi 6.
During use, I did not experience any loss of network or Bluetooth connection. Whether it was for online learning, document sharing, connecting headphones, or using AirDrop, the connectivity on the Air M4 was smooth, stable, and reliable.
Retina Display Built for Creative Precision
The MacBook Air M4 features a 13-inch Retina display with a resolution of 2,560 x 1,664 pixels, delivering sharp images and vibrant colors. This screen supports a wide color gamut, ranging from sRGB to DCI-P3, which is sufficient for those who study design, edit photos, or create content for social networks.
The resolution meets Liquid Retina standards with a 16:10 display ratio (including the notch), providing a spacious and sharp display space. However, a regrettable point is that the refresh rate still stops at 60Hz. If Apple increases it to 75Hz or 90Hz, the smooth experience when scrolling and operating could make this device closer to the “Pro” line.
TrueTone technology helps the screen automatically adjust to the lighting environment, making text and images easy to see, especially when studying in a cafe or a dimly lit room.
For tasks such as reading news and watching YouTube videos or movies, the image output is quite good. Even when used outdoors, the brightness of 500 nits still ensures clear visibility without causing discomfort. While it doesn’t feature an OLED screen or a high refresh rate like some Windows laptops in its price range, the Air M4’s display is still sufficient for everyday tasks, studying, and entertainment, provided you’re not engaging in intensive graphics work.
If you liked the screen quality of the previous generation, you’ll probably find the MacBook Air M4 just as satisfying.
Apple M4 Chip Performance Backing for the Next 5 Years
With the Apple M4 chip, the new generation MacBook Air delivers powerful processing performance, especially in single-core tasks. Thanks to that, the laptop meets the needs of studying, office work, 2D graphics processing, basic video editing, and daily multitasking.
Despite not having a fan, the notebook still operates quietly thanks to its passive cooling system, which is integrated into the metal shell. This is a significant advantage for students who require a quiet space to study or work, such as in the library or a cafe. When operating for an extended period, the laptop may become slightly warm on the bottom, but it is not uncomfortable.
Not only is it extremely quiet, but the MacBook Air M4 can also smoothly handle tasks from basic to quite heavy, such as installing software, running multiple applications simultaneously, or even processing 2D graphics and editing short videos with Capcut.
The Macbook Air M4 benchmarks results show that this thin and light laptop still demonstrates the outstanding strength of the M4 chip generation, which is the strongest single-core processing performance currently. In addition, Apple has significantly enhanced the power of the GPU and NPU processors, which makes content creation applications and Apple Intelligence features run more efficiently and faster.
Despite not having a fan, the MacBook Air M4 still delivers impressive performance with 3,728 single-core points and 14,871 multi-core points on Geekbench 6. This performance not only surpasses that of the M3 but also approaches the capabilities of the M3 Pro, enabling it to handle light learning, working, and content creation tasks effectively.
Compared to the previous generation, the MacBook Air M4 represents a significant leap in performance. The single-core performance of the M4 exceeds that of the M3 by approximately 24%, and compared to the M2 and M1, it is nearly 70% higher. With this power, the MacBook Air M4 not only serves well for studying and office needs but is also more than capable of handling heavy tasks such as coding, editing 4K videos, or running lightweight AI models. It is no exaggeration to say that this is the thinnest, lightest, and most powerful laptop on the market today.
Our 13″ MacBook Air M4 review sample comes with up to 16GB RAM and 256GB SSD and the optimization of macOS; it is a powerful enough choice for students to use stably throughout 4 to 5 years of study without worrying about performance becoming outdated early. If you need a compact laptop with a durable battery and smooth, long-lasting operation, this is a very worthy investment from the start.
Overall, the Apple M4 chip’s performance on the MacBook Air is impressive, more than enough to meet the needs of studying, entertainment, content creation, and multitasking. However, macOS still has some limitations that some students need to consider.
Specifically, the laptop is not suitable for gaming or using specific software that is only available on Windows. Additionally, the Microsoft Office suite on macOS lacks some features compared to the Windows version, which can be inconvenient if you frequently use these tools at an advanced level.
If your studies don’t rely heavily on specific software, the MacBook Air M4 remains a durable, robust, and long-term investment.
MacBook Air M4 Battery Life Easily Covers a Full Day
One advantage that cannot be ignored of the 13″ MacBook Air M4 is its impressive battery life. With a full charge of the 53.8Wh battery, the device can operate for up to 18 hours, providing enough power for a long day at school or the library. In practice, with low usage, this laptop model can operate for up to a week without needing to be recharged.
If this is your first time using a MacBook, the “open and use” experience may be a surprise. You rarely need to turn off the laptop; just close the lid to put it to sleep and open it to resume working instantly. Thanks to the optimization between hardware and macOS, standby time consumes very little battery, keeping the device always ready to work without requiring a restart.
This MacBook Air M4 review version I use comes with a 30W Magsafe charger, which takes about 2 hours to charge fully. If you need faster charging, you can upgrade to a 70W charger or choose a third-party PD charger with a power rating of 65W or higher, compatible with the Thunderbolt 4 port. This method is both cost-effective and helps you keep your luggage light when you can use the same charger for your laptop, phone, and tablet.
Webcam Gets Smarter with Desk View
Another worthy upgrade when holding the MacBook Air M4 is the camera. The camera has been upgraded to a 12-megapixel resolution and supports the all-new Desk View mode, allowing you to record videos with a top-down view of your desk. This is a handy feature in both the learning and working environments, especially when you need to express ideas or collaborate in groups via video calls.
The Center Stage feature has also been brought from the MacBook Pro line to the MacBook Air. Thanks to the power of the M4 chip, the FaceTime calling experience, noise filtering, and microphone recording capabilities are expected to be significantly upgraded, offering more precise and more stable conversation quality than the previous generation.
Final Line
The MacBook Air M4 is a rare, thin, and light laptop that is beautiful, powerful, and extremely quiet, even without a fan. The performance is good enough for studying, working, and creating over the next 4-5 years. The battery lasts, the screen is beautiful, and the trackpad and keyboard all provide a top-notch experience within this price range.
The MacBook Air M4 introduces a host of worthy upgrades despite the design remaining essentially unchanged from previous generations. The powerful M4 chip, webcam with innovative Desk View feature, and up to 18 hours of battery life are sure to please users who appreciate the combination of performance and exquisite design.
Although not suitable for heavy games or intensive software, which is only available on Windows, Air M4 is still a comprehensive choice for students and office workers.
This 13″ MacBook Air M4 review version with 16GB RAM and 256GB SSD, starting at just $849 on Amazon.com or £899 on Amazon.co.uk, is a highly reasonable choice for those looking for a thin, light, durable, and powerful laptop, especially with notable upgrades in hardware and features. Compared to previous generations, the M4 offers better value, allowing you to save money while still enjoying a great experience.
Also see: Asus Zenbook 14 OLED UM3406KA Review
Whether it’s for studying, office work, or content creation, the MacBook Air M4 is still fully capable of meeting your needs. This is truly a “formidable opponent” in the current ultrabook segment.
