Following the release of the new iPad Air and the Mac Studio supercomputer, Apple has updated the lightweight notebook MacBook Air. Now, the laptop has an M4 chip (10 CPU cores and 10 GPU cores) and a lower starting price than the M3 solution. The new M4 MacBook Air has a 13-inch and 15-inch Liquid Retina display. The price starts at $999 for 13 inches.
M4 Chip Performance
As always, Apple provides an M4 chip performance comparison: the new MacBook Air outperforms the latest MacBook Air with an Intel chip by as much as 23 times in performance. And if you compare it with a MacBook Air with an M1 chip, the increase will be two times.
Apple Intelligence also gets a mention. Apple places a lot of emphasis on this AI system and its capabilities, which are provided by the fourth-generation chips – the M4 series.
The built-in Neural Engine in the new lightest netbook is three times more powerful than the one in the M1 chip. Apple claims that this makes it much faster at AI tasks, such as automatically enhancing photos and removing background noise from videos.
Edit photos in Adobe Photoshop up to 3.6x faster than the fastest Intel-powered MacBook Air and up to 2x faster than the 13-inch MacBook Air with M1. Edit video in iMovie up to 8x faster than the Intel-powered MacBook Air and 2x faster than the Apple M1-powered notebook.
Display and Design
The external design is unchanged—it is a lightweight netbook with a compact form factor. The 13-inch model is 1.13 centimeters thick and weighs 1.24 kilograms.
At the same time, the 15-inch MacBook Air is slightly thicker at 1.15 centimeters and weighs 1.5 kilograms. In both cases, the laptops are equipped with the proprietary Liquid Retina display (13.6 versus 15.3 inches diagonally) with a peak brightness of up to 500 nits and support for a wide color gamut (P3), i.e., 1 billion colors.
However, the new M4 MacBook Air has some notable differences in design and physical features. The laptops feature a new 12-megapixel Center-Stage camera with improved video quality. This camera also supports Desk View, which can simultaneously display the user and an overhead view of their desk.
The move to M4 chip performance makes the new MacBook Air more capable of handling multi-display workflows. In addition to the built-in Liquid Retina display, up to two external 6K displays are supported.
It is worth noting separately that MacBook Air, despite its productive filling, is not equipped with active cooling systems. This can reduce the capabilities of such devices in several scenarios. In this line, Apple focuses on achieving maximum compactness and lightness of the laptop.
New M4 MacBook Air Price and Release Date
The MacBook Air now sells for a new lower starting price of $999 for the 13-inch MacBook Air, while the 15-inch version starts at $1,199. They are already up for pre-orders on B&H Photo and Adorama online stores.
The new M4 MacBook Air also comes in a new sky blue color. The new Sky Blue color joins the Midnight, Starlight, and Silver options. All colors, including the new Blue, come with a color-matched MagSafe charging cable.
The base 13-inch version starts with an eight-core GPU, while the base 15-inch model starts with 10 cores. While users can configure different amounts of memory and storage and choose a more powerful power adapter, every MacBook Air configuration comes standard with the M4 chip. There are no Pro upgrades here.
The new M4 MacBook Air supports Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.3. It also includes MagSafe charging, two Thunderbolt ports for connecting accessories like external drives and security keys, and a 3.5mm headphone jack.
A three-microphone array also delivers improved voice clarity during audio and video calls. An immersive audio system that supports Spatial Audio with Dolby Atmos gives users a “three-dimensional soundstage” for music and movies.
macOS Sequoia Operating System
The new operating system enables wireless connections between the laptop and iPhone. The Safari browser allows you to display information published on websites in the Highlights section and “summarize” in the updated Reader panel.
The all-new Passwords app gives you easy access to your passwords, access keys, and other credentials — all in one place, Apple wrote in a press release.
Users can also use new built-in backgrounds for video calls, which include a variety of color gradients or photos.
A new operating system version, macOS Sequoia 15.4, will make pairing your MacBook Air with your iPhone easier next month. By simply holding your iPhone close to your Mac, users can quickly and easily sign in to their Apple account. This allows them to access their files, photos, messages, passwords, and more on their new MacBook Air.
