Easily one of the more popular laptops around the world, the MacBook Air is getting a little faster and a little less expensive as the M4 arrives.
If you glance at Apple’s product catalogue, you’ll find the word “air” pops up a few times.
Ever since Apple released the MacBook Air back in 2008, the word “air” has been there to denote models that were thin and light, while still being cutting edge. These days, that definition more or less defines most of what Apple releases, whether in the high-end or otherwise, so whether it’s an Air or a Pro, you’re probably getting something equally thin or light.
However in recent years, “Air” for Apple has come to imply the thin and light models with an all-round value.
The iPad Air is definitely that, giving you much of what the iPad Pro offers, but in a slightly different package while still being thin and light, and the MacBook Air is definitely that, too. Previous models have brought the power of Apple Silicon to a thin and light package, and with a battery that works practically all day.
This week, the iPad Air saw an update, and it appears the MacBook Air is getting some of that update love, as well.
Specifically, it’ll come from a new chip, a new webcam, new monitor sharing options, a new colour, and a slightly lower price, as the MacBook Air with M4 arrives.
The new laptop brings exactly what we expected to see when the M4 MacBook Pro arrived last year, but in the laptop with the word “Air” attached, offering a 10-core CPU, up to a 10-core GPU, and support for Apple’s Neural Engine, which now feels like it does something for most users with Apple Intelligence inside the Mac operating system.
In terms of speed, Apple says that the system is up to two times faster than the M1 MacBook Air from 2020, back when Apple first unveiled Apple Silicon, while being up to 23 times faster than its last Intel-equipped Air (also in 2020), the generation before it, depending on what the hardware is doing.
That’s largely because some apps are faster than others: Photoshop is a little over three times faster, while video editing is up to eight times faster. We haven’t worked out which app is up to 23 times faster compared between the 2020 Intel MacBook Air and the 2025 M4 MacBook Air, but look hard enough, and you’ll probably find it.
Current MacBook Air owners might not see as much difference. Even reviewing the M3 Air over the M2 Air, the benchmarks struggled to find a lot of differences, but Apple is giving the M4 Air a little more to work with than just a new chip.
For instance, there’s a new 12 megapixel webcam supporting improved video chats, complete with the head-tracking Centre Stage and support for “Desk View”, which can show the user and their desk at the same time.
The support for external displays grows, with as much as two external displays boasting 6K res on the M4 Air. You won’t find Thunderbolt 5 support on this model — that’s just for the M4 Pro editions and higher — but Thunderbolt 4 is still pretty fast.
And there’s a new colour to go with that same aluminium design in the silvery sky blue, which joins the deep blue midnight, the gold-ish starlight, and silver, whether you opt for the 13 or 15 inch model, both of which exist. Apple is keeping the screen sizes at 13.6 or 15.3 and there’s no real change to the keyboard or display, but the aluminium casing is still a part.
Apple is also dropping the price slightly, with a $100 difference locally from the M3 Air before it. As such, the M4 MacBook Air will start at $1699 in Australia for the 13 inch model with an 8-core GPU and 256GB storage while the 10-core costs $1999 with 512GB storage. Meanwhile the 15 inch starts MacBook Air with M4 starts at $2099 locally with 256GB storage and a 10-core GPU.
Interestingly, Apple appears to be pulling both the M2 Air and M3 Air from the line-up, with neither showing up as options anymore. It appears if you want a Mac at the moment, it’s likely an M4 or nothing, except in the high-end desktop world of the Mac Studio and Mac Pro.
Apple’s M4 Air range is set to arrive next week in Australia, shipping on March 12.
