Apple’s New M4-Powered MacBook Air Is More Powerful and Affordable

Mar 05, 2025

Jeremy Gray

Sleek, silver laptop partially open against a light blue background. The design highlights the keyboard layout and the inner screen, showcasing a blue feathered pattern on the display.

As Tim Cook teased online earlier this week, it is the week of Air at Apple. Following an upgraded iPad Air yesterday, Apple announced a new more powerful MacBook Air today, which now sports Apple’s latest M4 chip, a new sky blue colorway, and a new lower starting price.

The move to M4 brings the MacBook Air, “the world’s most popular laptop,” up to speed with Apple’s other laptop series, the MacBook Pro, which moved to M4 last fall. The M4 chip features a 10-core CPU and up to a 10-core GPU, promising up to twice the performance of the first M-series MacBook Air with M1. Compared to the final MacBook Air with an Intel chip, the new M4 MacBook Air delivers up to 23 times better performance.

Two laptops with screens displaying abstract spiral patterns. The front laptop shows a pattern in shades of blue, while the back one displays a similar design in shades of gold. Both devices have sleek, modern designs. — The MacBook Air comes in 13-inch and 15-inch versions.

Unsurprisingly, Apple Intelligence is a big part of Apple’s M4 push, and the MacBook Air is no exception. Its dedicated Neural Engine is three times more powerful than the one featured in the M1 chip. Apple says this makes its new thin notebook much faster with AI tasks like automatically enhancing photos and removing background noise from video.

A computer screen displays an application featuring a colorful, neon-outlined dragonfly icon in the center. Various round icons like birthday, farmer, and superhero appear at the bottom. Partially visible text documents are open in the background. — Apple Intelligence is a key focus for Apple.

Regarding photo and video editing, Apple shares some key specs to consider. Photo editing in Adobe Photoshop is up to 3.6 times faster than the fastest Intel-based MacBook Air and up to twice as fast as the 13-inch MacBook Air with M1. Video editing in iMovie is up to eight times faster than the Intel-based MacBook Air and twice as fast as the M1-powered notebook.

Concerning connectivity, the MacBook Air has a MagSafe charging port, two Thunderbolt 4 ports, and a headphone jack. It features Wi-Fi 6E for fast wireless networking.

While performance is new and improved, much of the laptop’s design remains familiar. It is still a strikingly thin and lightweight machine whether users opt for the 13-inch or 15-inch version. The 13-inch model is 0.44 inches thick (1.13 centimeters) and weighs just 2.7 pounds (1.24 kilograms). The 15-inch MacBook Air is ever-so-slightly thicker at 0.45 inches (1.15 centimeters) and weighs 3.3 pounds (1.5 kilograms). In both cases, the machines feature a Liquid Retina Display (13.6 versus 15.3 inches diagonally) with up to 500 nits of peak brightness and wide color (P3) support.

A laptop screen displays a video call. Two people are visible in a small window on the left. The main view shows math equations written on a notepad. The desktop has several application icons at the bottom. — The new 12-megapixel Center Stage camera supports Desk View.

However, there are a few noteworthy differences in the MacBook Air’s 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 a top-down view of their desk.

A person is working at a desk with multiple screens. They have one hand on a laptop and are holding a smartphone in the other. The monitors display various applications. Another person is in the background in an office setting. — The new M4-powered MacBook Air can support up to two external 6K displays alongside its built-in screen.

Thanks to the move to M4, the new MacBook Air can more powerfully handle multi-display workflows. It now supports up to two 6K external displays in addition to its built-in Liquid Retina display.

It also now comes in a brand-new sky blue colorway. Apple calls it a “beautiful, metallic light blue that creates a dynamic gradient when light reflects off of its surface.” The new sky blue color choice lives alongside existing midnight, starlight, and silver options. All the colors, including the new blue one, ship with a color-matched MagSafe charge cable.

A person in a red sweatshirt sits on steps and takes a silver laptop with an apple logo out of a red bag. A couple of notebooks and a blue phone are on the step beside them.

“MacBook Air is by far the world’s most popular laptop, and today we’re giving everyone even more reasons to love it, including a big boost in performance with the M4 chip, a new Center Stage camera, and a beautiful new sky blue color,” says Greg Joswiak, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing.

“Combined with its thin and light, fanless design, all-day battery life, and the incredible capabilities of macOS Sequoia with Apple Intelligence, MacBook Air is unlike any other laptop. And with a new lower starting price of $999, MacBook Air delivers more value to consumers than ever before, making this the perfect moment to upgrade or experience the Mac for the first time.”

A person in bright green clothing and a hat sits on a yellow bicycle in front of a pink building. The background shows a night sky with a full moon and flying birds. — The MacBook Air has a Liquid Retina display with True Tone support and P3 color gamut.

Pricing and Availability

As Joswiak says, the MacBook Air now starts at a new lower price of $999 for the 13-inch MacBook Air, while the 15-inch version starts at $1,199. The base 13-inch version starts with an eight-core GPU, while the base 15-inch model starts with 10 cores. Although users can configure different amounts of memory, storage, and select a more powerful power adapter, each MacBook Air configuration ships with the standard M4 chip — no Pro upgrades here.

The new MacBook Air is available to preorder now and will begin shipping next week on March 12.

Image credits: Apple