How do you make the best MacBook, and arguably one of the best laptops on the market, even better? You could redesign it, but that’s always a risky move. When a design is already beloved, changing it too much might disappoint loyal fans. That’s why Apple has taken a smarter approach—refining what’s already great with meaningful under-the-hood improvements.

The MacBook Air 13-inch (M4) looks almost identical to its M3 predecessor. Apple kept the exquisite keyboard and the incredibly responsive trackpad untouched. The stunning Liquid Retina display remains as vibrant as ever. Weighing in at just 2.7 lbs., it’s still an ultra-portable powerhouse. Even the two Thunderbolt 4 ports remain unchanged. But there is one striking visual difference—a new Sky Blue color. It’s a subtle, almost pastel-like azure that shifts in tone depending on the light, sometimes appearing grayish, only to reveal its rich blue hues on a second glance. It’s elegant, fresh, and bound to be a popular choice.

Beyond aesthetics, two key upgrades make this model stand out. First, the new 12MP Center Stage Camera replaces the previous FaceTime camera. It features an ultra-wide lens housed in the screen’s notch, keeping you perfectly in frame during video calls. It’s not a game-changer, but it’s certainly a welcome enhancement.

The second and most significant change lies in the heart of the machine—the M4 chip. Building on the power of the M3, this next-generation Apple silicon is a 3-nanometer marvel, delivering improved performance and efficiency. Whether you’re gaming, editing high-resolution videos, creating music, or leveraging Apple Intelligence, the M4 chip ensures that everything runs seamlessly and effortlessly.

Perhaps the most surprising and delightful change is in value. Apple has doubled the base memory from 8GB to 16GB of unified memory, yet dropped the price to $999 / £999 / AU$1,699. That’s an unexpected and highly welcome move, making the MacBook Air 13-inch (M4) not just a premium machine, but also a fantastic deal.

It’s truly hard to find any fault with this laptop. It’s lightweight, stunningly designed, powerful, and incredibly user-friendly. Whether you’re gaming, streaming, browsing, working, or creating, it handles everything with ease. The lack of major design changes isn’t a concern when the refinements are this thoughtful. The new color, enhanced camera, and improved performance—all at a lower price—make this an easy recommendation.

The MacBook Air 13-inch (M4) isn’t just another iteration. It’s a statement: the best MacBook just got better, and it’s ready to claim the top spot on the best laptops list.

MacBook Air 13 Specs and Pricing

It used to be that Apple would refresh the MacBook Air lineup and keep the previous generation around at the familiar $999 starting price. This time, Apple has made a smart move. The base model MacBook Air 13-inch M4 still starts at $999, but now you’re getting 16GB of RAM instead of 8GB, alongside a 256GB SSD, a 10-core CPU/8-core GPU M4 chip, and the stunning 13.6-inch Liquid Retina display. That upgrade alone makes the entry-level model much more appealing for everyday users.

If you want more power, Apple follows its usual pricing structure. Upgrading to a 10-core CPU/10-core GPU M4 costs $100. Need more memory? 24GB RAM is an extra $200, while going all the way to 32GB RAM will set you back $400. Storage options remain pricey: 512GB costs $200, 1TB adds $400, and the maxed-out 2TB SSD is an additional $800.

A fully loaded MacBook Air 13-inch M4 with the higher-end chip, 32GB RAM, and 2TB SSD comes in at $2,199. That’s undeniably expensive for an ultraportable laptop, but Apple’s build quality, battery life, and optimization help justify the premium.

Of course, Windows alternatives exist at competitive price points. The Lenovo Yoga Slim 9i 14 Gen 10, for instance, comes in at $1,835 with a Lunar Lake Intel chipset, 32GB RAM, 1TB SSD, and a 14-inch 4K+ OLED display. It’s a gorgeous machine, but it doesn’t match the MacBook Air’s efficiency or raw performance.

If you’re looking for the best balance of price and performance, getting the base model with a 512GB SSD upgrade for $1,199 is a great deal. That gives you plenty of power without overspending.

Apple MacBook Air 13-Inch (M4) Design

• No major redesign
• Sky Blue is subtle but attractive
• Excellent construction, materials, keyboard, and trackpad

The Apple MacBook Air 13-inch (M4) maintains the same sleek design we’ve come to love from the MacBook Air series, but with a few updates to keep it feeling fresh. While there are no drastic changes from previous models, it does showcase subtle refinements that continue to elevate its design. Despite the disappearance of the iconic wedge shape that was present in the original model, the MacBook Air M4 offers a thin, streamlined body that is incredibly portable. This laptop has been meticulously crafted to remain as lightweight as possible while maintaining its premium build.

The MacBook Air M4 weighs just 2.7 lbs (1.24 kg), and its dimensions of 11.97 x 8.46 x 0.44 inches (30.41 x 21.5 x 1.13 cm) make it incredibly thin. It’s lighter than many competitors in the ultrabook category, and it’s thinner than the original MacBook Air at its thickest point. Whether you’re tossing it in your backpack or carrying it around all day, you’ll hardly notice its presence. Apple has really fine-tuned its engineering to achieve this portability without compromising performance. It’s light enough that you might even forget it’s there until you need it.

The MacBook Air M4 continues Apple’s commitment to sustainability. The chassis is made from 100% recycled aluminum, which not only adds a layer of environmental responsibility but also feels sturdy and solid in the hand. Apple’s signature design philosophy of precision machining is clearly evident here—the tolerances are exacting, and the laptop feels as if it’s been carved from a single block of metal. This construction makes the MacBook Air M4 incredibly durable despite its ultra-thin profile. The aluminum body provides an additional layer of resilience, ensuring your device will handle day-to-day wear and tear without much issue.

The new Sky Blue color is a standout feature, adding a subtle yet refreshing touch. It’s not overly flashy but brings a sense of uniqueness to the device. The finish is glossy without being too reflective, and it has a soft feel that is comfortable to touch. The color itself offers a fresh alternative to the more traditional silver and space gray options that Apple has historically offered. If you’re looking for something with a little more personality, the Sky Blue MacBook Air M4 may be just what you’re looking for.

Apple’s backlit keyboard remains a highlight of the MacBook Air, providing an exceptional typing experience. For such a thin profile, the key travel and response are remarkable. The keyboard feels comfortable to type on for extended periods, whether you’re working on documents, emails, or just browsing the web. The inclusion of a Touch ID-enabled power button is another nice touch. Not only does this button power on the device, but it also allows for secure, one-touch login with your fingerprint. If you have multiple accounts on your device or regularly use online payment systems, this added layer of security will come in handy.

While Apple hasn’t drastically altered the keyboard layout from previous models, one small change that’s worth noting is the mute key, which now displays a speaker icon with a line through it when pressed, matching the on-screen indicator. This might seem like a minor tweak, but it does make the mute function feel more intuitive, aligning with visual cues on the screen.

When it comes to the trackpad, the glass-covered multi-touch surface is expansive, smooth, and responsive. Apple has long been known for creating one of the best trackpad experiences, and this model is no different. The trackpad is large enough to accommodate all your gestures, and it’s remarkably precise when navigating macOS. Whether you’re scrolling, zooming, or tapping, the trackpad responds effortlessly.

In terms of connectivity, the MacBook Air M4 doesn’t stray from what we’ve seen in recent years. There are two Thunderbolt 4 ports on the left side of the laptop, which offer up to 40Gbps throughput. These ports are incredibly versatile, allowing you to connect external displays (even two at once), transfer data quickly, and use them for charging or other peripherals.

Also on the left side is the familiar MagSafe charging port. MagSafe is a welcome return to the MacBook lineup after its absence in previous generations. It’s magnetic, ensuring that if you trip over your charging cable, it’ll disconnect safely without yanking the laptop off your desk. It’s a small feature, but it adds a layer of convenience and peace of mind. On the right side of the laptop, you’ll find a 3.5mm headphone jack, so you can still plug in your favorite wired headphones if needed.

The audio experience is another area where the MacBook Air M4 impresses. While it may not rival the sound quality of larger laptops, the four-speaker stereo system hidden in the hinge below the display does a commendable job filling the room with clear, crisp sound. Whether you’re listening to music or watching videos, the MacBook Air delivers a quality listening experience. However, if you’re someone who’s after deep, booming bass, you may find the MacBook Air M4 a bit lacking in that department. If you’re looking for richer sound, you might want to consider the larger 15-inch MacBook Air, which features a 6-speaker system with force-cancelling woofers for a more robust sound experience.

Apple MacBook Air 13-Inch (M4) Display and Audio

• 13.4-inch display with 16:10 aspect ratio
• Resolution of 2560 x 1664 for sharp visuals
• Liquid Retina IPS display with impressive brightness and color accuracy

The Apple MacBook Air 13-inch (M4) continues to impress with its high-quality 13.4-inch Liquid Retina display. It boasts a resolution of 2560 x 1664, offering crisp visuals with plenty of detail. Whether you’re editing documents, browsing the web, or watching media, the screen looks sharp out of the box, providing an excellent experience for everyday tasks.

Apple sticks with its trusted IPS technology for the display, and it certainly shows. The screen shines with a brightness of 468 nits, which easily exceeds our standard of 300 nits. This ensures it performs well even in bright environments, such as outdoors or in well-lit rooms. Contrast is also impressive, with a solid 1,150:1 ratio, far exceeding the 1,000:1 threshold that most displays strive to hit.

When it comes to color accuracy, the MacBook Air 13-inch (M4) performs excellently. It covers 100% of the sRGB color space, 83% of AdobeRGB, and 94% of DCI-P3, making it suitable for tasks requiring color precision. It also scored an impressive DeltaE of 1.34—anything under 2.0 is considered excellent for color accuracy, making this display a great choice for productivity and creative work.

While OLED displays have become more common in newer laptops, the MacBook Air’s display is still outstanding in its own right. It may not have the same deep blacks or vivid colors of an OLED screen, but it strikes a great balance for most tasks, especially considering its battery efficiency. OLED screens are stunning but tend to drain battery faster, so the MacBook Air’s choice of Liquid Retina offers a solid compromise without sacrificing visual quality.

For those who need multiple displays, the MacBook Air M4 supports the ability to connect two external monitors alongside the internal display. While this is somewhat limited compared to some modern Windows laptops, it should be sufficient for most users.

Audio Quality:

The audio quality on the MacBook Air 13-inch (M4) is one of the best you’ll find in the 13-inch laptop category. Apple has equipped the MacBook Air with a four-speaker stereo system—comprising two tweeters and two force-cancelling woofers. This setup delivers impressive sound that is loud, clear, and rich. In terms of mids and highs, the audio output is clean and full of detail, while the bass performance is surprisingly good for a laptop of this size.

If you’re someone who enjoys listening to music, watching movies, or making video calls, the audio performance of the MacBook Air will more than meet your expectations. You won’t feel the need to plug in external speakers or headphones unless you’re looking for a more immersive experience. The sound system is well-balanced and can easily fill a room with rich, crisp sound.

Apple MacBook Air 13-Inch (M4) Performance

One of the most significant upgrades in the Apple MacBook Air 13-inch (M4) is the new M4 chipset, which delivers impressive performance gains across the board. The M4 comes with 10 CPU cores, a significant jump from the 8-core M3 chip. This increase in cores makes a noticeable difference, especially in single-core performance, where the M4 shines. Each individual M4 core is much faster than its M3 counterpart, offering a snappy and responsive experience for everyday tasks like web browsing, office productivity, and light creative work. In fact, the single-core performance on the M4 is so good that it outpaces most Windows-based laptops, making this one of the fastest laptops in its class for tasks that rely heavily on single-threaded performance.

When it comes to multi-core performance, the M4 chipset does not break new ground but still offers competitive speeds. It comfortably outperforms the latest thin-and-light Windows laptops, making it an excellent option for users who need a blend of performance and portability. The good news is that all of this power comes with no fans—thanks to Apple’s fanless design—meaning the MacBook Air M4 operates in complete silence. For most users, this is a big advantage, especially in quiet environments like coffee shops or libraries.

Even with demanding tasks, like long rendering or intensive workloads, the MacBook Air stays cool to the touch, and the lack of a fan means you won’t experience distracting noise. Of course, the absence of active cooling could result in slight throttling during prolonged, very demanding tasks, but this is unlikely to be a major issue for most users who are focused on productivity rather than heavy-duty performance.

When it comes to GPU performance, the M4 chipset provides an improved experience. The 8-core GPU in the MacBook Air 13 M4 is only 3% slower than the 10-core GPU in the previous M3 model, which is an impressive feat. If you opt for the 10-core GPU version, you’ll see a 13% performance increase, making this laptop a solid choice for light gaming and creative applications like video editing or photo manipulation.

In terms of gaming, Apple is making strides, and while the MacBook Air is not a gaming powerhouse, it is definitely capable of handling light gaming. The M4 chipset’s performance is strong enough to support most casual games and can even tackle more demanding titles at lower settings, providing a surprisingly smooth gaming experience for a laptop in this category.

Overall, the MacBook Air 13-inch M4 is a fast and capable laptop, well-suited for productivity, light gaming, and even creative work like video editing. The combination of the M4’s powerful CPU, GPU, and Neural Engine optimizations makes this laptop a fantastic choice for users who demand speed and efficiency in a thin, fan-less design. Whether you’re working on documents, editing photos, or engaging in light gaming, the MacBook Air M4 is a reliable, high-performance device.

Apple MacBook Air 13-Inch (M4) Battery life

• Up to 18 hours of battery life (Apple’s claim for 1080p video playback)
• 14 hours, 51 minutes in web browsing tests (Future Labs)
• Effectively lasts all day with mixed use (work, streaming, browsing)
• Around 8 hours during intensive tasks (gaming, video editing, multitasking)
• Charges to 50% in 90 minutes; 100% in approximately 3.5 hours with included 30W charger

Apple promises up to 18 hours of battery life, mainly tested with 1080p video playback. For reference, Microsoft claims 20 hours for its Surface Laptop 7 under similar conditions. In real-world usage, battery life will vary, especially when you perform more CPU-intensive tasks.

In my testing, which included gaming (causing the base to warm up), video editing, opening multiple browser tabs, and streaming, the MacBook Air 13 M4 lasted around 8 hours. That’s solid performance for a full day of work, particularly given the laptop’s thin and light design. In a web browsing-focused test, the MacBook Air 13-inch (M4) lasted an impressive 14 hours and 51 minutes—slightly longer than the M3, though the test conditions differed.

Overall, the MacBook Air 13-Inch (M4) offers great all-day battery life, but actual performance will depend on your specific tasks.

When I drained the battery to zero, recharging it with the included 30W charger (a 35W charger is provided with the 24GB model) and the matching Sky Blue woven MagSafe charger took about 90 minutes to reach 50%, and around three-and-a-half hours to fully charge.

Bottom Line

The Apple MacBook Air 13-inch (M4) continues the Air series’ tradition of delivering a premium, ultraportable laptop with outstanding performance and a sleek design. With the introduction of the M4 chip, Apple has made noticeable strides, particularly in single-core performance, while maintaining solid performance in multi-core tasks as well. The upgrade from the M3’s 8 cores to the M4’s 10-core CPU and improved GPU provides a tangible speed boost, making this laptop an excellent choice for users who need a fast, fanless, and silent machine for productivity, light gaming, and creative tasks.

The 13.4-inch Liquid Retina display remains one of the best in its class, offering crisp details, accurate colors, and impressive brightness levels—ideal for media consumption and creative work. The keyboard and trackpad continue to provide an enjoyable typing experience, and the design remains lightweight and easy to carry, making it perfect for on-the-go use.

Despite not having an OLED screen or being the ultimate gaming machine, the MacBook Air M4 excels in nearly every other area. It’s a highly capable, well-rounded laptop that caters to a wide range of users, from students and professionals to those dabbling in light video editing or casual gaming. Plus, the battery life is excellent, so you won’t be tethered to an outlet for long periods of time.

For anyone looking for a fast, ultra-portable laptop with premium build quality and long-lasting performance, the MacBook Air 13-inch (M4) is a top contender. If you’re looking for a fanless, sleek design, and a reliable machine for everyday tasks and moderate creative workflows, it’s hard to go wrong with this MacBook Air.