Apple MacBook Air M4 Review: “This is the benchmark”
Apple’s latest MacBook Air offers incredibly powerful features in a thin and silent design.
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Just four months ago, Apple introduced its top-of-the-line M4 chip into the MacBook Pro, creating a powerful workstation for professionals. Now, that same chip set has arrived in its most popular laptop, the MacBook Air.
The result is a remarkably capable portable machine. The M4 MacBook Air handles demanding tasks, such as video editing and complex spreadsheets, with ease. Thanks to its fanless design, it operates silently, without the distracting whirr of a fan under heavy load.
The new MacBook Air boasts an updated 12MP Center Stage camera, which automatically tracks and frames you during video calls, keeping you centred in the shot.
With options for a 13.6-inch or 15.3-inch Liquid Retina display, a Magic Keyboard with Touch ID, and four colour choices, the MacBook Air also launches at a more accessible price point, starting at $1,699, $100 less than last year’s model.
This combination of performance, features, and price makes it an easy recommendation as the best MacBookoption for most users.
Apple MacBook Air M4 laptop, from $1,699 at Amazon
Apple MacBook Air M4 laptop
Tried and Tested by Nick Broughall, technology reviewer
Apple’s MacBook Air line-up has been the portable laptop of choice for students and budget-conscious shoppers for years, and the 2025 version makes it an even more appealing option.
From the outside, there isn’t a huge amount to differentiate it from last year’s M3 version. Most obvious are the introduction of the Sky-Blue colour and the updated 12MP Center Stage camera with Desk View mode, which we first saw on 2024’s MacBook Pro with M4.
The key improvements are largely on the inside, With the M4 chip set, you get faster performance than previous generations while maintaining strong battery life. Apple promises as much as 18 hours on a single charge, depending on how you use the laptop, of course.
Shipping with macOS Sequoia, the most recent version of Apple’s Macoperating system, you also get features like iPhone mirroring, a dedicated Passwords app and Apple Intelligence running on the machine straight out of the box.
WHAT’S IN THE BOX?
Alongside the new MacBook Air M4, the box includes the USB-C to MagSafe charging cable, a USB-C Power Adaptor and a polishing cloth.
HOW WE TESTED THE APPLE MACBOOK AIR M4
From the moment I unboxed the new 15-inch MacBook Air M4 for this review, I used it as my primary work laptop. That meant putting it through its paces by doing simple email and web browsing tasks, as well as more challenging photo editing using Pixelmator Pro and video editing using Final Cut.
I also spent a bit of time playing games, testing Apple Arcade games like Balatro+ and Disney Dreamlight Valley alongside more traditional gaming experiences like The Witcher on GOG.
HOW WE RATED THE APPLE MACBOOK AIR M4
- Design And Features
- Performance
- Camera
- Battery Life
- How Much Does It Cost?
- Verdict – Should You Buy The MacBook Air M4?
DESIGN AND FEATURES
Apple’s MacBook Air design is iconic in its sleek design. With its enclosure carved from recycled aluminium and measuring in at less than 1.2 cm thick, the MacBook Air weighs just 1.24kg for the 13-inch version, or 1.51kg for the 15-inch version I tested. It’s easy to carry around, and strong enough to do so one-handed when you need to.
Each MacBook Airhas the same display as last year’s model: The 13.6-inch model offers 2560 × 1664 pixels at 224 pixels per inch (PPI) at 500- nits of brightness and support for 1 billion colours. The 15.3-inch is obviously a bit larger, with a 2880 × 1864 pixel resolution at the same PPI, brightness and colour reproduction.
The screen is clear and vibrant and easily viewable in difficult lighting conditions. It’s not the best screen I’ve seen on a laptop, but it is reliably solid in its performance.
This year, Apple introduced a new “Sky Blue” colour alongside the familiar Midnight, Starlight, and Silver. The blue is subtle, appearing more silver in some lighting, but reveals its true colour when it catches the light.
The M4 MacBook Air also features a 12MP Center Stage camera, located in the top bezel. This feature, first seen in iPads, uses software to keep you centred in the frame during video calls, even if you move. The “Desk View” mode provides a bird’s-eye view, ideal for product demonstrations.
TheMacBook Air includes two Thunderbolt / USB 4 ports, a MagSafe charging port, and a headphone jack. The Magic Keyboard with integrated Touch ID provides secure and convenient login. The large and responsive trackpad offers precise cursor control and multitouch gestures.
PERFORMANCE
The most significant upgrade in this year’s model is the transition to the Apple M4processor. Apple claims up to a 23x performance improvement over the last Intel-based MacBook Air, highlighting the substantial progress made.
According to Apple, users upgrading from an M1 MacBook Air can expect up to a 2x performance boost.
Benchmarks typically don’t mean much on their own as everybody uses their computer differently, but they can be useful for comparing generations of laptops.
Using the Cinebench benchmarking tool, which measures CPU and GPU performance, we observed the following improvements compared to last year’s M3 MacBook Air (higher scores are better):
| Benchmark (Cinebench) | MacBookAir M3 | MacBook Air M4 |
| GPU | 2300 | 3550 |
| CPU (Multi Core) | 615 | 636 |
| CPU (Single Core) | 141 | 172 |
These scores indicate that the M4is a very capable processor for handling demanding tasks. The GPU (Graphics Processing Unit) handles graphical tasks, and the CPU (Central Processing Unit) handles general processing.
In my real-world testing, the laptop handled all tasks with ease. Gaming on macOS still has limitations, particularly with graphically intensive AAA titles, but the MacBook Air delivered solid performance for Apple Arcade games like Disney Dreamlight Valley and Balatro+, even with high settings.
Simple video editing in Final Cut and photo editing in Pixelmator Pro were quick and effortless. The M4 MacBook Air remained cool and quiet throughout testing, even under heavy load.
Unless you’re engaged in intensive 3D modelling or animation, the MacBook Air likely offers more than enough power for your computing needs.
CAMERA
One of the big advancements of this year’s model over the M3 MacBook Air is the new 12 MP Center Stage camera. It uses software to track your face, to keep you in the centre of the frame on a video call or recording.
It’s pretty useful, particularly if you’re presenting or recording for a video call. The camera automatically zooms in and out, pans from side to side, or a combination of the two to keep you in focus in the shot.
Obviously, there are limits – if you move too far to one side, it can’t move beyond the camera’s viewing angle to keep you in shot – but it’s handy for those without complex camera rigs.
The image quality is clear and crisp, and it performs impressively in most lighting conditions. The software integrates seamlessly with popular video conferencing applications like Zoom and Google Meet as well.
The Desk View feature is likewise intuitive, but requires a bit more consideration to your set up. While Center Stage works regardless of where you pop your laptop, Desk View requires an open space between you and the body of the laptop to work effectively.
It’s still a useful idea, and while you may not need it, the fact it’s there is a nice inclusion.
BATTERY LIFE
Battery life is a key consideration for any laptop purchase, and the MacBook Air has long been a leader in this department.
Apple claims up to 18 hours of battery life, based on specific usage scenarios. In my real-world testing, I found these claims to be achievable under moderate workloads.
During a typical workday of typing in a word processor, browsing the web with multiple tabs open in Safari, and light email usage, the battery dropped to approximately 60 per cent by the end of the day,
But I spent another day playing games, and I had to throw the laptop back on the charger before 4pm.
So know that the battery life you can expect will depend massively on how you use the machine. But the MacBook Air continues to deliver best in class battery life.
With the arrival of Snapdragon X Elite processors for CoPilot+ PCs, all-day battery life is no longer the exclusive domain of Apple’s MacBooks. However, Apple still delivers a strong battery performance here.
HOW MUCH DOES IT COST?
The new Apple MacBook Air with M4 processor comes in either a 13-inch or 15-inch screen size, and comes in four colour options: Midnight, Starlight, Silver, and the all-new Sky-Blue colour.
Pricing starts at $1,699 for the 13-inch version, and $2,097 for the 15-inch variant, and can be purchased from leading retailers like Apple and Amazon.
That’s $100 less than the starting price of last year’s model, which is good news with the ever-increasing cost-of-living.
VERDICT: IS THE APPLE MACBOOK AIR M4 WORTH BUYING?
Despite PC manufacturers imitating the design of the MacBook Air for years, nothing has really come close to delivering the same level of design, build quality and performance as Apple’s laptop.
For anyone needing a new machine, the M4 MacBook Air doesn’t disappoint, offering plenty of power and battery life to handle most tasks.
It is, however, still more of an evolution rather than a revolution over the M3 MacBook Air. The performance boost over an M2 or M3 MacBook Air won’t be enough of a step change to truly warrant an upgrade.
But the combination of sleek design, lightweight yet robust build quality and all-day battery life make this one of the best laptops you can buy.
Current Apple MacBook deals:
- $322 off the Apple 2024 MacBook Air 15” Laptop with M3 chip
- $128 off the Apple 2024 MacBook Air 13.6” Laptop with M3 chip
Nick Broughall
Nick has been reviewing the latest technology and gadgets for over two decades. He’s edited leading Australian technology publications like Gizmodo, TechRadar and Finder; was a co-founder of gadget site EFTM and currently runs BTTR.reviews. He is a regular finalist in the Australian IT Journalism awards, and won the Best Reviewer award in 2016. These days, he tries to balance his gadget addictions with board games and bushwalking.
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