Apple's new MacBooks for 2025 are the exact definition of a spec bump: other than getting a new M4 chip, a paintjob, and an improved webcam, the laptop is exactly the same as the M3 model that came out barely 12 months ago. I understand that makes the laptop rather boring, and I myself have been critical of smartphones that are just spec bumps updates, but the MacBook Air, in my opinion, is exempt from criticism for two reasons.

Number one: the MacBook Air is the world's best-selling laptop. No matter where I am in the world — and I travel a lot — it is the laptop I see most at cafes. So this means there are always people looking to update to the next MacBook Air. This new M4 machine may not make much sense for people who own the M3, or even the M2. But there are lots of M1 or Intel MacBook Air users out there looking to upgrade.

Number two: Apple lowered the price. The 13-inch model starts at $999, and the 15-inch model I reviewed, $1199. This is $100 cheaper than the last generation (in Hong Kong where I'm currently at, the price cut converts to $130). This is worth applauding, considering consumer tech products have only increased in price in recent years, and there are potential incoming tariffs to drive up product prices even more.

When I consider both facts, it's hard to knock the M4 MacBook Air for being "just a spec bump." This is still probably the easiest laptop buying decision for most people.

About this review: this article was written after a week of testing a 15-inch model of the new MacBook Air provided by Apple. The company had no input in the review.

MacBook Air (M4) pricing and availability

The MacBook Air comes in 13-inch and 15-inch sizes, and starts at $999 and $1,199 respectively. This is for 16GB RAM and 256GB storage, and in the case of the 13-inch model, an 8-core GPU compared to 10-core GPU offered in the 15-inch model. Most people will need to bump the storage up to at least 512GB, which adds $200 to the price. A fully spec'ed out 13-inch model with 32GB RAM and 2TB of storage is priced at $2,199 while the 15-inch model is $2,399. Both models are available for purchase now around the world.

Hardware and design

You've seen this design before

Unless you've been living under a rock, you already know how this new MacBook Air looks and feels like. It's the exact same outer design and hardware as the M2 and M3 MacBook Air, with the boxy-ish design (no more tapered edges like M1 or older MacBook Airs) with an IPS LCD "Liquid Retina Display" panel with a notch cutout down the middle and bezels that, while not thick, can't be called thin either by today's standards.

The lid and hinge are well-constructed — you can open the lid with one finger without the laptop moving, and once the lid is up, it stays in place without wobble even for someone who occasionally pound on the keyboard with some force (when I'm annoyed, anyway).

There's a 3.5mm headphone jack on the right side, and then two USB-C ports on the left that can charge the laptop, transfer data, and output to external monitors. There's also a MagSafe charging port on the left side.

I'm testing the 15-inch machine, but the 13-inch model has nearly identical hardware except for the obvious smaller screen, battery, and base model offering two fewer GPU cores. The 15-inch machine weighs 3.3lbs, and measures about 045-inch thick when closed.

I wish the display had anti-reflective coating

Let's circle back to the display for a bit: the 2880x1864 IPS LCD screen looks great for the most part, with 500 nits of maximum brightness enough for outdoor use. But after using anti-reflective matte displays in multiple devices lately (the M4 MacBook Pro and recent tablets from Xiaomi and Huawei), going back to this glossy reflective screen is a bit of an eyesore. I suppose this is a "me" problem, because I do the majority of my laptop work outside at bright cafes with floor-to-ceiling windows. If you don't let the screen directly face strong lighting, it looks great.

Software

macOS Sequoia brings quality of life improvements, but Apple Intelligence is still lagging

The newest version of MacOS brings a series of quality of life improvements, like slightly better Apple Intelligence (more on this later), a cleaner Safari app, and "windows tiling," which allows you to quickly snap a window into a portion of the screen for faster multi-tasking.

But the biggest improvement for most people is probably the ability to mirror an iPhone screen on the MacBook, which is very useful, because you can quickly interact with your phone without needing to pick it up. I've gotten in trouble with an ex-girlfriend in the past for not responding to her texts for over an hour, because I was too busy editing videos on the MacBook and didn't check my phone. Maybe if I had iPhone mirroring then, she wouldn't be an "ex" right now.

Apple continues playing catch up on AI

It's no secret that Apple fell behind the AI race compared to rivals, and Apple Intelligence was semi-rushed to the market. Almost a year in now, Apple Intelligence is thankfully much improved, but it's still lagging what Google is offering. When it comes to generative AI features like erasing things in photos or generating AI images, Google's version is just more capable than Apple's producing better-looking and more varied results.

Siri, too, needs more work. This new improved Siri, with ChatGPT integration, is supposed to be smarter, understanding more complex questions, including follow-up questions. It's supposed to understand more human language, like if I misspoke mid-sentence and adjust the question. I'd say Siri lives up to this billing like half the time. The other 50 percent of the time, Siri will say it can't understand what I meant, or ask if I want to turn to ChatGPT to do more digging.

Isn't ChatGPT supposed to be integrated naturally into Apple Intelligence and Siri? Why is there a second step? Why do I have to physically click on a button to continue a voice query? Compared to Google's Gemini Live — which is so, so scarily good in terms of understanding and responding in human language — Apple Intelligence is just behind.

But here's the thing: most Apple users are loyally devoted to the Apple eco-system, and for them, they haven't touched an Android device or Windows laptop in years (or maybe ever). So they don't know that there are superior AI assistants and generative AI editing tools on the other side of the tech world. For them, what Apple Intelligence offers is still much better than what they had before.

Apple Intelligence's Writing Tools, for example is quite useful, able to quickly summarize entire articles, or help someone rewrite entire blocks of text in different tone. As a writer proud to have his own voice, I would never use the latter, but I already know many friends who do.

Performance

Crazy good battery life and efficiency

The reason Apple Silicon has garnered rave reviews — especially when they first debuted in 2020 — is because they're just so efficient and capable in ways most Windows computer have never been. The gap has closed a lot in the past year with the Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite finally hitting more Windows laptops, but Apple Silicon is still a bit ahead in efficiency.

I've actually been writing this review on the 15-inch MacBook Air for the past two-and-half hours, during which time I have 19 Safari tabs opened, YouTube Music streaming music in the background, WhatsApp web opened with incoming texts, and Adobe Lightroom updating my cloud photo library in the background. After all that, I still have 83% battery (from a starting point of 100%).

I edited multiple videos over the past week on Final Cut Pro (with laptop unplugged), and a two-hour editing session including exporting the finished product would drain about 35-40% battery. This is battery life I've grown accustomed to, since I've been using Apple silicon laptops for over three years now. But I remember a time four to five years ago when one video editing session would drain my entire laptop battery. I remember a time when I always needed to bring a charging brick with me if I knew I would be camped at a cafe for over four hours. This hasn't been the case for me in the last three years. I haven't carried a MacBook charging brick with me outside in maybe two years.

In terms of benchmark numbers, the M4 is only marginally better than the M3, but again, this laptop isn't aimed at those who already own the M3. I'd say M2 owners don't need to switch too, unless they enjoy gaming on the MacBook, as the M3 and M4 chips offer real-time raytracing for better graphics.

I find the 15-inch machine to be an excellent media consumption device too, with the larger screen and excellent speakers. Apple somehow managing to pack six speakers in a body without visible speaker grilles is impressive. The MacBook Pro's speakers are still a level above, but the 15-inch Air speakers are more than enough to fill a small apartment.

The webcam got improved to a 12MP ultra-wide sensor. The extra field-of-view is mostly used for Center Stage, which allows the camera to crop in a bit to start the video, and then "move around" to keep you center frame. One sign of the power of Apple Silicon is that, in the middle of recording a video, I can turn Center Stage on or off, or apply virtual background, or add portrait lighting, and the effect kicks in immediately, without lag or stutter in video footage.

Should you buy the M4 MacBook Air?

You should buy the M4 MacBook Air if:

• You want a powerful, efficient laptop for work at a great price
• You are on an M1 or Intel MacBook Air and want to upgrade
• You find the MacBook Pro a bit too thick and heavy

You should not buy the M4 MacBook Air if:

• You own the M3 MacBook Air already
• You are a creative professional who need the most power Apple can offer
• You still want the absolute best value laptop and don't want to pay Apple premium pricing

I think the M4 MacBook Air is a no-brainer recommendation for anyone looking to update their laptop that's more than two years old. Whether you're jumping from M1 MacBook Air or a Windows laptop before 2024, you're going to see major gains in battery life, efficiency, and raw power.

I do think for most people whose laptop usage consists of just typing words, reading websites, and video calls, any laptop can get the job done, so you can easily buy a Windows machine for less money. Heck, even a modern tablet can do any of the above stuff fine. But if you do a bit more, especially creative work like video editing, then the M4 brings power and efficiency that 99% of competing devices still can't match.

When you consider the cost of everything in modern-day life (especially if you live in America), paying something between $1,000 to $1,500 for a new computer that will last years, hold resale value, and handle all your working needs is a great value.