Apples new MacBook Air laptops, which the company unveiled alongside a new iPad Air and a disappointing 11th-generation iPad earlier this month, are now on sale. They feature the M4 chip and some additional upgrades that remote workers and desk jockeys, in particular, may appreciate.
Ive been playing around with the new 15-inch M4 MacBook Air with 16GB of memory and 512GB of storage. Here are my thoughts on it, along with the very similar 13-inch model.
The MacBook Air goes M4
Lets address the laptops M4 chip upgrade first, since it features heavily into Apples marketing.
Theres no denying that the M4 chip, which comes in two varieties in the new MacBook Air lineup (an 8core or 10-core GPUthe more the better for graphics-intensive apps), is the fastest chip ever in a MacBook Air. Apple brags that the M4 delivers 23x faster performance in some cases versus the fastest Intel chip ever included in older Intel-based MacBook Airs. The company also boasts that the M4 is also up to two times faster than the M1 chip.
But theres a reason that Apple is comparing the M4 to chips that are five years old or older. While the M4 is indeed technically faster than the M2 and M3 chips found in the companys 2023 and 2024 MacBook Airs, youre not going to see much of a difference in speed. Indeed, in normal, everyday tasks, including web browsing, photo editing, and word processing, Ive yet to see any notable speed improvement between my M3 MacBook Air and the M4 MacBook Air review unit I received.
In other words, the inclusion of the M4 is nice, but most users wont see many real-world benefits over the M2 or M3. That being said, the M4 MacBook Air does feature some genuinely notable upgrades that a select group of users will find invaluable.
Desk View makes showing physical objects on video calls more convenient. [Photo: Apple]
Upgrades for remote workers and desk jockeys
While many aspects of the M4 MacBook Air are nothing more than spec bumps (a slightly faster processor and base RAM upgrades), the laptop series did receive two notable upgrades in 2025, which remote workers and desk jockeys, in particular, will appreciate.
First, Apple has ditched the 1080p FaceTime camera found in the M3 MacBook Air for a 12MP Center Stage camera. Center Stage is the name Apple gives to its most advanced webcams. Center Stage uses AI to track your movements in the frame to always keep you in the center of the shot. This is a huge boon when youre on video calls, especially if you are up and about moving around with, say, a whiteboard behind you.
Another feature of the Center Stage camera is called Desk View. This is a mode that allows the MacBooks webcam to display what is lying on the desk in front of it. This top-down view makes it easy for those on a call with you to see an object clearly. For example, if you’re a clothing designer videoconferencing with a client, you can lay out fabric samples before you, and your client will be able to get a great overhead view of them all.
Second, the M4 MacBook Air includes a big display-related upgrade that people who like using multiple monitors will appreciate. The M4 MacBook Air can now power two external displays with resolutions of up to 6K in addition to the laptops screen. The M3 MacBook Air had been able to support two displaysbut only if the laptops lid was closed. This means the M4 MacBook Air allows you to have a three-display setup on your desk if you want it.
Sky, uh . . . blue?
The M4 MacBook Air series has gotten a color shake-up. Apple has finally done away with the decade-old Space Grey color option (it looked like metallic ash). In its place, the company unveiled a new Sky Blue color option, which was the color of the review unit I received.
The thing is, the color doesnt look that blue. As a matter of fact, when I took the MacBook Air out of its box, I thought there had been a mix-up, and they accidentally sent me the silver color. If youre hoping for a blue laptop, you should definitely check out the color in person before buying it because you may be disappointed with how light the shade of blue looks.
Improved display support is nice, but the lack of USB ports on the right side of the MacBook Air is frustrating. [Photo: Apple]
The downsides
While the M4 MacBook Airs are great machines, I was let down by a few of Apples choices. First, Id hoped that Apple would finally address its frustrating USB-C port placement on this years model. Recent MacBook Airs (the 2025 model included) have 2 USB-C ports. Thats enough for most people. But the annoying thing is that both ports sit on the laptop’s left side.
Im not sure why Apple doesn’t just move one of the USB-C ports to the right side of the laptop so that users can plug their accessories in from either end. Doing so would allow users to spread their accessories more evenly across their desktop, leading to a more comfortable workspace.
Second, on the 2024 M4 MacBook Pro series, Apple allowed users to upgrade the display from glossy to a nano texture, giving it a more matte-like look. As I wrote late last year, the nano texture display is a sight to behold, and if Apple had added that option to the 2025 M4 MacBook Air, Id seriously have considered upgrading from my M3 MacBook Air this year. But they have decided not to give users that choiceand thats disappointing.
Who should get the M4 MacBook Air?
Despite being merely a collection of minor spec bumps in many respects, the M4 MacBook Air is still the perfect laptop for most consumers. It is incredibly thin, light, and powerful. Its also got one additional element that I havent mentioned yet, which makes the computer more compelling than ever.
