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MacBook Air M4 Review
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Jun 23, 2025
Mark's MacBook Air M4 review is here, and although it's not the biggest upgrade, Apple reminds us all why the MacBook Air is the best laptop for a lot of people. In this video, Mark will go over the key specs and our tested benchmarks to give more context as to whether it's the best laptop *for you*, as well as show off the new Sky Blue color and talk about the lower starting price for the MacBook Air 13 and MacBook Air 15 in 2025.
View Video Transcript
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I think it's fair to wonder if Apple is coasting a bit with the new MacBook Air M4
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Yes, it's been the best laptop on our list for a long time, but other than a new chip
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and fancy new color, there's not a ton of upgrades here. But Apple has also reduced
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the price by $100 versus the MacBook Air M3, making this a tempting upgrade for those with
0:17
an older Air. So is this still one of the best laptops to buy? And even if it is
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is this the right laptop for you? I'll break it all down in this episode of Buy or Skip
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As Tony mentioned in his unboxing, which I'll link here in case you haven't checked out that
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video yet in our channel, the design of the MacBook Air hasn't changed in years, although
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I'm inclined to disagree with him that this is a good thing. I do wish Apple would make a few
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tweaks to the 13-inch Air design, though. The bezels are starting to look a bit thick after a
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few generations, and I also wouldn't mind a smaller notch at the top of the display, or no notch at all
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And while the Touch ID button works well, I'd like to see Apple bring Face ID to the Mac
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That said, I appreciate how thin and light the MacBook Air continues to be
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I barely notice this laptop in my bag versus the heavier MacBook Pro 14-inch that I carry all the time
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The one noticeable change, however, is the new color Sky Blue, and I'm a big fan
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This metallic light blue shade is subtle yet eye-catching, and I like how the color shifts depending on how the light hits the chassis
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The Air remains extremely minimalist when it comes to ports, with just two Thunderbolt 4 ports and a MagSafe 3 charging port on the left side
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with the right side housing the headphone jack. The MacBook Air M4's display is great for the price
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While working and watching movies, the 13-inch MacBook Air's liquid retina display
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is bright, colorful, and accurate. This panel is brighter than the Snapdragon version
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of the Dell XPS 13, but not as luminous as the Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i My only complaint with the MacBook Air M4 screen is that Apple doesn offer the nanotexture option it does with the MacBook Pro This has a huge difference
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when it comes to minimizing glare and makes it much easier to get work done outside
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I can see myself using the MacBook Air M4 as my everyday laptop
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as it had no issues keeping up with my typical workload. I bounced between Slack
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over two dozen tabs in Google Chrome, and the Photos app, all while playing Spotify in the background
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and I didn't notice any slowdown as I switched from one app to the next
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In Geekbench, the MacBook Air M4 scores 21% higher than the MacBook Air M3 on single core
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and the dual core number is 23% higher. This continues to leave Intel machines in the dust
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Those who edit video will be pleased to know that the 13-inch MacBook Air M4 is a minute and a half faster than the M3 model in our handbrake test
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The MacBook Pro is faster still, even with the same chip, but that makes sense because it offers sustained performance due to its active cooling
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The MacBook Air uses a fanless design. When it comes to photo and video editing, the MacBook Air M4 can more than hold its own
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The 13-inch MacBook Air M4 notched a higher score than its Windows counterparts on the Adobe Premiere Pro video editing test
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While I have no real-world complaints about the SSD speed on our MacBook Air review unit
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the write-and-read speeds from the 256 gigs of flash storage are lower than I was expecting
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We've also tested the 512 gig model, and that's faster. I'm also a little bummed that the MacBook Air M4
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only supports Wi-Fi 6E, which is not the latest standard. It would have been nice if Apple offered Wi-Fi 7
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as it does on the iPhone 16 series. I know I just went through a bunch of benchmarks
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but just a reminder that these are standard across laptop and tablet reviews on this channel
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If those are the things that you like to know before buying your tech, consider subscribing and turning on those notifications
3:30
so you never miss another Tom's Guide review. So what can you do with that performance Every MacBook Air going back to the M1 supports Apple Intelligence But if you haven experienced Apple AI on a laptop there are some handy and fun features on board
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For example, with writing tools, you can let Apple Intelligence help proofread your copy or rewrite it using a different tone
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I find this summary feature most helpful, especially when reviewing longer documents
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I also like that you can use natural language to describe your change. And then in the Photos app, I find photo cleanup useful
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However, it still works best when there's not a lot going on in the frame. Siri is now also smarter and more conversational
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If you don't feel like having an out loud conversation with a robot, Type to Siri in the upper right-hand corner is a super great option
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Being able to learn things like how to record your screen with step-by-step instructions is invaluable to new Mac users
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Obviously, there's still a dearth of games on Mac compared to Windows. However, Apple is committed to gaming and on the 13-inch MacBook Air M4, I had a lot of fun
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I really got sucked in while playing Lies of P on the MacBook Air M4, with the action remaining fluid
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The graphics are pretty solid, too. Everything from the pools of blood to the fabric has a fair amount of detail
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I'm dead. However, when it comes to demanding titles, don't expect fast frame rates
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The 13-inch MacBook Air M4 stayed below 30 frames per second on Borderlands 3 and Shadow of the Tomb Raider
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though it notched a better 38 FPS on Civ 6. Now, when it comes to battery life, Apple says the 13-inch MacBook Air M4 can last up to 15 hours of wireless web surfing
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And they weren't lying. However, the runtime that we got is lower than last year's MacBook Air M3, which is a little disappointing
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While impressive, the MacBook Air M4 is definitely falling behind the top Windows competition when it comes to battery life
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Using it all week though I thought the MacBook Air offered plenty of staying power Getting through a full workday ran the battery down to 38 from a full charge And so how much does this all cost Both the new 13 and 15 MacBook Air M4s are available
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now, and incredibly for Apple, the price has come down. The MacBook Air 13-inch M4 now starts at $999
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That's $100 off the previous Air M3, which, given the landscape, feels like a steal. Whereas the 15-inch
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starts at $1199 for a bigger screen and longer battery life. If you prefer macOS, the new 13-inch
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MacBook Air M4 is a no-brainer and the best laptop for the money, in my opinion, especially if you
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own an Air M1 or older. If you're coming from an M1 Air, you're getting all the benefits of the
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latest design, including a thinner and lighter chassis, brighter display, and MagSafe charging
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plus a much faster chip and higher-res camera. However, I think you can skip the new Air if you
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have a MacBook Air M3 or MacBook Air M2 model. That's because the design is identical, and I don't
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think the performance gains warrant the investment. Plus, you do get all the same Apple
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intelligence features on the older Airs. Despite offering iterative upgrades, the MacBook Air M4 is
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the best MacBook for most people, and for me, the best laptop for most people, period. The $100 price
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cut seals the deal. Let us know in the comments if you agree that the price drop is enough to get
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you excited about the new MacBook Air, and if you're going for the 13 or 15-inch model. Make sure you
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go to tomsguide.com to see my full review of the MacBook Air and follow us across all of our socials
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at Tom's Guide. For Tom's Guide, this is Mark Spoonhour. You watch this show? It's really intense. Yeah
7:08
Just wait for the flamethrower
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