Sky (blue)’s the limit: M4 MacBook Air offers lower price, improved camera, and new color
The M4 MacBook Air, announced on Wednesday and shipping in a week, is technically unsurprising (it’s powered by the M4 chip, unveiled by Apple last May and added to Macs last November, and features an upgraded camera) but offers some very surprising twists (it’s got a new color and a lower price). Not bad for a small update to Apple’s most popular Mac.
Let’s start with the surprises. Both M4 MacBook Air models are priced $100 less than their predecessors: $1199 for the 15-inch model and $999 for the 13-incher. If I’m not mistaken, this is the first time that the new-generation design of MacBook Air introduced with the M2 chip has been available at the classic $999 price at launch. (The M1 Air, based on the Intel-era visual design, debuted at $999, but the M2 Air debuted at $1199 and only reached $999 when it was offered as an older model alongside the M3 Air.) As of now, the M4 Air can hold down the sub-$1000 price point all on its own, and previous models are mostly1 discontinued.
Another surprise is the the new color option: Space Gray is out. The ultra-dark-blue Midnight remains, as do the classic Silver and hint-of-champagne Starlight. The new color is Sky Blue, which apparently is a metallic light blue that really shows itself as a color gradient when viewed at various angles. I haven’t seen it in person, so I will reserve my final judgment, but my guess is that this will be another one of those colors that will read as silver until you notice that, yes, it’s actually a little bit blue in certain light or at certain angles. (If you, like me, have been hoping the MacBook Air might gain a bright eye-popping color, you will need to keep waiting.)
Now to the more expected details: It’s been obvious that the M4 chip would make its way into the MacBook Air since it was unveiled 10 months ago. If you’re wondering what performance differences it offers over the M3, you might want to check out my reviews of the M4 iPad Pro and the M4 iMac. To sum up:
The M4 single-core score was 24% higher than an M3 MacBook Air and 45% faster than the M2 iPad Pro. In multi-core operations, the 10-core M4 bested an eight-core M3 by 22%, and the eight-core M2 iPad Pro by 50%.
Of course, most people buying a new M4 Air won’t be upgrading from last year’s M3 model. But the M4 has proven to be a powerful processor, even in the fanless iPad Pro, and I’d expect the same to be true for this MacBook Air. Most notably, the M4 (like the M3 before it) features Apple’s latest-generation GPU architecture, boosting performance for graphics and games.
The M4 also completely unlocks a feature that some MacBook Air fans have been clamoring for since the Apple silicon era began: The ability to drive two external displays and its own display, simultaneously. The M3 Air got the ability to run two displays lid closed, but now dual-monitor fans can keep that lid open. Hats off to Apple for that one.
A big quality-of-life upgrade in this model is the addition of a new 12-megapixel camera that supports Center Stage. These specs are identical to those found in the recently upgraded M4 iMac and M4 MacBook Pro. If this upgrade is anything like those, it’ll be a major improvement. Not only is Center Stage a convenient feature, but as I wrote back in November, the new camera offers “more contrast and more natural-looking skin tones.”
Apple also isn’t adjusting its battery life claims from the M3 Air models—the M4 Air will still offer up to 18 hours of battery life. Both the 13- and 15-inch models will be available for pre-order starting Wednesday and will go on sale Wednesday, March 12.
- The M2 Air will apparently still be available in certain (unspecified) countries at a lower price point, but its run as a mainstream “new” Mac seems to be over. ↩
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