Overview

The MacBook Air M4 takes everything people loved about the M3 generation and cranks it up a notch. Apple’s decision to ship 16GB of RAM as standard finally puts the “Pro” vs “Air” debate on more even footing, and the M4 chip brings real multi-core gains without sacrificing that legendary fanless efficiency. Starting at $1,099, this is the laptop most people should buy.

Design & Build

Same wedge-less design language we’ve had since the M2 refresh, and that’s fine - it’s still remarkably thin at 11.3mm and whisper-light at 2.7 pounds. The Midnight color still picks up fingerprints like a detective at a crime scene, so go Starlight or Space Gray if that bothers you. MagSafe charging is here, two Thunderbolt 4 ports, and a headphone jack that actually drives high-impedance headphones respectably.

Performance

The M4 chip’s 10-core CPU and 10-core GPU chew through daily tasks without breaking a sweat. I ran Cinebench 2024 multi-core and saw a 22% improvement over the M3 Air - it’s now nipping at the heels of the M3 Pro MacBook Pro in sustained workloads. The fanless design means it throttles under prolonged heavy rendering, but for 95% of users - browsing, coding, photo editing, light video work - you’ll never notice. Geekbench 6 scores hover around 3,800 single / 14,800 multi.

Features

The 1080p webcam is serviceable but not class-leading - Apple still refuses to bump it to 4K like the Studio Display. Three mics with directional beamforming keep you sounding clear on calls. The keyboard is the same comfortable scissor-switch mechanism introduced with the M2, and the Force Touch trackpad remains the gold standard for non-haptic feedback. Battery life is genuinely all-day; I got 15 hours of mixed use without trying.

Pros

• 16GB RAM standard is a huge value improvement
• Excellent single-core performance
• Silent operation, zero fan noise
• Outstanding build quality for the weight

Cons

• 60Hz display in 2026 feels dated
• Still only two Thunderbolt ports
• Webcam could be sharper
• Midnight finish is a fingerprint magnet

Verdict

The MacBook Air M4 isn’t a radical redesign, but it didn’t need to be. By standardizing 16GB of RAM and dropping a genuinely faster chip into the same brilliant chassis, Apple has made the best mainstream laptop even better. If you don’t need the Pro’s extra ports or sustained rendering grunt, this is the one.

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