The MacBook Air has finally caught up to the MacBook Pro and iPad Pro. Apple on Wednesday announced its 13- and 15-inch MacBook Air models have been upgraded to its M4 processor. The iPad Pro was the first Apple device to receive the M4 treatment last May, and the MacBook Pro followed suit near the end of last year. Now, you can get Apple's latest silicon in its most affordable laptop -- and it's even more affordable than the previous M3 Air.
The $999 Air is back
In addition to the processor upgrade, the other big news is the return of the MacBook Air's $999 starting price. The last MacBook Air to be released with a price in the triple digits was the M1 Air back in 2020. The M2 Air started at $1,199, and the M3 Air started at $1,099, so we've been trending toward the M4's $999 price, but it's nice to finally return. With Apple's educational discount, students can get the M4 Air for $899.
The M4 MacBook Air starts at £999 in the UK and AU$1,699 in Australia.
The 15-inch M4 MacBook Air is also $100 cheaper than the previous M3 version. It starts at $1,199 -- or $1,099 with educational pricing.
M4 processor and sky blue color
The $999 MacBook Air features an M4 processor with 10 CPU cores and eight GPU cores, 16GB of RAM and a 256GB solid-state drive. The minimum memory of 16GB isn't new -- Apple upped it from the meager 8GB of RAM to coincide with the release of the M4 MacBook Pro last fall -- but is still appreciated, especially with the new lower starting price. But the 256GB SSD? Sigh. I guess we'll need to wait at least another year until Apple delivers a 512GB SSD with the base configuration of the MacBook Air. A 256GB drive fills up fast, Apple!
The step-up $1,199 model includes a 512GB SSD while also delivering a couple more GPU cores with its M4 chip. The $1,399 configuration bumps you up to 24GB of RAM.
M4 MacBook Air lineup
| Starting price | $999 | $1,199 | $1,399 |
|---|---|---|---|
| CPU | M4 | M4 | M4 |
| No. of CPU cores | 10 | 10 | 10 |
| No. of GPU cores | 8 | 10 | 10 |
| RAM | 16GB | 16GB | 24GB |
| Storage | 256GB | 512GB | 512GB |
The M4 MacBook Air also includes a webcam upgrade. The M4 models get the 12-megapixel Center Stage camera found on the MacBook Pro and iMac.
Apple didn't introduce any design changes with the M4 MacBook Air, but it did roll out a new color option -- sky blue. This metallic light blue takes the place of space gray. The other three colors -- midnight, silver and starlight -- for the Air remain.
Preorders are open now for the M4 MacBook Air, and the new models will start shipping in a week.