M4 MacBook Air: Everything we know about Apple’s next laptop

Apple’s MacBook Air is one of the best MacBooks you can buy, and it’s also one of the most affordable ways into the Mac ecosystem. If you’ve been thinking about taking the plunge and buying one, you’re in luck, as a new model equipped with Apple’s M4 chip is right around the corner.

Here, we’ve put together all the info we have about the M4 MacBook Air. Whatever it is you want to know about Apple’s next laptop, you’re in the right place.

Price and release date

Right now, the most probable release date for the next MacBook Air seems to be spring 2025, with Bloomberg reporter Mark Gurman stating in April 2024 that he expected the laptop to launch “by the spring.” Apple has form here — the M3 MacBook Air was announced in March 2024, after all.

Officially, “spring” would mean anything from March 20 to June 20. Still, we wouldn’t expect a June launch if the laptop is pegged for spring — that month coincides with Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC), which is considered to be a summer event.

It’s worth noting that Gurman has slightly clarified his position in recent months. In a post on X in September 2024, the journalist said that the MacBook Air was “now scheduled for calendar Q1,” which covers January to March. If correct, that means the new laptop could appear any time now.

Whatever the exact date, we can be almost certain that a new MacBook Air will land at some point in 2025 — and we have Apple itself to thank for that. When the company released macOS 15.2, it accidentally included references to “MacBook Air (13-inch, M4, 2025)” and “MacBook Air (15-inch, M4, 2025),” seemingly confirming that new MacBook Air models will launch this year.

Regarding the price, we’d expect Apple to keep the same $1,099 starting price for the M4 model as it used for the M3 MacBook Air. As we’ll see later, this is mostly due to the fact that the M4 version will, by all accounts, be a minor upgrade.

The main question surrounding the cost is what Apple will do with its lower-priced model. At the moment, Apple sells the M3 MacBook Air and has kept the M2 model as a more affordable alternative, which it sells for $999. Gurman has said it’s possible that Apple might keep the M2 in place rather than replace it with the M3, blaming “manufacturing challenges” faced by the M3 chip.

Design

Don’t expect major design changes when the M4 MacBook Air takes to the stage. This version is expected to feature a new chip and not much else, with design upgrades saved for a later date.

Indeed, Apple last redesigned the MacBook Air in 2022, giving it a flat-edged look that brought it closer in appearance to the MacBook Pro. But considering Apple usually waits at least four years between redesigns, it’s probably too early to see a change for the MacBook Air this time around.

The absence of a design overhaul also means we’ll have the same two sizes of MacBook Air. Specifically, that’s the 13.6-inch model and the 15.3-inch version.

Performance and features

We can be sure that the next MacBook Air will only come with the M4 chip. That’s because it’s a consumer-focused device, so anything more powerful is unnecessary for its target audience. Chips like Apple’s M4 Pro, M4 Max, and M4 Ultra are just way beyond what’s needed in the MacBook Air – and given the MacBook Air’s passive cooling system, they’d run too hot anyway.

So, if we’re just getting the M4 chip, what can we expect from it? Looking at the M4 MacBook Pro will give us some hints. In that device, the M4 has a 10-core CPU and a 10-core GPU. We can probably expect something similar in the MacBook Air, perhaps with a lower-binned version as a cheaper option. That’s been the case in previous years and could happen again this time around.

Elsewhere, the 16-core Neural Engine will come with more efficient cores versus the M3, as was the case with the MacBook Pro’s M4. The memory bandwidth could step up from 100GB/s to 120GB/s, and we’re anticipating maximum memory and storage capacities of 24GB and 2TB, respectively.

Note that because both the M3 and M4 are made using a 3nm process, the shift to the M4 will be less significant than the move from M2 to M3 was (the M2 was made with a less efficient 5nm process). As a result, you should look forward to modest performance increases rather than anything groundbreaking.

There’s also been some good news if you use multiple screens with your laptop. The M3 MacBook Air can only connect to two external displays when the lid is closed, but that limitation might be lifted with the M4 version, claims 9to5Mac. That’s because the M4 MacBook Pro can support two displays at higher resolutions and frame rates than the M3 model, suggesting that the M4 chip has improved bandwidth. And with better bandwidth, there’s a good chance that the M4 MacBook Air will be able to handle running its own display and two external ones at the same time, with no need to close the lid.

Finally, there have been rumors that Apple is planning to outfit all of its laptops with OLED displays and that reportedly includes the MacBook Air. Unfortunately, that doesn’t appear to be happening any time soon, with the latest rumors pointing to a 2029 launch. That’s a delay from the previously reported 2027 release date.