M4 MacBook Air has a new color option and a lower starting price

Apple has updated its MacBook Air laptop with the current M4 chip, which brings about 20 percent faster performance than the previous M3 silicon.

Two MacBook Air laptops in the Sky Blue color with their lids open, floating mid-air. — M4 MacBook Air in the new Sky Blue color Image: Christian Zibreg/iDB/Apple

The M4 MacBook Air is rated with the same 18-hour battery life as its predecessor, released in March 2024. The refreshed laptop is now available in a new colorway (dubbed Sky Blue), starts at $1000 ($100 less than the base M3 MacBook Air) and remains available in the exact same sizes (13 inches and 15 inches) as before.

You can pre-order your M4 MacBook Air today via the Apple website or the Apple Store app before retail availability starts on Wednesday, March 12.

The MacBook Air updated with M4 perks, a new color option, a Center Stage camera and more

Apple says folks coming from an Intel-based Mac like myself should expect up to 23x faster performance and up to six additional hours of battery life. Thanks to the M4’s improved Neural Engine, AI tasks are 3x faster than on the M1 MacBook Air.

Young student sitting on the staircase and pulling her MacBook Air out of a carrying bag.

Apple provided the following speed stats:

Spreadsheet calculation performance in Microsoft Excel is up to 4.7x faster than the fastest Intel-based MacBook Air and up to 1.6x faster than the 13-inch MacBook Air with M1.
Video editing in iMovie is up to 8x faster than the fastest Intel-based MacBook Air and 2x faster than the 13-inch MacBook Air with M1.
Photo editing in Adobe Photoshop is up to 3.6x faster than the fastest Intel-based MacBook Air, and up to 2x faster than the 13-inch MacBook Air with M1.
Web browsing is up to 60 percent faster when compared to a PC laptop with an Intel Core Ultra 7 processor, and more demanding tasks get up to 2x faster performance.

The M4 chip improves support for external displays; the M4 MacBook Air can simultaneously drive its built-in Liquid Retina display and two external 6K displays. By comparison, the previous M3 models could use the built-in display and one 6K external display or two 5K external displays with the lid closed. Like before, there are four Thunderbolt 4 ports (40Gb/s) which support charging, DisplayPort 1.4 video output and USB 4.

The new Airs also address my biggest gripe about the popular consumer laptop: the terrible potato camera. Instead of the old sensor camera, the M4 MacBook Air is equipped with Apple’s 12-megapixel camera sensor, which supports Center Stage, Apple’s automatic cropping feature for video calls, and Desk View, which shows a top-down view of your desk like an overhead camera on unboxing videos. The video resolution provided by the new camera is the same as before, 1080p.

All M4 Airs have 16GB of unified memory to better support Apple Intelligence. As for the new Sky Blue color finish, Apple describes it as “a beautiful, metallic light blue that creates a dynamic gradient when light reflects off of its surface.”

For further information, visit apple.com/macbook-air and peruse these technical specifications:

You can compare the technical specifications between the current and previous M3 models (now discontinued) on the Compare Mac Models page.

Pricing and availability

Apple offers the M4 MacBook Air in 13 and 15-inch sizes, each in three configurations, each in the Silver, Starlight and Midnight color finishes plus a new Sky Blue colorway. All color options ship with a color-matched MagSafe charge cable. You can pre-order your M4 MacBook Air today via Apple’s website and the official Apple Store shopping app in the United States and 27 additional countries. The computer will start shipping and be available via authorized resellers, Apple’s brick-and-mortar stores and other sellers like Amazon on Wednesday, March 12.

The MacBook Air in Apple's online store.

The base 13-inch MacBook Air powered by the M4 chip with 10 processing cores, eight graphics cores, sixteen gigabytes of unified memory, 256GB of flash storage and a 30W power adapter with a single USB-C port is priced at $1000. Pay an extra $200 for the $1200 model and you get two additional graphics cores, double the storage (5612GB) and a 35W power adapter with dual USB-C ports. An extra $200 upgrades your experience to the $1400 configuration which brings eight more gigabytes of unified memory over the $1200 model for a total of 24GB.

The 15-inch MacBook Air comprises the $1200, $1400 and $1600 configurations. The base $1200 15-inch MacBook Air runs the M4 chip featuring ten processing cores, ten graphics cores and sixteen gigabytes of unified memory, and has 256GB of flash storage. The $1400 model provides double the storage, while the flagship $1600 15-inch MacBook Air also boosts unified memory to 24GB.

For education, the base 13-inch M4 MacBook is $900 cheaper at $900, while the 15-incher starts at $ 1100 (also $100 cheaper). All 15-inch models ship with a 35W power adapter with dual USB-C ports included in the box. All 13 and 15-inch configurations have two Thunderbolt 4 (USB-C) ports, support two external displays and feature a built-in MagSafe 3 charging port (but can also be charged via USB-C) with a color-matched MagSafe cable.

Paid configure-to-order options across all M4 MacBook Airs on the online Apple store include 24GB (+$200) and 32GB (+$400) of unified memory, as well as 512GB (+200), 1TB (+$400) and 2TB (+$800) storage upgrades. The 13-inch models can be upgraded to an M4 chip with ten graphics cores for an extra $100. If you think the included 30W charger is too slow, you can pay an extra $20 to have it swapped for either Apple’s 35W dual USB-C port power adapter or a 70W one with one USB-C port and fast-charging support to bring the battery from dead to 50 percent in about 35 minutes. The 15-inch models ships with the 35W adapter in the box, but you can swap it for a 70W one without paying extra.