Apple MacBook Air M4

A price drop and a performance boost reaffirm Apple’s MacBook Air 13-incher as one of the best buys among mainstream ultraportables.

The 2025 version of the MacBook Air now starts at its most attractive price point for the best performance yet. Just don't expect something so different than previous versions.

Although this new model doesn't qualify as my dream version (I'll continue to wait for the extra ports, nano-texture glass, and fun color options), it's still an excellent laptop for basic tasks—whether that's for work, school, or fun. Sure, the upgrades continue to feel iterative, but it's nice to see the MacBook Air priced at under $1,000 again without skimping on features.

Apple's 13-inch MacBook Air remains my favorite laptop. The MacBook Air 13-inch (M4) has an excellent build and design, working on it is a pleasure, and the M4 provides all the power I need for the widest range of tasks. I appreciate the long battery life, bright, colorful screen, and clear audio. It has enough ports to support my almost always connected external screen, and I’m glad there’s still a vestigial 3.5mm headphone jack. macOS and the supporting Apple ecosystem are unparalleled

Once again, Apple’s MacBook Air is the ideal ultraportable for most users. It’s slightly faster, thanks to the M4 chip, and also a bit cheaper with a new $999 starting price.

For Intel and M1 MacBook Air owners, the performance gap is sizeable enough that upgrading is definitely worth your while. Something to keep in mind, too, is that while the M3 MacBook Air is going away, you might be able to pick one of those up at a deep enough discount, new or refurbished, to make you forget about the features you're not getting with the M4.

The new MacBook Air may not be as seminal a machine as the recently updated Mac Mini, but it’s easily one of the best MacBook Airs Apple has ever released. It’s powerful, well-built, thin and light, has a long battery life, and is even cheaper than the model it replaces. Furthermore, it now comes with 16GB of memory as standard, which addresses one of our longest-standing and biggest issues with Apple’s base configuration MacBooks.