Apple today announced refreshed 13- and 15-inch MacBook Air models, now powered by the M4 chip, an upgraded Center Stage camera, and a new “Sky Blue” color option.
The M4 chip powering the refreshed MacBook Air is an M4, featuring a 10-core CPU, an up to 10-core GPU, and support for up to 32GB of unified memory. Apple says the M4 is up to twice as fast as the M1 model, and Neural Engine tasks will run up to 3x faster. The M4 chip, which debuted in the iPad Pro last year, promises approximately 20% faster performance than the M3 chip in both single and multi-core tasks. Battery life on the new MacBook Air is up to 18 hours.
Thanks to a new display engine, the MacBook Air now offers support for up to two external 6K displays in addition to the built-in display.
A new 12-megapixel Center Stage camera automatically keeps users centered in the frame as they move around during video calls, and it also supports Desk View, simultaneously displaying both the user and a top-down view of their desk.
The MacBook Air’s new “Sky Blue” color option offers a new blue finish that joins Midnight, Starlight, and Silver as color options. Apple says Sky Blue is a “beautiful, metallic light blue that creates a dynamic gradient when light reflects off of its surface.” Apple has dropped the Space Gray color option. All MacBook Air model include a color-matched MagSafe charge cable in the box.
“MacBook Air is by far the world’s most popular laptop, and today we’re giving everyone even more reasons to love it, including a big boost in performance with the M4 chip, a new Center Stage camera, and a beautiful new sky blue color,” said Greg Joswiak, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing. “Combined with its thin and light, fanless design, all-day battery life, and the incredible capabilities of macOS Sequoia with Apple Intelligence, MacBook Air is unlike any other laptop. And with a new lower starting price of $999, MacBook Air delivers more value to consumers than ever before, making this the perfect moment to upgrade or experience the Mac for the first time.”
Here’s a taste of what king of performance you’ll see from the new M4 MacBook Air:
- 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 up to 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.
M4 MacBook Air Pricing and Availability
- Customers can pre-order the new MacBook Air with M4 starting today on apple.com/store and in the Apple Store app in 28 countries and regions, including the U.S. It will begin arriving to customers, and will be in Apple Store locations and Apple Authorized Resellers, starting Wednesday, March 12.
- The 13-inch MacBook Air with M4 starts at $999 (U.S.) and $899 (U.S.) for education, and the 15‑inch MacBook Air with M4 starts at $1,199 (U.S.) and $1,099 (U.S.) for education. Both are available in sky blue, midnight, starlight, and silver.
