MacBook Air M4 (Early 2025): Unveiled and Reviewed

Apple continues its tradition of annual updates with the 2025 MacBook Air 15, featuring the latest M4 chip. This sleek laptop remains an excellent choice for productivity, boasting impressive battery life and a stunning display. While it's not designed for PC gaming, the MacBook Air excels in its role as a portable workhorse, perfect for everyday tasks and on-the-go productivity.

Purchasing Guide

The MacBook Air (M4, Early 2025) is now available, with the 13-inch model starting at $999 and the 15-inch model, which I reviewed, at $1,199. Apple offers various customization options, allowing you to upgrade your system. For example, you can configure a 15-inch MacBook Air with 32GB of RAM and a 2TB SSD for $2,399.

MacBook Air (M4, 2025) – Photos

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Design

The MacBook Air epitomizes what many envision when thinking of a laptop. Despite its unchanged appearance from previous models, its ultra-thin and lightweight design at just 3.3 pounds is remarkable for a 15-inch device. The unibody aluminum chassis, less than half an inch thick, not only contributes to its low weight but also to its sleek, clean aesthetic. The speakers, cleverly integrated into the hinge, enhance sound quality and maintain the laptop's smooth exterior. The fanless M4 configuration allows for this streamlined design, eliminating the need for air vents and contributing to a seamless look, accented only by four small rubber feet on the bottom.

The top of the laptop features the same excellent keyboard as its predecessors, offering deep key travel and a reliable TouchID sensor for swift access. The expansive touchpad, stretching between the 'Command' keys, offers precise control with excellent palm rejection. However, the port selection is somewhat limited, with two USB-C ports and a MagSafe connector on the left, and a headphone jack on the right. While it's commendable that Apple includes a headphone jack, additional ports such as an SD card reader would enhance its utility.

Display

The MacBook Air's display, though not as advanced as the MacBook Pro's, is exceptional for its class. The 15.3-inch, 1880p screen covers 99% of the DCI-P3 color gamut and 100% of sRGB, offering vibrant colors and decent glare resistance. While it reaches a peak brightness of 426 nits—slightly below the advertised 500 nits—it's still bright enough for most indoor environments. The display's performance is more than adequate for everyday use, making it ideal for streaming and productivity tasks.

Performance

Benchmarking a MacBook on macOS can be challenging due to limited compatibility with common tests. However, the fanless M4 chip in the MacBook Air is optimized for productivity rather than gaming. In gaming tests, the MacBook Air struggled, achieving only 18 fps in Total War: Warhammer 3 at Ultra settings and 10 fps in Assassin’s Creed Shadows at 1080p. These results, while underwhelming for gaming, are irrelevant to the MacBook Air's primary purpose.

The laptop excels in productivity, effortlessly handling multiple Safari tabs and background music playback, even on battery power. With 32GB of RAM, it managed heavy multitasking without any hiccups. Light Photoshop work was also within its capabilities, though more demanding tasks like noise filtering in Lightroom posed a challenge. The MacBook Air's ability to handle day-to-day work efficiently while maintaining a thin and light form factor is its true strength.

Battery

Apple claims the MacBook Air can last up to 18 hours of video streaming and 15 hours of web browsing. My testing, which involved looping local video playback in VLC Media Player, showed the laptop lasting 19 hours and 15 minutes, surpassing Apple's claim. While local playback is less demanding than streaming, the battery life remained impressive during extended work sessions. This makes the MacBook Air an ideal companion for travelers, capable of lasting through long flights and workdays without needing a recharge.