Video Review: Two Months With the M4 MacBook Air - MacRumors
Skip to Content

Video Review: Two Months With the M4 MacBook Air

It's been nearly two months since the M4 MacBook Air launched, so we thought we'd take another look at the machine now that it's been out long enough to do some serious testing with it.


Introduced in March, the ‌MacBook Air‌ is equipped with Apple's latest and greatest M4 chip, so it's more than capable of handling day-to-day tasks from web browsing and watching videos to getting work done. It's even powerful enough for photo editing and some light video editing work.

All Macs have a minimum of 16GB RAM now, so the base M4 ‌MacBook Air‌ that starts at $999 is a really good deal for what you get. You can upgrade the RAM and the SSD, which may be worthwhile depending on what you want to do on your Mac.

In terms of design, Apple hasn't changed the look of the M4 ‌MacBook Air‌ compared to the M3 model, but it does come in a subtle blue shade that's new this year. The ‌MacBook Air‌ continues to be Apple's most portable Mac, with the 13-inch model weighing just 2.7 pounds. The 15-inch model is heavier at 3.3 pounds, but both models are lighter than the equivalent MacBook Pro models.

There's an upgraded 12-megapixel front-facing camera for video calls this year, which is a nice upgrade over the prior 1080p camera. The ‌MacBook Air‌ is limited to two USB-C ports and it doesn't have the port selection of the ‌MacBook Pro‌, nor the ability to support as many displays, but it's perfect for on-the-go use and it is the Mac that we recommend for most people.

With the ‌MacBook Pro‌, you're going to get a better mini-LED display, ProMotion support, and the option for nano-texture, but those all come with a much higher price tag.

Make sure to watch our review video for more on our thoughts on the M4 ‌MacBook Air‌ after spending almost two months with it.

Related Roundup: MacBook Air
Buyer's Guide: MacBook Air (Neutral)
Related Forum: MacBook Air

Popular Stories

iPhone Handoff iOS 27 Feature

T-Mobile to Charge $5 a Month for iOS 27 iPhone Handoff

Thursday September 10, 2026 3:58 pm PDT by
T-Mobile will charge customers $5 per month to use iPhone Handoff, an e-SIM feature that allows the same phone number to be used on two separate iPhones. iPhone Handoff requires carrier support, and at launch, only T-Mobile users in the U.S. and Deutsche Telekom users in Germany will be able to use it. T-Mobile says customers can use their number across two compatible iPhone models and...
iphone duo

IMAX Reacts to iPhone Duo's 1:1.4 Aspect Ratio Displays

Friday September 11, 2026 4:42 am PDT by
Production theater company IMAX has responded in a mixed way to Apple's embrace of a 1:1.4 aspect ratio on the iPhone Duo's inner and outer displays. The boxier ratio happens to be very close to the classic "full-frame" IMAX 1.43:1 aspect ratio, which comes from the geometry of the company's original 15-perforation/70mm film system. In response to an X post from someone wondering if we'll see...
iOS 27 Feature Dark

Apple Announces iOS 27 Release Date

Wednesday September 9, 2026 10:46 am PDT by
At its event today unveiling the iPhone 18 Pro, AirPods 5, Apple Watch Series 12, and more, Apple announced that iOS 27 will be released later this month. iOS 27 has already been available as a developer beta since June and as a public beta since July, and Apple today said that the update will be released for all users with a compatible iPhone model on Monday, September 14. iOS 27 is...

Top Rated Comments

18 months ago
at this point the laptops are perfect, its just the OS bugs that hold everything back

compared to 10 years ago when it was the opposite
Score: 21 Votes (Like | Disagree)
nathansz Avatar
18 months ago

But let’s hope macOS gets not just a big sur surface makeover but a profound rethink of what the Mac is in a world where there is the iPhone and iPad.
this is my greatest fear

much prefer macOS be left alone
Score: 19 Votes (Like | Disagree)
18 months ago

But let’s hope macOS gets not just a big sur surface makeover but a profound rethink of what the Mac is in a world where there is the iPhone and iPad.
NO. leave macOS alone! finder.app, disk utility, having multiple apps open at once, and terminal and all that are the last good things in modern computing

we dont want an iphone or ipad and the reloading full screen app BS. go away!
Score: 17 Votes (Like | Disagree)
18 months ago
I recently had M2 and M4 MacBook Air side by side - same specs 16GB RAM and 512 SSD. Both Midnight.

What surprised me most is that the M4 display looks much sharper.
M4 midnight color looks different and less prone to finger prints.
And M4 feels quite faster than M2.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
18 months ago

Dual-35W in 2025 should mean all Apple execs get the firing squad. So stingy to make it just 35W in total between both ports. Dual 60W GaN chargers are tiny and affordable. Should be at least 30W per port.
Just curious, why does it matter so much? Modern Mac laptops do so well on battery I never even think about charging specs.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
CausticSoda Avatar
18 months ago
I think he rather undersells it, and I'm not sure we learn much from a "2 months in" review compared with the reviews when it was released anyway. Also, it doesn't tell us much about its capabilities given he says he uses it mainly for admin work. The message seems to be, yeah, it's good for basic stuff, it works fine. No S**t Sherlock! Design is a personal preference, but I still prefer the wedge design. I'm still loving my M1 16Gb MBA, but the Devil on my shoulder keeps telling me to upgrade just for the hell of it even though it makes no sense at all.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)