Apple released M3-powered MacBook Air laptops like the MacBook Air 13-inch M3 and MacBook Air 15-inch M3 back in March of 2024, and we may see Apple M4-driven equivalents soon. Given the popularity of the MacBook Airs, refreshed models with M4 chips are inevitable.
Though Apple hasn’t officially announced the MacBook Air M4 line, rumors suggest these laptops could arrive in early 2025 — a full year after the Apple M3 models. We don’t have a lot of details at the moment, but we expect these laptops will likely retain the same design as the current models, with the biggest difference being the M4 chip inside.
Here’s everything we’ve heard so far about the MacBook Air M4.
MacBook Air M4: Rumored release date
According to Bloomberg reporter and Apple tipster Mark Gurman, Apple will reportedly launch the MacBook Air M4 in Q1 of 2025. If true, expect these laptops to arrive between January and March.
Apple launched the M3 MacBook Airs in March 2024. Because of that, I think March 2025 is the most likely release window. That said, it’s possible the laptops could arrive later. After all, the MacBook Air M2 dropped in July 2022. I don’t think we’ll have to wait that long for M4 MacBook Airs, but it’s hard to tell for certain.
I certainly believe the MacBook Air M4 release date will be before the critical back-to-school shopping season.
MacBook Air M4: Rumored design
Gurman’s sources claim that the MacBook Air M4 models “will look similar to the current design launched in 2022.” Apple will soon begin manufacturing new 13- and 15-inch MacBook Airs codenamed J713 and J714. This claim aligns with a previous report from display analyst Russ Young, who said display panel shipments for the new MacBook Airs would begin in October (via MacRumors).
All modern MacBooks, including the MacBook Airs, have the flat utilitarian design introduced with 2021’s MacBook Pro 14-inch and MacBook Pro 16-inch. Apple will likely keep this design around for a couple of years (if not longer), so it’s not surprising that the M4 Airs likely aren’t getting a redesign.
MacBook Air M4: Potential specs and performance
While Apple reportedly won’t redesign the MacBook Air, the company’s thin and light laptop will allegedly have the same Apple M4 chip as the iPad Pro M4 and MacBook Pro 14-inch M4. This chip packs a 10-core CPU, a 10-core GPU and a Neural Engine that can hit 38 TOPS (trillions of operations per second) of AI performance.
On Geekbench, which measures overall CPU performance, the MacBook Pro M4 we reviewed turned in faster scores on the single-core test than the M3 model and crushed competing Windows laptops. On the multi-core test, the M4 MacBook Pro was on par with the Asus ProArt PX13 with an AMD Ryzen chip, but it beat the Dell XPS 13 with both Snapdragon X Elite and Intel Lunar Lake chips.
Considering the MacBook Air is a fanless laptop and is, therefore, more susceptible to thermal throttling, I expect a drop in performance compared to the MacBook Pro, which has internal fans. That said, don’t expect a massive performance difference. If anything, the M4 MacBook Air could deliver performance on par with the M4 iPad Pro, which still surpassed competing tablets and even some laptops in the Geekbench benchmark test.
In terms of battery life, the M4 MacBook Pro lasted for an epic 18 hours and 31 minutes in our battery life test. The MacBook Air laptops have smaller batteries than the MacBook Pros, so I don’t think we’ll see equivalent battery life. However, I do expect longer endurance than the M3 MacBook Airs, which lasted a little over 15 hours. It’s possible the M4 MacBook Airs could last close to 16 hours.
MacBook Air M4: Outlook
Since Apple hasn’t announced the MacBook Air M4, it’s best to take all rumors with a healthy dose of skepticism. That said, it’s a safe bet we’ll see M4-powered MacBook Airs before the summer of 2025.
We’ll update this post with any new MacBook Air M4 reports and rumors as we hear them, so stay tuned for more!
