MacBook Air M4 13-Inch Review: Apple Fixed the One Big Problem
MacBook Air M4 13-Inch
The M4 Air is everything the M3 was, plus the three things it should have had from day one: 16GB base RAM, Thunderbolt 4, and dual external display support with the lid open. At $1,099 with 16GB now standard, this is the best value in laptops and the one we recommend to almost everyone.
In This Review
🔍 How We Tested
We ran the MacBook Air M4 (16GB RAM, 512GB SSD, Sky Blue) as a daily driver for six weeks: Final Cut Pro exports, Xcode builds, Lightroom catalog edits, 4K video editing in DaVinci Resolve, and marathon browser sessions with 50+ tabs. Battery was tested at 70% brightness with Wi-Fi active. Benchmarks run with Geekbench 6 and Cinebench 2024.
What’s New: M4 vs M3 Air
The MacBook Air M4 looks identical to the M3 on the outside — same squared-off aluminum chassis, same 11.97mm thickness, same 2.7 lbs. The upgrades are all inside, and they matter.
🆕 M4 Air vs M3 Air: Key Upgrades
New in M4
- 16GB RAM standard (was 8GB)
- Thunderbolt 4 ports (was TB3)
- Two external displays, lid open (was one)
- 12MP Center Stage camera (was 1080p)
- New Sky Blue color
- ~30% faster CPU performance
- Up to 32GB RAM option
Same as M3
- 13.6” Liquid Retina display
- Fanless design
- MagSafe 3
- Up to 18-hour battery
- Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.3
- $1,099 starting price
- 2.7 lbs, 11.97mm
The 16GB base RAM is the headline change. The M3’s 8GB starting configuration aged poorly — it felt limiting for anyone running more than a few apps, and we frequently recommended spending the extra $200 to upgrade. The M4 ships with 16GB as standard, making the $1,099 entry price genuinely great value for the first time in years.
Dual external display support with the lid open is the second big win. M3 Air owners with two monitors had to keep the laptop closed — a real nuisance. The M4 handles two 6K displays simultaneously via its Thunderbolt 4 ports while keeping the built-in screen active. That’s a three-display laptop now.
Pros
- 16GB RAM now standard — finally
- Dual external displays with lid open
- Thunderbolt 4 (faster, more compatible)
- 12MP Center Stage camera is best-in-class
- ~30% faster than M3 in CPU tasks
- Same great battery: 15–18 hrs real-world
- New Sky Blue color is gorgeous
Cons
- Still 60Hz display (no ProMotion)
- Only two Thunderbolt ports — need a hub for more
- No HDMI, no SD card, no USB-A
- Fanless throttles slightly on extreme sustained loads
- Base 256GB storage fills fast
Design & Build Quality
Apple didn’t change the design, and that’s the right call. The M2-generation chassis introduced in 2022 is still the best-looking laptop body in the industry. The all-aluminum enclosure measures 11.97mm at its thinnest — barely thicker than an iPad — with zero flex in the lid or keyboard deck. MagSafe 3 frees both Thunderbolt ports for peripherals. The chamfered edges catch light beautifully.
The new Sky Blue color is the standout addition. It’s a soft, almost muted blue-gray that photographs pale but looks genuinely premium in hand — a sophisticated alternative to Midnight or Starlight. Starlight, Midnight, and Space Gray remain available. All four colors use anodized aluminum that resists scratches well in everyday use.
The Magic Keyboard continues to be the best built-in laptop keyboard. Key travel is short but satisfying, the function row includes Touch ID, and the trackpad is the largest and most accurate in the business. Six months of daily use and not a single complaint.
Display
The 13.6-inch Liquid Retina display is unchanged from the M3: 2560×1664 resolution, 224 ppi, 500 nits sustained brightness with 600-nit HDR peaks. P3 wide color gamut, True Tone, and 1 billion colors. It’s excellent for photo editing, video review, and everyday work.
The 60Hz refresh rate remains the main gap vs. the MacBook Pro’s 120Hz ProMotion. Scrolling is perceptibly less silky if you use a Pro side-by-side. In isolation most users won’t care. If smooth animation matters to you — gaming, video scrubbing, heavy web browsing — consider the 14-inch Pro.
Performance & Benchmarks
The M4 chip uses TSMC’s 3nm process (second generation, same as M4 Pro and Max) with a 10-core CPU and 10-core GPU. The M3 had an 8-core CPU. That two-core difference, combined with higher clock speeds, puts the M4 roughly 25–30% ahead in multi-core workloads. Geekbench 6 results: approximately 3,900 single-core and 15,100 multi-core — matching scores Apple used to reserve for the MacBook Pro.
In real-world testing: a 10-minute 4K ProRes clip exported in Final Cut Pro in 3 minutes 12 seconds (vs 4 minutes on M3). A full Xcode build that took 48 seconds on the M3 finished in 36 seconds. Lightroom AI masking and healing on a 45MP RAW file happened instantly. DaVinci Resolve handled 4K multi-stream editing without dropping frames.
The fanless design means prolonged maximum-load workloads — think hour-long Handbrake encodes or GPU-intensive game sessions — will throttle to control heat. For that, the MacBook Pro M4 with active cooling is the better tool. But for the creative work most MacBook Air buyers actually do, the M4 Air is indistinguishable from a MacBook Pro in daily use.
| Chip | CPU | GPU | RAM Options | Storage | Display | Battery | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apple M4 | 10-core | 10-core | 16GB / 24GB / 32GB | 256GB – 2TB SSD | 13.6” Liquid Retina | Up to 18 hrs | 1.24 kg (2.7 lbs) |
Which Configuration to Buy
16GB / 256GB ($1,099) — Right for most users. Students, remote workers, and anyone who doesn’t store large media libraries locally. Use iCloud or an external drive for extra storage.
16GB / 512GB ($1,299) — Our recommended sweet spot. 512GB is comfortable for most professionals, and the extra storage means less juggling between external drives and cloud sync.
24GB / 512GB ($1,499) — For developers, photographers with large catalogs, or anyone running creative pro apps alongside virtual machines. Worth it if you plan to own this machine for 4+ years.
32GB models — Genuine overkill for the MacBook Air. If you need 32GB of unified memory, the MacBook Pro M4 Pro is probably the better machine for your workload.
Battery Life
Apple rates the M4 Air at 18 hours. Our real-world testing at 70% brightness with Wi-Fi active, mixed between browsing, documents, and video playback, consistently delivered 14–16 hours. Pure video playback hit the full 18. Heavy workloads like 4K video export drained it faster — about 6–8 hours under load. This is among the best battery life of any laptop at any price.
In practical terms: you can leave the charger home for a full work day with confidence. A 45-minute charge via the included 30W USB-C adapter restores about 50% battery. The MagSafe cable is a pleasure to use but note that it doesn’t support full-speed charging — a 67W USB-C power adapter charges faster if speed matters.
Ports & Connectivity
Two Thunderbolt 4 / USB-C ports (left side), MagSafe 3, and a 3.5mm headphone jack with high-impedance headphone support. Thunderbolt 4 is meaningfully better than the M3’s Thunderbolt 3: 40Gbps bandwidth, PCIe tunneling, full Thunderbolt certification for docks and accessories. Docks that were finicky on M3 tend to work flawlessly on M4.
Still no HDMI, SD card reader, or USB-A — the same port selection as every Air since M2. A good USB-C hub solves this for $40–60. Our top picks are in the MacBook Stands guide and the CalDigit TS4 review for a full-powered Thunderbolt dock.
Wi-Fi 6E delivers real-world speeds north of 1 Gbps on a capable router. Bluetooth 5.3 connects to AirPods, Apple Watch, and other peripherals instantly. The 12MP Center Stage camera (upgraded from 1080p on M3) produces noticeably sharper, more accurate video calls. Desk View — which shows an overhead view of your desk using the ultrawide sensor — actually works now that the resolution is higher.
Final Verdict
The MacBook Air M4 is the MacBook Air M3 with every valid complaint fixed. The 8GB base RAM that made the M3 feel like a false economy at $1,099? Gone — 16GB is now standard. The external monitor limitation that forced you to close the lid? Gone — dual displays with the lid open. Thunderbolt 3 compatibility headaches? Gone — TB4 is universally reliable.
What it keeps from the M3: the same stunning chassis, the same best-in-class battery life, the same fanless silence, and the same $1,099 starting price. Apple delivered a meaningful upgrade without raising the price, and the competition still isn’t close on battery efficiency or macOS integration.
Buy it if: You want the best thin-and-light laptop available. You’re upgrading from an Intel Mac, M1, or M2 Air. You need two external displays. You want all-day battery life with zero fan noise.
Consider the MacBook Air M3 if: You find a significant discount on a refurbished or open-box unit. The performance difference matters less than the price savings for very light users.
Consider the MacBook Pro M4 if: You need sustained performance for long video renders, ProMotion 120Hz display, three external displays, or you want the extra ports (HDMI, SD card, three Thunderbolt 4 ports).
Where to Buy the MacBook Air M4
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the MacBook Air M4 worth upgrading from the M3?
If you have an M3 Air, the upgrade is meaningful but not urgent — the M4 is about 25–30% faster, starts with 16GB RAM, adds Thunderbolt 4, and now supports two external displays with the lid open. If you use an external monitor setup or are buying new, go M4. If you’re happy with your M3, wait for M5.
How much RAM does the MacBook Air M4 need?
The base 16GB is finally enough for most users — a major improvement over the M3’s 8GB base. 16GB handles heavy browser use, Lightroom edits, and video streaming comfortably. Upgrade to 24GB if you run multiple heavy creative apps simultaneously. 32GB is for developers running virtual machines or pro video editors.
Can the MacBook Air M4 run two external monitors?
Yes — and with the lid open. This is one of the biggest improvements over the M3 Air, which could only run two displays in clamshell mode (lid closed). The M4 Air supports two external 6K displays simultaneously via its two Thunderbolt 4 ports, with the built-in display active as a third screen.
MacBook Air M4 13-inch vs 15-inch: which should I buy?
The 13-inch is the better travel machine at 2.7 lbs. The 15-inch adds a larger 15.3” Liquid Retina display and slightly longer battery for $200 more. If you work primarily at a desk or rarely travel light, the 15-inch is worth it. For students and commuters, the 13-inch is ideal.
Affiliate Disclosure: Sun Remarketing is reader-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission at no additional cost to you. This does not influence our reviews. Read our full disclosure.