The Apple MacBook Air 13 (M4, 2025) is a premium ultraportable laptop. It replaces the M3 Apple MacBook Air 13 (2024). The 2025 model brings a few upgrades, including the M4 SoC, a 12MP webcam with Center Stage support, and Thunderbolt 4 video output, allowing you to connect up to two 6k @ 60Hz displays in addition to the built-in Retina screen. Memory and storage configurations max out at 32GB and 2TB, respectively. Ports include two USB-C ones, a MagSafe charging port, and a 3.5 mm headphone jack. This laptop is available in four colors: Silver, Sky Blue, Midnight, and Starlight.
See our unit's specifications and the available configuration options in the Differences Between Variants section.
Our Verdict
The Apple MacBook Air 13 M4 isn't ideal for gaming. Its M4 SoC can only handle light, older, or highly optimized (for Apple silicon) games, and even then, you might have to play with fairly low graphical settings to get smooth gameplay. Also, many games lack macOS support or don't run natively on ARM-based processors, so performance can vary widely from one game to another. Unfortunately, you can only get this laptop with a 60Hz refresh rate, and its slow response time causes noticeable ghosting in fast-moving scenes.
Fanless design.
Fast storage speeds.
60Hz display with slow response time, no VRR.
M4 SoC struggles in highly demanding workloads.
Few games optimized for Apple silicon.
Limited port selection.
The Apple MacBook Air 13 M4 is great for school and work. It has an exceptionally sturdy build, a compact design, and a battery that lasts easily through a typical workday, making it well-suited for those who travel a lot. Its M4 SoC can handle most productivity tasks, like text formatting, spreadsheets, and presentations. You can even do some photo and light video editing. The user experience is excellent: you get a sharp, bright display, a tactile keyboard, a large haptic touchpad, and an excellent 1080p webcam. Its main flaw is its limited port selection: only two USB-C ports, so you might need a dongle or dock if you want to connect multiple peripherals or displays.
Sturdy build and compact design.
All-day battery life.
Sharp, bright display.
Tactile keyboard, responsive touchpad.
Excellent 1080p webcam.
Fanless design.
M4 SoC is extremely snappy for everyday use and light to medium workloads.
Limited port selection.
The Apple MacBook Air 13 M4 is great for media consumption. It has a compact design that makes it easy to carry, and its battery life is amazing at nearly 12 hours of video playback. The speakers get reasonably loud and produce a well-balanced sound with a decent amount of bass. The display is sharp, bright, and color-accurate; however, it isn't ideal for dark room viewing, as its low contrast makes blacks look gray in dim settings. There's no touch input support, which might be disappointing if you're looking for a convertible that offers a more tablet-like experience when viewing content.
Sturdy build and compact design.
All-day battery life.
Sharp, bright display.
Tactile keyboard, responsive touchpad.
Fanless design.
Blacks look gray in dim settings.
The Apple MacBook Air 13 M4 is passable for heavy workloads. Its M4 SoC can only handle light-to-moderately intensive tasks. Plus, you can only get up to 32GB of soldered RAM, which might not be enough for some workloads. Video editing is possible thanks to the chip's media engines, but be aware that you might experience stutters when working with a lot of high-resolution footage. Color correction isn't a problem, as the display has full DCI-P3 coverage and outstanding factory calibration. There's some thermal throttling under load, and unfortunately, there are only two USB 4/Thunderbolt 4 ports.
Dedicated video decoders and encoders.
Display is suitable for color-critical work.
Fanless design.
Fast storage speeds.
M4 SoC struggles in highly demanding workloads.
Soldered RAM and storage.
Limited port selection.
The Apple MacBook Air 13 M4 has outstanding battery life. It lasts through a full workday of light use, and you can watch videos for most of a day before you need to charge it. It takes a while to fully recharge with the included 30W adapter, though.
All-day battery life.
The Apple MacBook Air 13 M4 has outstanding build quality. Its all-aluminum chassis barely flexes, and the finish resists scratches, though the darker Midnight color shows fingerprints more than the lighter ones. The hinge is smooth and stable, and you can open the lid with one finger.
Sturdy build and compact design.
The Apple MacBook Air 13 M4 has poor graphics performance. Its 8-core GPU handles everyday tasks, photo editing, and light, well-optimized games, but it's too slow for demanding games and 3D work. Several games in our test suite don't run on it at all.
M4 SoC struggles in highly demanding workloads.
Few games optimized for Apple silicon.
The Apple MacBook Air 13 M4 has decent processing performance. Its M4 CPU is very fast in single-threaded tasks, so everyday work feels snappy, and it handles programming and photo editing well. It's slower in CPU-heavy games, though, and since it's fanless, it throttles slightly during long, demanding tasks.
M4 SoC is extremely snappy for everyday use and light to medium workloads.
M4 SoC struggles in highly demanding workloads.
Performance Usages
Changelog
- Updated Nov 03, 2026: We've updated this review to Test Bench 1.0.1. This is a minor update that fixes scoring discrepancies on laptops that don't support all the games we benchmark. Read the changelog for more details.
- Updated Oct 30, 2026: We've updated this review to Test Bench 1.0! This update adds several new verdict scores to the review, so it's easier to make a buying decision. Read the changelog for a full list of changes.
- Updated Apr 09, 2026: We've updated this review to Test Bench 0.9.1! This update changes the way we score the 'Out-Of-The-Box Color Accuracy' box. Read the changelog for more info.
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Updated Oct 30, 2025:
We've updated text throughout the review after converting to Test Bench 0.9.
Check Price
Differences Between Sizes And Variants
We tested the base configuration of the Apple MacBook Air 13 with a 10-core CPU/8-core GPU M4 SoC, 16GB of RAM, and 256GB of storage. The SoC, memory, and storage are configurable; the available options are in the table below.
SCREEN
- 13.6" IPS 2560 x 1664 60Hz
SoC
- M4 SoC with 10-core CPU and 8-core GPU
- M4 SoC with 10-core CPU and 10-core GPU
MEMORY
- 16GB LP-DDR5x 7500MHz
- 24GB LP-DDR5x 7500MHz
- 32GB LP-DDR5x 7500MHz
STORAGE
- 256GB
- 512GB
- 1TB
- 2TB
COLOR
- Midnight
- Starlight
- Sky Blue
- Silver
See our unit's label.
Popular Laptop Comparisons
The Apple MacBook Air 13 M4 is one of the best ultraportable laptops on the market. Its build quality, as well as the quality of its touchpad and speakers, is class-leading. Apple's M4 SoC has among the fastest single-thread performance among current-gen chips, and while its multi-thread performance doesn't stand out as much, it's nonetheless very impressive given the lack of active cooling. Its battery life is a little behind that of some Windows laptops, like the Microsoft Surface Laptop 7th Edition 15 (2024), but it's still among the best you can get from an ultraportable. Apple's Retina display is falling behind, though, as many premium ultraportables now come with a 120Hz display to provide a smoother desktop experience, like the aforementioned Surface Laptop, the HP OmniBook Ultra Flip 14 (2024), and the Lenovo ThinkPad X9 15 Aura Edition (2025).
For more options, check out our recommendations for the best lightweight laptops, the best laptops for college, and the best 13- and 14-inch laptops.
The Apple MacBook Air 13 (M5, 2026) is a modest upgrade over the Apple MacBook Air 13 (M4, 2025). Both use the same chassis and have nearly identical displays, keyboards, touchpads, webcams, and port selections. The M5 model has faster CPU and GPU performance, a much faster base SSD, Wi-Fi 7, and Bluetooth 6. It also starts with 512GB of storage and is configurable up to 4TB, whereas the M4 model starts at 256GB and tops out at 2TB. The M4 is still a good choice if you can find it at a significantly lower price and you don't need the extra performance or storage.
While the Apple MacBook Pro 14 (M4, 2024) is a much better device than the Apple MacBook Air 13 (M4, 2025), they aren't intended for the same audience. The Air is an ultraportable designed for light to moderately intensive workloads, while the Pro is a much more powerful device aimed at professionals, like content creators. The Pro has a nicer Mini LED display, more ports, and longer battery life. If you want the niceties of the Pro model but don't need the extra processing power, know that the Pro is also available with the base M4 SoC.
The Apple MacBook Air 13 (M4, 2025) is a newer version of the Apple MacBook Air 13 (M3, 2024). The 2025 model is a relatively minor upgrade, bringing increased performance and a new 12MP camera with Center Stage support. It also gets Thunderbolt 4 video output, allowing you to connect up to two 6k @ 60Hz displays while still using the built-in screen, whereas the older M3 model can only output to two external displays (one at a 6k resolution and the other at 5k) with the lid closed.
The Apple MacBook Air 13 (M4, 2025) and the Microsoft Surface Laptop 7th Edition 15 (2024) are both premium ultraportables designed for general productivity. The choice comes down to what you care about most. The Surface Laptop has a brighter 120Hz display, a wider port selection, and longer battery life, while the MacBook Air has a larger touchpad and better-sounding speakers. If you're considering the Surface Laptop, know that it uses an ARM-based SoC, meaning some programs might not work or run poorly through emulation. Apple transitioned to its in-house SoC sooner, so app compatibility is typically better on the MacBook Air.
Test Results
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