The Apple MacBook Air 15 (M4, 2025) is a premium ultraportable laptop. It replaces the M3 Apple MacBook Air 15 (2024) and features the base M4 SoC with 10 CPU cores and 10 GPU cores. Notable upgrades over the M3 model include support for two external displays while using the built-in display, Thunderbolt 4 support, and a new 12MP webcam with Center Stage support. RAM and storage max out at 32GB and 2TB, respectively. It has a 60Hz 2880 x 1864 Retina display and a 67Wh battery, and the port selection includes two USB-C/Thunderbolt 4s, a MagSafe charging port, and a 3.5 mm headphone jack. It's available in four colors: Sky Blue (which replaces Space Gray), Silver, Starlight, and Midnight.
See our unit's specifications and the available configuration options in the Differences Between Variants section.
Our Verdict
The Apple MacBook Air 15 M4 is excellent for school use. It's exceptionally well-built and easy to carry around, and its battery lasts all day on a single charge. It offers a premium user experience with a sharp, bright display, a large haptic touchpad, and a spacious keyboard. However, the typing experience can be slightly harsh; the keys have very little travel, and the deck is rigid. The M4 SoC is more than adequate for all but the most demanding student workloads. While you can perform intense tasks like rendering, the fanless design results in some thermal throttling so it's not ideal if this is your main use. But the fanless design is great if you work in noise-sensitive environments like the library. With only two USB-C ports, your ability to use peripherals is limited, so you may need to carry a dongle.
All-day battery life.
Superb build quality.
Sharp, bright display.
Spacious keyboard and responsive haptic touchpad.
Laptop is silent under load due to fanless design.
Only two USB-C/Thunderbolt 4 ports.
The Apple MacBook Air 15 M4 isn't designed for gaming. While the base M4 SoC has a fair bit of graphical horsepower, it's not suitable for demanding games. This is because gaming performance depends heavily on each game's optimization and whether it runs natively on Apple silicon or through Rosetta 2 emulation. There's only a 60Hz display option with a slow response time, resulting in noticeable ghosting in fast scenes, and there's no variable refresh rate support, so you may see some screen tearing.
Laptop is silent under load due to fanless design.
Thermal throttles under load.
Only two USB-C/Thunderbolt 4 ports.
RAM and storage are soldered, with limited options for upgrades.
Display has slow response time with noticeable ghosting.
The Apple MacBook Air 15 M4 is very good for multimedia consumption. The display gets bright enough to overcome glare in bright environments and also gets remarkably dim to reduce eyestrain in dark environments. That said, the IPS panel's relatively low contrast makes blacks appear gray in dark settings, which you may notice if you tend to watch a lot of films with black borders. On the bright side, the speakers are among the best you'll find in an ultraportable laptop. They sound full and natural with ample bass. The battery life is also great; chances are you'll need a break from your binge-watching sessions before recharging the laptop.
All-day battery life.
Sharp, bright display.
Speakers sounds full, natural, and clear.
Only two USB-C/Thunderbolt 4 ports.
Blacks appear gray in dim settings.
The Apple MacBook Air 15 M4 isn't ideal for workstation use. While the M4 SoC can handle some intensive tasks, the laptop's fanless design limits its suitability for sustained workloads. Moreover, RAM-intensive applications are out of the question, as you can only get up to 32GB of soldered RAM. Thanks to the chip's media engines, video editing is possible, although very complex or high-resolution workloads may not perform smoothly. The display's outstanding color accuracy and full DCI P3 coverage are great for color-critical tasks like photo editing. Unfortunately, there are only two USB 4/Thunderbolt 4 ports, but the laptop now supports two external displays while also using the built-in display.
Laptop is silent under load due to fanless design.
Strong single-thread performance.
Thermal throttles under load.
Only two USB-C/Thunderbolt 4 ports.
RAM and storage are soldered, with limited options for upgrades.
The Apple MacBook Air 15 M4 is great for business use. It's exceptionally well-built, offers all-day battery life, and is easy to carry around. As for performance, its M4 SoC easily handles general productivity tasks like spreadsheets and word processing. It's also powerful enough for photo and video editing, and the display is color-accurate right out of the box; this is great for small business owners who need to do a bit of everything. The user experience is excellent; it features a sharp display, a large haptic touchpad, and an excellent 1080p webcam. There are only two USB-C ports, so a dongle may be necessary, but on the bright side, this model now allows you to use two external displays simultaneously with the built-in display, which can be useful for intense multitasking.
All-day battery life.
Superb build quality.
Sharp, bright display.
Spacious keyboard and responsive haptic touchpad.
Only two USB-C/Thunderbolt 4 ports.
Changelog
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Updated Jul 21, 2025:
We've added a link to the newly reviewed Framework Laptop (2025) in the Serviceability section of the review.
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Updated May 27, 2025:
Added the Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i Aura Edition 15 (2024) as an alternative with an OLED display option in the Contrast section.
- Updated May 07, 2025: We've updated this review to Test Bench 0.8.3, which removes the viewing angle tests and adds a GPU Total Graphics Power comparison in the GPU section. The Pen Input test in the Extra Features section has also changed, as it now shows whether the laptop supports pen input rather than the inclusion of a stylus in the box. See the changelog for more details.
- Updated Apr 04, 2025: Review published.
Differences Between Sizes And Variants
We tested the Apple MacBook Air 15 M4 with 16GB of RAM and 256GB of storage in the Silver colorway. The memory, storage, and color are all configurable. See the options below:
SCREEN
- 15.3" IPS 2880 x 1864 60Hz
SOC
- M4 Base 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
- Sky Blue
- Silver
- Starlight
- Midnight
See our unit's label.
Popular Laptop Comparisons
The Apple MacBook Air 15 M4 is a premium ultraportable that competes with the best laptops in its class. It offers a fantastic user experience with a bright, sharp display, a large haptic touchpad, full-sounding speakers, and a spacious keyboard. Its M4 SoC also provides ample performance, especially given the laptop's fanless design. Its single-thread performance is among the fastest on the market, and while the multi-thread performance isn't quite as strong, it still provides a solid improvement compared to the M3 SoC. The Air faces stiff competition, though. Battery life, once this laptop's bread and butter, now lags behind some Windows ultraportables like the Microsoft Surface Laptop 7th Edition 15 (2024). The limited port selection, 60Hz refresh rate, and even the choice to use Wi-Fi 6E appear slightly dated, given there are competing devices that come with 120Hz panels, wider port selections, and Wi-Fi 7, such as 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 business, and the best 15- and 16-inch laptops.
The Apple MacBook Air 15 (M4, 2025) and the Microsoft Surface Laptop 7th Edition 15 (2024) are premium ultraportables offering class-leading user experiences. They both come with excellent haptic touchpads and bright displays. The typing experience isn't as good on the Air (it has very short key travel combined with a rigid deck that can feel harsh), while the speakers aren't quite as good on the Surface. Regarding performance, both are solid and are capable of performing some intensive tasks. App compatibility is much better on the Air; the Snapdragon SoC still faces compatibility issues on Windows, so you should ensure all your apps are compatible before buying one. However, the Surface is the better offering if you prioritize battery life. It lasts almost 18 hours on a single charge for general productivity tasks (while the Air is good for about 12).
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 (M5, 2025) is better than the Apple MacBook Air 15 (M4, 2025) for most uses. The MacBook Pro 14 is a higher-end device, sporting better features like a 120Hz Mini LED display that gets significantly brighter, better-sounding speakers, and a wider port selection. Performance-wise, the MacBook Pro's base M5 chip performs better than the MacBook Air's M4, but you likely won't notice the difference unless you perform tasks that are intensive enough to stress the system.
The Apple MacBook Air 15 (M4, 2025) and the Apple MacBook Pro 14 (M4, 2024) are very different offerings. Get the Air if you want a sleek ultraportable that's ideal for general productivity tasks, and get the Pro if you need a mobile workstation fit for resource-intensive tasks like 3D rendering or simulation work. The specifications vary accordingly; the Air uses the base M4 SoC and is available with up to 32GB of RAM and 2TB of storage, while the Pro is configurable with either the base, Pro, or Max M4, and up to 128GB of RAM and 8TB of storage. The Pro also comes with a much brighter Mini LED display with a 120Hz refresh rate. Both laptops are exceptionally well-built and provide excellent user experiences: spacious keyboards, responsive haptic touchpads, and class-leading speakers.
The Apple MacBook Air 15 (M4, 2025) and the Lenovo ThinkPad X9 15 Aura Edition (2025) are premium ultraportables. While both laptops provide outstanding user experiences, the Lenovo has the edge. It has a wider port selection with an HDMI port and USB-A, a longer battery life, and arguably a better display. The Lenovo's OLED display is sharper, has a higher 120Hz refresh rate, and has a vastly superior contrast ratio, so blacks don't appear gray in dim settings. Just know that its 480Hz flicker might bother some people, and it's susceptible to permanent burn-in. On the other hand, the Apple M4 SoC delivers better performance in intensive tasks, and the fanless design means you don't need to worry about noise.
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