MacBook Air M4 Release Date, Price, Specifications and Design

The M4 MacBook Pro, IMAC and MAC Mini are all available, but the M4 MacBook Air is nowhere to see. How long should we wait to see the new MacBook Air and what specifications and price can we expect?

We look at the rumors and keep track of what is reported, as well as offer a perspective based on Apple’s current lineup.

Update 7. February 2025: New M4 MacBook Air is in production and could launch “relatively soon”. Apple could interrupt the M3 version due to problems with the M3 chip making process.

M4 MacBook Air: Release Date

• Between January and March 2025 (predicted)

Back in April 2024, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman said Mac’s version of the M4 chip would be introduced in the MacBook Pro and iMacs later in 2024, and that was it. At that time, Gurman predicted that the M4 MacBook Air release would not come until the spring of 2025, about one year after the M3 MacBook Air was released.

In June 2024, Gurman reported again that the M4 MacBook Air is not expected until the spring of 2025. And in August he repeated the M4 MacBook Air will not be available until 2025.

In October 2024, Gurman reported that Apple is getting ready to start production on the M4 MacBook Air with an opportunity for release between January and March 2025.

In December, Gurman claimed that they updated 13-inch and 15-inch MacBook Air Models with M4-Chip would be announced “earlier” than the expected iPhone SE and iPad updates.

In January 2025, Gurman reported that the M4 MacBook Air will send “relatively soon” with the new laptop is already in production.

Apple can release the new MacBook Air at a Spring Apple event or it may issue a press release announcing the new product. If there is no event, the update could happen as soon as February.

M4 MacBook Air: Processor

Apple surprised us with the release of the M4 chip in the iPad Pro in early May, almost six months after the M3 debuted in the MacBook Pro. In October 2024, the Apple Released M4 MacBook Pro, IMAC and MAC Mini. Here are the specifications:

MacBook Pro & Mac Mini M4 Pro

• 12-core or 14-core CPU (10 Performance-Kernes and 4 Efficiency Kernels)
• 16-core or 20-core GPU
• Hardware-accelerated beam tracking
• 16-core neural engine
• 273 GB/SEK Memory bandwidth
• 24 GB RAM

MacBook Pro M4 Max

• 14-core or 32-core CPU (12 Performance Kernes and 4 Efficiency Kernels)
• 32-core or 40-core GPU
• Hardware-accelerated beam tracking
• 16-core neural engine
• 546 GB memory bandwidth
• 36 GB RAM or 48 GB RAM

How will Apple assign M4 in the next MacBook Air? We could see the company use the 10-core CPU version of the chip. It does not appear that the 9-core version will be in the air.

Compared to 8-core M3, M4 has two additional efficiency kernels and higher memory bandwidth (120 GB/s Vs 100 GB/S). Apple is likely to use the same design for MAC, making M4 the first non-pro or Max Chip that has

Before the M4 arrived in iPad, Gurman reported that the chip would focus on AI improvements. Apple spoke briefly during its light loose event about the improved neural engine and its ability to deliver over 38 trillion operations per day. Second but don’t get into detail about use in the real world.

Will Apple continue to sell a Cut-Price M3 MacBook Air?

It has been Apple’s habit in recent years to keep the previous generational model for sale to offer a lower price on entry to the range. This time, however, there is some speculation that the M3 MacBook Air will be interrupted with Apple, which may hold the M2 MacBook Air in lineup instead.

It is believed that the M3 chip has proven to be expensive to produce. Apparently, the manufacturer of the chip, TSMC, found that it was expensive to produce and yields were lower than those from previous processes. The M4 chip uses a more efficient 3NM manufacture process. This goes in a way of explaining why Apple jumped from M2 to M4 to iPad Pro and bypassed completely M3 for Mac Mini, Mac Studio and Mac Pro.

M2, on the other hand, is used in iPad Air so Apple could hold the M2 MacBook Air in line up as it uses the same chip and will therefore keep costs down. See: Apple’s M3 Nightmare is ending.

M4 MacBook Air: Design and Specifications

The M4 upgrade would be the fourth generation of the M-Series chip in the MacBook Air, but this is not the fourth time for the current air design. Apple sent the M1 MacBook Air in 2020 with an older design used with Intel Chips, and the current design was not introduced until the M2 chip upgrade in July 2022. Apple is not expected to change it at all for the M4.

Apple made a small change of Air’s design with the M3 update in March 2024, but only for a specific color. The midnight version now has an anodization seal to help cut down on fingerprints – it’s a similar process introduced with Space Black MacBook Pro. Apple is not expected to offer the process for silver, space gray and star light colors.

When Apple released the M4 MacBook Pro in October 2024, the company increased the base amount of RAM to 16 GB. It also did the same with M2 and M3 MacBook Air, currently for sale. Apple will; No longer release a laptop that starts with 8 GB of RAM.

Another feature that can get an upgrade is battery life. If the MacBook M4 follows iPad Pro’s chip design, it can be more energy friendly with two extra efficiency kernels. It can mean more battery life.

Appleinsider reported that it has seen a regulatory document for the M4 MacBook Air, referring to a “front ultra -wide camera.” This could mean that the 1080p FaceTime camera will be replaced with a 12MP -Center scene camera, as in the M4 MacBook Pro.

Everything else at MacBook Air will probably remain the same with an M4 upgrade. Display, size, weight, microphones, speakers, gates, wi-fi and bluetooth are expected to remain unchanged.

Theeelec reports that Apple is developing an oxide thin film transistor Floating crystal view to MacBook Air, but this feature is not ready until 2027. The new screen replaces the standard TFT LCD currently in use.

M4 MacBook Pro: Price

With concern about Trump’s duties that make headlines, are the prices of MacBook Air likely to increase? It seems to be inevitable that they will if Apple decides to pass on the extra cost to the consumer. Costs outside the United States can also rise due to currency fluctuations.

Here are the prices for the current standard configurations of M3 MacBook Air for reference.

Apple is likely to offer similar configurations, so hopefully the M4 MacBook Air will not change. Alternatively, Apple can introduce a less powerful entry-level model to combat the higher prices of components.