M4 MacBook Air: Early 2025 Review

Apple's annual MacBook Air refresh continues with the 2025 model, maintaining its signature thin-and-light design while upgrading to the M4 chip. This latest iteration remains the perfect companion for productivity tasks, delivering exceptional battery life and a stunning display – though still not ideal for demanding PC games.

Purchase Options

The MacBook Air (M4, Early 2025) starts at $999 for the 13-inch version, with the reviewed 15-inch model beginning at $1,199. As expected, Apple offers various configuration options, reaching up to $2,399 for a model with 32GB RAM and 2TB SSD.

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Sleek, Portable Design

The MacBook Air continues to define laptop design with its ultra-thin aluminum unibody chassis, weighing just 3.3 pounds despite its 15-inch display. The fanless M4 configuration allows for exceptionally clean lines, with internal speakers cleverly integrated into the hinge for surprisingly good audio performance.

The keyboard features responsive keys with ample travel distance and reliable Touch ID authentication. Apple's industry-leading trackpad spans nearly the entire width of the keyboard area while maintaining excellent palm rejection. Port selection remains minimalist with two USB-C ports and MagSafe charging on the left, plus a headphone jack on the right.

Vibrant Display

The 15.3-inch 1880p display covers 99% of DCI-P3 color space and peaks at 426 nits brightness – slightly below Apple's 500-nit claim but still impressive for everyday use. While not matching professional-grade displays, it outperforms most Windows laptops in its class.

Balanced Performance

The fanless M4 configuration delivers smooth performance for productivity tasks, easily handling heavy browser usage and background music playback. While our 32GB RAM review unit managed light Photoshop work, more intensive creative tasks revealed limitations. Gaming performance remains weak as expected, with demanding titles struggling to maintain playable frame rates even at reduced settings.

Exceptional Battery Life

Apple's 18-hour video playback claim proved conservative in our testing, with the laptop lasting over 19 hours during local video playback. While synthetic benchmarks aren't available for macOS, real-world usage consistently delivered multiple days of productivity on a single charge – making it ideal for travelers and mobile professionals.