Amazon is selling the M4 MacBook Air at its lowest price ever – and it’s an easy buy for me

ZDNET Highlights

• Apple’s MacBook Air M4 (13-inch) is on sale at Amazon starting at $749, its lowest price ever.
• The M4 Air supports two external monitors with the lid open and offers up to 32GB of integrated memory.
• There are still only two USB-C ports on the left side, and I wish there was a nano-texture display option.

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Before Apple’s announcement macbook air m4 As early as 2025, rumors swirled about what new features the ultraportable would come with.

Partly because it was the last of Apple’s core devices to get the M4 chip, and partly because, last year’s MacBook Air M3 was (and still is) one of the best laptops we’ve tested – a future-proof “AI computer for the masses” that can be seen as a successful culmination of Apple’s design.

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However, at no point can Apple stop machine production, so with the MacBook Air M4, it was clear that it would be an incremental upgrade, improving last year’s version and offering the consumer a little more at a lower cost.

The MacBook Air M4, for example, starts at $999 for a 13-inch configuration with 16GB of memory — which is $100 less than last year’s M3. Plus, the hardware expands on both the low and high end, with the M4’s lowest-end configuration equipped with a 10-core CPU and 8-core GPU, unlike last year’s 8-core M3 chip.

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The high-end configuration, on the other hand, offers 32GB of integrated memory, which was previously limited to 24GB on last year’s M3. This combination of improvements in base components and lower initial costs is a strategic position on Apple’s part to encourage new devices and remain competitive in an increasingly crowded market.

The MacBook Air M4 is a great device, but it’s also a natural continuation of the product line, which some might see as a “boring” update. Depending on who you ask, this could be a good or bad thing. You can’t fix what’s not broken, but I think there’s some room for some more bold design choices here.

One of the most obvious is the MacBook Air M4’s new colorway, Sky Blue, which is a Very micro blue; This was a very cautious decision when I was hoping for something closer to Microsoft’s Surface Laptop. All that being said, the M4 MacBook Air definitely has some features that set this year’s ultraportables apart. Let’s break them down.

triple-screen threat

One of the most anticipated and sought-after features of the MacBook Air M4 is its ability to support two external monitors when the lid is open. This alone opens up new possibilities for solo work, productivity and creative work and makes the MacBook Air more competitive with three working displays.

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The laptop’s own display still looks great. Apple’s Liquid Retina technology delivers clear, well-defined text, seamless, vibrant video, and support for up to 1 billion colors. Maxing out at 500 nits brightness, the display on the Air M4 isn’t as bright as the MacBook Pro, but it’s still bright enough for most use cases.

However, I’m a little surprised that there’s no option to upgrade the M4 Air with the nano-textured glass we saw on the M4 MacBook Pro. Maybe we’re a little spoiled now, but the glare is so noticeable that I’m wondering why, of all the possible things you could upgrade this laptop with, that’s not one of them.

The other thing I don’t like about the display is the notch for the camera, which results in a portion of the valuable screen real estate where the lens is located being blackened. If you keep the toolbar on, this is something you may have to get used to, but with apps in full-screen it’s definitely noticeable.

Productivity Powerhouse

While on the topic of productivity, the MacBook Air M4 excels at more than just multiple displays. For one thing, on-air videoconferencing is a joy. The webcam hardware has been upgraded from last year’s 1080p FaceTime camera to a 12MP camera on the M4 Air with Apple’s new Center Stage feature.

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We first saw Center Stage on the MacBook Pro and iMac last fall, and its addition to the Air is just one of many features that bring the ultraportable a little closer to its older Pro sibling. If you’re unfamiliar with it, Center Stage keeps you centered and centered in the frame, no matter what position you’re in, handling the visual logistics of the call with minimal input from the user.

To me, this feels less like a standalone feature in its own right and more like the inevitable future of webcam technology. This is how webcam works Needed Work, and Apple’s innovation here presents a great experience that’s equally enjoyable for work or personal calls on FaceTime.

The combination of top-tier hardware, a seamless and well-integrated product, and quality-of-life features makes the video call experience on Mac better overall.

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I use a Windows device as my daily driver, and although I’ve used a Mac in years past, I forgot how easily the MacBook Air can handle multitasking through a combination of Launchpad, split screen, and talking directly to Siri. Additionally, the improvements to the way windows are tiled are satisfying for those of us who like to organize our desktops in a particular way.

Reliable, all-day battery life

The MacBook Air is still a battery-efficient device, and although Apple’s Silicon line of processors set the standard for battery performance in ultraportable laptops, it’s taken some time for the rest of the market to catch up.

That doesn’t mean the MacBook Air is left behind, but it now has some competitors. During my testing of the M4, I got more than 14 hours of battery life with the device playing 4K video at half brightness, which is about in line with what I expected and about the same as last year’s MacBook Air M3.

In contrast, Microsoft’s Surface Laptop got more than 15 hours during the same test, and Asus’s ZenBook A14 got more than 20 hours. The latter, of course, doesn’t match the power of the MacBook Air M4, but it’s lighter, thinner and packs a great display. That alone puts it in the competitive zone.

Yes, the MacBook Pro M4 will also last longer, but the Air is thinner and lighter and much less variable: the difference in battery drain is minimal, depending on what tasks you’re putting it through (barring frequent, intense workloads).

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The bottom line is that for users who commute to the office a few times a week, you can reliably count on the MacBook Air M4 to last a whole day if you forget your charger, even if you’re just making a few video calls.

bench marking

Testing all hardware, the MacBook Air M4 performed very well in our benchmarking, coming very close to both the MacBook Pro M4 and MacBook Pro M3. As these devices leave their predecessors from a few years ago in the dust, they’re getting a little closer to each other.

So what about the things I wish Apple did differently? Well, many of my complaints about the MacBook Air M4 are nothing new. For one, there are still only two USB-C ports, both of which are on the left side of the device. If this seemed limiting to you before, not much has changed.

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Second, Apple devices remain the most locked-down when it comes to repairs, with consumers strictly bound to Apple’s repair and service model by prohibiting the use of salvaged components. The company has made moves toward a green business model when it comes to production, but the relaxation of tight controls on parts replacement will go even further.

ZDNET’s shopping advice

macbook air m4 When it comes to creativity, productivity and everyday use it’s still one of the most complete packages you could ask for. The sleek and lightweight form factor of the M4 Air set the standard for ultraportables, and not much has changed in its design since then, for better or worse.

If you have an iPhone and you enjoy Apple’s ecosystem of products, the MacBook Air is a solid choice as a main driver. If you already have a Mac that’s more than a few years old, the MacBook Air M4 will seem like a significant upgrade. If you have an M2 Pro or M3, the jump will seem less noticeable. If you’re coming from an older Windows device, you may wonder how you ever heard calls on your 720p webcam.

Considering all this, the MacBook Air M4 is a minor upgrade from its predecessor, but moves the line forward overall. In fact, with increased Apple Intelligence features, the same camera technology as the MacBook Pro M4, advanced hardware, and a lower starting price, the MacBook Air seems to be the most logical choice for a new Apple laptop in 2025.