Apple’s most popular laptop, the MacBook Air, now features the latest M4 chip. Apple has also reduced prices in both Indian and global markets and introduced a brand-new color, Sky Blue.
It supports 18 hours of battery life, a brand-new 12-megapixel Centre Stage camera, and several additions that make it a much more well-rounded product, including better support for external displays. And yes, it does come with Apple intelligence support.
Here’s everything you need to know about the brand-new MacBook Air M4, which comes in both 13-inch and 15-inch sizes.
Apple MacBook Air Gets M4 Chip: Specifications And Features
The MacBook Air M4 is now powered by the M4 chip, which was first introduced alongside the MacBook Pro last year, as well as the Mac mini. But now, the base M4 chip has finally trickled down to the MacBook Air.
This M4 chip features a 10-core CPU and up to a 10-core GPU. This means the MacBook Air is now twice as powerful as the MacBook Air M1 model. Compared to the fastest Intel-based MacBook Air, the M4 model delivers a whopping 24 times more performance.
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Apple says this chipset allows for 18 hours of battery life. It also mentions that the chipset enables the MacBook Air M4 to be three times faster than the MacBook Air M1 when it comes to the Neural Engine. This helps with tasks like editing photos and removing noise from videos.
Apple has also outlined specific instances where the MacBook Air is now more powerful. It states that spreadsheet calculation performance in Microsoft Excel is up to 4.7 times faster than the fastest Intel-based MacBook Air and up to 1.6 times faster than the MacBook Air with the M1 chipset.
Video editing also gets a big boost, with editing in iMovie being eight times faster than on the Intel-based MacBook Air and twice as fast compared to the MacBook Air with the M1 chipset. For those who use Photoshop, it delivers twice the performance of the MacBook Air M1 and 3.6 times faster performance than the fastest Intel-based MacBook Air.
Apple has also drawn comparisons with PC laptops, stating that web browsing is 60 times faster compared to a PC laptop with an Intel Core Ultra 7 processor.
The MacBook Air M4 comes in two sizes: a 13-inch model and a 15-inch model. It features either a 13.6-inch or 15.3-inch Liquid Retina display, supporting up to 500 nits of peak brightness.
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Both models have Touch ID for biometrics and feature Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.3. It also includes MagSafe charging and two Thunderbolt ports for connecting accessories like USB storage. Additionally, it retains the 3.5mm headphone jack.
Coming to the camera, the MacBook Air M4 gets a brand-new 12-megapixel camera with Centre Stage, which Apple says improves video quality. It also features improved support for external displays, now supporting up to 6K external displays while powering the built-in display.
Another major plus with the MacBook Air M4 is that the base model now includes 16GB of RAM. Apple initially introduced this change with the MacBook Pro, and now the MacBook Air M4 continues the trend. The MacBook Air M3 also featured 16GB of RAM after the MacBook Pro made the switch.
Apple Intelligence Support
Being powered by an M-series processor, the MacBook Air M4 supports Apple Intelligence. However, official support for Apple Intelligence is yet to roll out in India for English (India). If users switch their language to English (UK) or English (US), they can access local intelligence, starting from MacBook Air models with the M1 chipset.
MacBook Air M4: Price and Availability in India
Before getting to the price, it’s worth noting that the MacBook Air M4 comes in a brand-new colourway called Sky Blue. It is also available in Silver, Starlight, and Midnight colour options.
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The pricing for the base model is ₹99,900, while students can get it at a discounted price of ₹89,900. Apple is also offering no-cost EMI for up to 24 months on its official website, along with an instant cashback of ₹10,000 on select credit cards.
The 15-inch model of the MacBook Air M4 starts at ₹1,24,900, with the student price set at ₹1,14,900.
Pre-orders for the MacBook Air M4 are already live, and it will be available starting March 12.
