Mark Gurman has been reporting for months that an M4 MacBook Air is coming in 2025, but you don’t have to wait for an upgraded model. That’s because of a recent upgrade to the existing MacBook line that is arguably more significant than a generational chip swap.
First, there’s not much mystery about what to expect from the M4 MacBook Air in 2025. That’s because the M4 chip has been in machines since the latest iPad Pro revision, and the same chip powers new iMacs and some Mac mini models. Even more powerful versions of the M4 are inside MacBook Pro and some Mac mini models. We don’t expect the M4 in the 2025 MacBook Air to offer any surprises.
We also don’t expect the 2025 MacBook Air to introduce a radical new design. The M4 MacBook Air will probably look just like the M2 and M3 MacBook Air. While we’d love to see iMac-inspired colors, chances are we’ll get the same midnight, starlight, silver, and space gray. If anything, it’s possible Apple will replace space gray with space black since it did so on the standard M4 MacBook Pro. We’ll see!
This is not to say that the M4 MacBook Air won’t be the best consumer notebook yet. Apple could even add a nanotexture display option like the M4 iMac and MacBook Pro. But the M2 and M3 MacBook Air models already got a significant spec bump this year that makes the current models a very good value.
That’s because Apple gave the current generation and previous generation MacBook Air models a RAM increase on the base models from 8GB to 16GB without raising the price! Apple Intelligence is probably to thank. Even a writer who sometimes has way too many Safari tabs open can appreciate doubling the RAM in ways that may not be noticeable for a year-over-year chip increase.
Apple has been especially proactive at keeping the MacBook Air line exciting between chip cycles. When the M2 chip was still the latest, Apple launched an all-new 15-inch MacBook Air for the first time.
Seriously though, if you’re thinking about buying a new MacBook Air or gifting one for the holidays, then A) you’re a generous gifter and B) you nor the recipient will regret it — even if a shiny new M4 MacBook Air comes out in a new shade of gray next year.
Current MacBook Air prices
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