Mr Viral
Aside from a new color, the M4 MacBook Air looks a whole lot like last year’s model. And we’ve got the hands-on experience and pictures to prove it.
Apple’s got five main updates for its refresh of the 13- and 15-inch MacBook Airs for 2025. First, it’s got a similar M4 chip to the base 14-inch MacBook Pro, though here it starts with a 10-core CPU and 8-core GPU. Also inherited from the MacBook Pros, the Airs now use the 12-megapixel Center Stage webcam that’s wider and can track you within the frame. And you can now (finally) use two external monitors and keep the lid open, essentially giving you a fancy triple-monitor setup with the lowly MacBook Air.
As for that new color option, sky blue, it replaces space gray. Starlight, silver, and midnight are still around from last year (and midnight is unchanged, so expect some fingerprint smudginess). The new blue is a very pale metallic finish. You could mistake it for a silver if you didn’t see them side-by-side. I think the best way I could describe it is 2003 Toyota Matrix blue. In other words, it’s nice but not blue enough. Apple should call it non-committal blue.
But the fifth thing that’s new for the MacBook Air, and likely the one many of us will care most about, is that it starts at a lower price. The 13-inch model starts at $999 while the 15-inch starts at $1,199. This is actually a return to form for the 13-inch, which used to start at that price before an increase during the M2 generation. The M4 Air may be an otherwise subtle chip-bump of an upgrade with a new bland-ish metallic finish, but $100 off makes all the difference.
In addition to our hands-on with the MacBook Air we also got our first look at the new Mac Studio duo, one with the M4 Max chip and one with a new, all-out M3 Ultra. The Studios don’t look any different, but the changes inside are pretty major for hardcore pros doing some heavy-duty creative work or local AI stuff.
And the new iPad Air with M3 chip? Well, it’s an iPad. Cool. I guess?
Apple’s new Macs and iPads are due out next week and already up for order. Check out our smattering of photos.
MacBook Air M4
The 15-inch MacBook Air remains an impressively thin and light device when you consider its screen size.
But the 13-inch passes my “three finger test.” Which I guess I’m making A Thing now.
Yep, this is still sky blue by the way. And yes, it looks quite silver in certain light.
The port selection remains the same: one MagSafe charging port and two Thunderbolt 4 / USB-C ports.
Still sky blue in this pic, too. I swear.
Maybe they should have just named it silver blue? When is the sky ever this color unless it’s cloudy?
Admit it: if I didn’t have the sticker on this starlight M3 MacBook Air it could totally pass for the M4 model.
Mac Studio M4 Max / M3 Ultra
The front ports on the M4 Max Mac Studio remain USB-C, with its four rear ports getting Thunderbolt 5. But all six ports are Thunderbolt 5 on the M3 Ultra model.
This is the M3 Ultra Mac Studio, which of course, looks just like all the others. But it’s actually two pounds heavier than the M4 Max thanks to its beefier internal cooling system.
iPad Air
A $599 11-inch M3 iPad Air with its new $269 Magic Keyboard. That function row sure is costly.
Photography by Antonio G. Di Benedetto / The Verge
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