It’s still the best lightweight laptop out there

At a glance: Apple MacBook Air M4

Both the 13inch and 15inch sizes of the 2025 MacBook Air are powered by Apple’s latest M4 chip, which made its debut in the MacBook Pro last year. This boosts everyday performance with improved efficiency for multitasking and artificial intelligence.

It remains a lightweight laptop that’s a great pick whether you’re editing documents, streaming videos or doing online research. It now also has an upgraded 12megapixel camera with “Centre Stage”, which ensures you stay in frame during FaceTime calls.

This laptop also features an increased amount of default RAM, which will help with improved multitasking, and it debuts a gorgeous new light blue colour. And best of all, it starts at a lower price than last year’s model.

The defining characteristics of the MacBook Air’s design are that it’s slim and lightweight, with only the ports you need on the sides. This new model stays true to that signature style, so it’s still ideal if you’re on the move a lot, whether you’re using the laptop for working from a coffee shop, taking it to university lectures, on a trip, or just around the house.

It’s the furthest thing from bulky, yet you still get a MagSafe charging port, two USBC slots and a headphone jack. I could argue that it would be nice to have a few of the ports from the MacBook Pro, but I don’t find myself needing them daytoday!

It also now comes in a new Sky Blue finish, which I got to try for this review. This does mean you can’t get it in the Space Grey option anymore, but I’ve got to say that this blue looks stunning and I hope my photos do it justice. Beyond the aesthetics, the MacBook Air’s keyboard is comfortable for typing long emails – or, in my case, this review – and the smooth, responsive trackpad is great for all the multitouch gestures available on the device.

This has the same display as the last generation, which is crisp and vibrant. It’s great for films and reading, but it is a real shame it doesn’t come with an option for the excellent nanotexture finish seen on the higherend Pro model. It’s worth noting that if you upgrade to this from the older MacBook Air from 2020 (which is still great), you’ll notice the display is both slightly bigger and brighter too.

This model now also has the upgraded 12megapixel Centre Stage camera within its notch at the top of the display. This means it has the same excellent camera as on the MacBook Pro M4. I’ve used this for FaceTime calls, and found it great at keeping me in frame even when I needed to move around during the call. It’s also great for fitting more than one person in on the screen for a call.

I was already blown away by the power of the new M4 chip when testing out the MacBook Pro M4, and it’s more of the same with the latest Air variant. Even more so than with the previous generation of the Mseries chips, everyday tasks feel snappy, and the laptop can handle a lot while on battery power. Whether juggling multiple tabs for research or switching between several different documents to edit, the performance is topnotch.

Even if you’re not pushing it to its limits, it will run smoothly when you’re streaming videos or listening to the best music streaming services. And one of the biggest benefits when you compare the most affordable MacBook Air M4 to older entrylevel predecessors is that it now starts at 16GB rather than 8GB of RAM – that increase may sound like confusing jargon but it means it can handle bigger projects and allow you to have more programs and tabs open at once. Essentially, it’s better for multitasking and makes it more futureproof.

Those upgrading from a comparable MacBook Air M1 will still see a jump in performance as this is about two times faster, but the biggest gains are going to be noticed if you’re coming from an older model from before 2020. In that case, you’re set to see a 23x speed boost compared to the fastest Intel‑based MacBook Air. And it manages all this while maintaining some of the best battery life around – you’ll still get that excellent 18hour life from a single charge, just like the MacBook Air M3 variant.

Even if you’re not necessarily used to the operating system, macOS is designed to be about as intuitive and userfriendly as it gets. I don’t think a newcomer to the Mac interface would struggle to understand how it all works.

The biggest perks are the seamless integration with other Apple devices, so having a Mac is ideal for handing off what you’re working on from an iPad, copying and pasting between devices is automatic, and AirDrop makes it simple and fast to send files from device to device. These “ecosystem” integrations go quite far – you can use an iPad as a second display to extend your Mac, you get fully insync notes and reminders, and a lot of handy interoperability.

There’s no steep learning curve. And the same is true for Apple Intelligence, yet another feature that’s built into all Mseries MacBooks. How useful it will be for you depends on many factors, but having the capabilities built in to your laptop could allow you to quickly reword, draft or proofread your emails, create AIgenerated “artworks”, clean up distracting items in the background of your photos, receive notification summaries, and have priority messages highlighted for you automatically.

At the moment, these features may not completely change the way you use your computer, but they could be worth considering given that you’re investing in a device to last for several years. Apple Intelligence promises improvements to Siri that should make it a contextaware assistant that’s much more helpful, but it could be some time before those features arrive.

While the available storage configurations remain familiar – it starts at 256GB, but is configurable to 512GB, 1TB or 2TB – the laptop is now thankfully even more affordable than the M3 was when it launched last year. In the UK, the 13inch model starts at just £999 – £100 less than last year’s version – while the 15inch model is available from £1,199.

I wouldn’t have minded if it came with a bit more storage by default, but given how much we store files and photos on the cloud nowadays, this might not be a big issue to many people. Overall, at this price, the new MacBook Air is going to be excellent value for anyone seeking a reliable and lightweight everyday laptop.

The latest MacBook Air continues to build on the reputation of its predecessors by remaining the best laptop option for most. It offers both power and portability, something that makes it suited to a wide range of users, including onthego workers, creatives, students, and those who just need a laptop for watching Netflix and writing emails.

The additions of the M4 chip, the new webcam, more RAM as standard and a lower starting price mean you’re getting a lot of laptop for your money, even if you just get the entrylevel spec without any upgrades. Unless you’re a serious tech enthusiast or professional who needs the capabilities of the MacBook Pro (including its fan for cooling and extra ports), I’d recommend going for the latest MacBook Air. It’s not just that it’s the value option, it’s a powerhouse of a laptop too.

And if you don’t need loads of power? I’d say the futureproof upgrades of the MacBook Air M4 are still worth it at its lower price, but it’s worth hunting for price cuts on the other Mseries MacBook Airs, as the differences between them can feel relatively minor for casual users. It’s a little harder to find the M2 now, but the MacBook Air M3 is now down to just £899, and it’s a tremendous laptop at that price.

Simon Cocks is Hearst UK’s Technology Ecommerce Editor, overseeing tech shopping content and strategy across a range of titles including Good Housekeeping UK, Esquire UK, Digital Spy, Men’s Health UK and Women’s Health UK.

Simon specialises in testing the latest smart gadgets, home entertainment gear, headphones, speakers, portable chargers, radios, ebook readers and smartphones. He’s reviewed top tech products from brands including Google, Apple, Amazon, JBL and Bose.

A magazine journalism graduate from Kingston University in 2014, Simon also worked on the Discovery and Silkroad inflight magazines. He then gained experience writing about entertainment at SFX and Total Film. He also contributed reviews and interviews to TwitchFilm (later ScreenAnarchy), CultBox and Frame Rated.

He joined Good Housekeeping UK as the Editorial Assistant for Special Projects and was part of Good Housekeeping’s Consumer Affairs Team between 2014 and 2019. In this role, he conducted price comparison research, wrote detailed household and moneysaving advice guides and edited thousands of indepth reviews for the Good Housekeeping Institute.

He has focused on technology and gadgets since 2020, where he started by testing out power banks and instant cameras. He writes reviews, roundups, news articles and deals updates, and also covers top tech deals during sales like Amazon Prime Day, Black Friday and Cyber Monday.

When not testing out the latest gizmos, you’ll find Simon either catching up with the newest releases at his local cinema or out shooting with his beloved compact camera.

You can follow Simon on Instagram, on Bluesky, on LinkedIn and on Threads.