Apple MacBook Air Apple 13" MacBook Air (M4, Starlight) Review

This MacBook Air M4 is a weird one. It's got the new M4 chip and a whopping 32GB of RAM, but it's still stuck in the same old Air chassis with a 60Hz screen and just two ports. The one thing you need to know is that this is a maxed-out Air that costs as much as a base MacBook Pro, and that's a tough sell. It's incredibly reliable and portable, but you're paying a premium for specs in a body that can't fully use them.

The M4 chip is fast, landing in the 66th percentile for CPU tasks, but that's not the story here. The real surprise is the GPU, which sits in the 18th percentile. That's fine for web browsing and office work, but it confirms this isn't for anything graphically heavy. The 32GB of RAM is overkill for most Air users, but it means you'll never have to think about memory management, which is nice.

At $1799, the value isn't great. You're paying Pro money for an Air. The 32GB RAM and 1TB storage are expensive upgrades, but you're still getting the Air's limitations. If you absolutely need max RAM in the lightest Mac, maybe. For everyone else, there are better options.

The most obvious competitor is the 14-inch MacBook Pro M4. For similar money, you get a better screen with ProMotion, more ports, better speakers, and a fan for sustained performance. The Air only wins on weight. Against a Windows ultraportable like the ASUS Zenbook Duo, you get more innovation (like that dual-screen) for the price, but you lose macOS and Apple's build quality. The gaming laptops on the list aren't real competitors; this Air isn't for that.

I can't recommend this specific configuration to most people. It's a niche machine. If you're a developer or creative who needs 32GB of RAM for light tasks and travels constantly, the portability might justify it. For nearly all students and business users, the base M4 Air with 16GB RAM is a much smarter buy, or you should step up to the 14-inch MacBook Pro. This maxed-out Air is a solution looking for a problem.