The M4 MacBook Air May Be Apple’s First New Product of 2025
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If even half the reports we’ve heard over the past few months turn out to be accurate, 2025 will be a busy year for Apple. While we’ll likely have to wait a few more months for bigger reveals like the new iPhone SE and iPhone 17 Air, one of its more routine product updates could be right around the corner.
Since making the move into Apple silicon in late 2020, Apple’s MacBooks have gradually settled into a comfortable cycle of annual updates, and it looks like Apple may have set the stage for a spring/fall cycle of MacBook Air and MacBook Pro launches.
The M1 and M2 chip releases were a bit scattershot as Apple redesigned and realigned its MacBook family throughout that process. The base M1 chip launched in 2020 in a MacBook Air and 13-inch MacBook Pro that were virtually identical to their Intel predecessors in every other way.
However, by late 2021, Apple was changing things up with new 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models that sported more powerful M1 Pro/Max chips. In mid-2022, it gave the same treatment to the MacBook Air, eliminating the iconic wedge-shaped design for something that looked more like a “MacBook” of old (sans suffix), unifying the entire family’s aesthetic.
The odd little 13-inch MacBook Pro was refreshed with the M2 chip, but it became the only MacBook to retain the old design. In late 2023, Apple finally phased that out with its M3 MacBook Pro release in favor of a more affordable 14-inch MacBook Pro — the first in that design to feature a base M-series chip.
The M3 MacBook Air lineup came five months later, in March 2024. This gave us the most consistent MacBook lineup we’d seen in years, at least until Apple unveiled the M4 MacBooks Pro in October. Even then, it took the opportunity to bump the base memory configuration of every MacBook Air up to 16 GB — even the 2022 M2 MacBook Air, which it still sells at an affordable entry-level price.
That was an interim step at best, as every reliable source suggested an M4 MacBook Air lineup would be unveiled in early 2025. It didn’t take too large of a crystal ball for anyone to make that prediction, considering the last two generations had similar launch timing. Still, if we had any doubts at all, Apple tipped its hand in macOS Sequoia 15.2 with the code containing references to a “MacBook Air (13-inch, M4, 2025)” and “MacBook Air (15-inch, M4, 2025).”
Just before Christmas, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman added that the M4 MacBook Air will be “earlier” than the rest of Apple’s spring products.
While the code references could mean they’ll arrive while macOS 15.2 is still current, that’s by no means guaranteed. “Earlier” could mean anything from January to March. Last year, Apple quietly pushed the M3 MacBook Air out via press release in early March, ahead of the press event that many anticipated would come in late March or early April to herald the arrival of new iPads (which actually came in May).
Apple also had its hands full with the Vision Pro at the time, which was the first product launch in 2024, landing in stores on February 2. While that was far from a mainstream product in terms of sales, it required significant retooling of Apple’s stores and training of staff to create effective demonstrations of its groundbreaking spatial computing technology. Plus, Apple’s marketing folks were probably reluctant to have other big product releases distracting from the Vision Pro.
What to Expect from the M4 MacBook Air
We haven’t heard much about Apple’s next MacBook Air beyond its anticipated release date, which suggests we shouldn’t expect too many groundbreaking changes.
After all, Apple gave the MacBook Air its first-ever redesign in 2022 and added a 15-inch model in 2023. It’s likely going to stick with that design for a while.
However, as we’ve seen from the M4 MacBook Pro and Mac mini, an upgrade to an M4 chip will add more capabilities beyond just raw horsepower. For example, the M4 chip supports Thunderbolt 4 ports and can drive up to two external displays. It’s also pretty much guaranteed that the base $999 model will now feature 16 GB RAM and should be upgradeable to 32 GB — a nice boost over the M3, which caps out at 24 GB.
Those are all standard features of the M4 chip, as is improved power efficiency, which should translate to longer battery life.
While the ports will almost certainly be Thunderbolt 4, it’s unclear how many we’ll get. The base M4 MacBook Pro was boosted to three this year, but Apple might choose to stick with two on the MacBook Air.
Similarly, the M4 MacBook Pro models gained a 12-megapixel Center Stage camera with support for Desk View. The camera systems were previously identical across the entire M3 MacBook family, so this improvement could find its way into the M4 MacBook Air to keep things consistent.
Lastly, Apple’s addition of nano-texture glass as an option for the M4 MacBook Pro and iMac suggests that it might do the same for the M4 MacBook Air. Nano-texture glass, which reduces glare without sacrificing clarity and color, debuted on Apple’s $5,000 Pro Display XDR in 2019 and final 27-inch (Intel) iMac in 2020. It came to Apple’s pricey Studio Display for Macs in 2022, but this year Apple has been rolling it out more widely, with the iPad Pro, M4 MacBook Pro, and 24-inch iMac. It still feels like more of a “Pro” feature, but its availability on the iMac gives us some hope that Apple might do the same for the MacBook Air.
[The information provided in this article has NOT been confirmed by Apple and may be speculation. Provided details may not be factual. Take all rumors, tech or otherwise, with a grain of salt.]
