What's New with M4
The M4 chip brings a 10-core CPU (4 performance + 6 efficiency cores) and a 10-core GPU. In single-core benchmarks, it's 18% faster than M3 and 35% faster than M2. Multi-core gains are more modest at 12% over M3 thanks to the same core count.
Battery Life
Apple claims 18 hours of video playback. In real-world mixed use (web browsing, document editing, occasional video calls), we consistently achieved 15-16 hours. The M4's improved efficiency cores make a noticeable difference in light workloads.
Display and Design
The 13.6-inch Liquid Retina display remains excellent with 500 nits brightness and P3 wide color. The design is unchanged from M3, which is fine since it was already thin, light, and well-built. The midnight color still shows fingerprints.
The Fan Situation
The MacBook Air still has no fan. Under sustained heavy loads (like video export), the chip throttles to manage thermals. For most users this is irrelevant, but video editors working with 4K+ footage should consider the MacBook Pro instead.
Should You Upgrade?
From M1: Yes, the performance and battery gains are substantial. From M2: Probably not, unless you need the latest AI features that benefit from the Neural Engine improvements. From M3: Wait for M5 unless you find a great deal.
