I Tested the MacBook Air 15-inch (M4) – It’s Still the Best 15-inch Laptop for Everyone

The new MacBook Air 15-inch (M4) offers great performance, slim design, and long battery life—perfect for everyday use.

0 77 5 minutes read

MacBook Air 15-inch (M4) is Apple’s latest thin and light laptop, launched alongside the 13-inch version. Many users have been waiting for the powerful M4 chip to arrive in the MacBook Air, which is Apple’s most popular laptop.

With this release, Apple finally brings the M4 chip to its affordable MacBook Air series, offering better performance and efficiency. The new 15-inch MacBook Air keeps its sleek design but now comes with a bigger screen, improved speakers, and a new Sky Blue color option.

Starting at a lower price than last year’s model, the MacBook Air 15-inch (M4) is a great choice for anyone looking for a powerful, portable laptop — especially if you’re upgrading from an older MacBook or Windows laptop.

Apple MacBook Air 15-inch (M4) Full Specifications

Feature	Details
Starting Price	$1,199 / £1,199 / AU$2,099
Processor (CPU)	Apple M4 Chip with 10-core CPU
Graphics (GPU)	10-core GPU
RAM (Memory)	16GB or 32GB Unified Memory
Storage Options	256GB / 512GB / 2TB SSD
Display Size	15.3-inch Liquid Retina Display
Resolution	2880 x 1864 pixels
Brightness	500 nits
Colors Available	Midnight, Starlight, Space Gray, Silver, Sky Blue
Ports	– 2x Thunderbolt 4 (USB-C) – MagSafe 3 – 3.5mm Headphone Jack
Wireless	Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.3
Webcam	1080p FaceTime HD Camera
Audio	Six-speaker system with Spatial Audio
Battery Life	Up to 18 hours video playback
Charging	MagSafe 3 magnetic charger
External Display	Supports up to 2 external displays
Keyboard	Backlit Magic Keyboard with Touch ID
Weight	3.3 pounds (1.51 kg)
Build	Aluminum Unibody Design
Operating System	macOS
Special Features	– Fanless design – Supports two displays – New Sky Blue color

Apple MacBook Air 15-inch (M4) Price and Availability Review

The new MacBook Air 15-inch (M4) is now available with a starting price of $1,199 / £1,199 / AU$2,099. This is actually cheaper than the M3 model, which is great news for buyers.

For this price, you get the M4 chip, 10-core CPU, 10-core GPU, 16GB memory, and 256GB SSD storage — a solid upgrade compared to older models that started with less memory and storage.

If you’re a student, you can get an extra discount, making it even more affordable. For the price, it’s hard to find another 15-inch laptop that offers this kind of performance, design, and build quality. For example, the Dell XPS 15 starts at $1,499 / £1,499 / AU$2,498, which is much higher.

The closest competition is the MacBook Air 13-inch (M4), starting at $999 / £999 / AU$1,699. Both have similar power, but the 15-inch model has a bigger screen, better sound, and two extra CPU cores.

Apple has now stopped selling the M2 and M3 MacBook Air models directly. Only the new M4 MacBook Air is available from Apple. However, some older models may still be available at third-party stores with good deals.

Apple MacBook Air 15-inch (M4) Design Review

Apple MacBook Air 15-inch (M4) looks almost the same as the 13-inch model but is bigger. The design is simple, thin, and modern. It’s easy to carry and feels premium.

Apple added a new Sky Blue color that looks nice and professional. There’s also an upgraded 12MP webcam with a Desk View feature that shows your face and your desk at the same time. Video quality is clear, making it great for video calls.

The laptop is slim and light, weighing just 3.3 pounds (1.51 kg). It’s only 0.45 inches thick, so it’s easy to take anywhere if you prefer a bigger screen.

It has two Thunderbolt 4 ports and a MagSafe 3 charging port on the left side. On the right side, there’s a headphone jack. The MagSafe charger is easy to use and protects the laptop if someone pulls the cable by accident. There aren’t many ports, but it keeps the laptop thin and neat.

The keyboard is comfortable and has Touch ID for quick logins. Apple also changed the mute button icon, making it clearer and easy to spot.

MacBook Air 15-inch (M4) looks great, works well, and feels premium. The new color and better webcam are nice updates, making it a good choice if you want a light and stylish 15-inch laptop.

Apple MacBook Air 15-inch (M4) Performance Review

MacBook Air 15-inch (M4) gives very good performance, but it’s not a huge upgrade from the M3 model. If you already have the M3 MacBook Air, you won’t see much difference.

Apple says the M4 is 20 times faster than old Intel MacBooks from 2020. But compared to the M3, the speed increase is small.

Benchmark results:

Geekbench 6.4: Single-core – 3,799 / Multi-core – 14,921
Disk Speed: Read – 3,012 MB/s / Write – 3,335 MB/s
Battery life: Up to 15 hours

The M4 chip handles daily tasks easily, like web browsing, video streaming, and office work. It also works well for heavy tasks like video editing. The best part is it runs quietly without a fan.

The screen is bright and colorful, but some Windows laptops now offer OLED or 4K displays that look better.

A new feature is support for two external monitors, which is great for multitasking.

The sound quality is excellent with six speakers, making movies and music sound rich and clear.

One downside is it still uses Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.3, while some new laptops have faster Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 5.4.

If you are using an old Intel MacBook or a Windows laptop, the MacBook Air M4 is a great upgrade. But if you already have an M2 or M3 MacBook Air, you can wait for the next version.

Apple MacBook Air 15-inch (M4) Battery Review

Apple says the MacBook Air M4 lasts up to 18 hours. In our test, it lasted over 15 hours, which is still very good.

The battery life is a bit better than the 13-inch model because the 15-inch has a bigger battery. But since it also has a bigger screen, the difference is small.

What’s great is that the MacBook Air M4 keeps running fast even on battery. Some laptops slow down to save power, but this one doesn’t.

You can easily use it for a couple of days of work without needing to charge – I did the same during testing.

Pros and Cons of MacBook Air 15-inch (M4)

Pros	Cons
✅ Fast performance with M4 chip	❌ Not much upgrade from M3
✅ New lower price	❌ No Wi-Fi 7
✅ Thin and light design	❌ Few ports
✅ Silent (no fan noise)	❌ Screen is not OLED or 4K
✅ Long battery life (up to 18 hours)	❌ Price still high for some
✅ Big and bright screen
✅ Great speakers
✅ Supports 2 external displays
✅ Better webcam
✅ New Sky Blue color option

Conclusion

The new MacBook Air 15-inch (M4) comes with Apple’s latest chip, a thin and light design, and amazing speakers. It’s a great laptop with strong performance. But if you already have the M2 or M3 MacBook Air, the difference in speed might not be big enough to upgrade.