Is it time to finally upgrade?

Five years after the launch of the first MacBook Air running on Apple’s own silicon, Apple revealed the new MacBook Air M4. 

Although we haven’t reviewed the new MacBook Air M4 yet, we have spent time with the 2020 MacBook Air M1 and gave the revolutionary laptop a perfect five-star rating. 

If you’re still using the MacBook Air M1, then you’ll likely be debating whether or not it’s finally time to upgrade. To help you decide, we’ve highlighted the biggest differences between the new MacBook Air M4 to the MacBook Air M1. 

Keep reading to see who comes out on top in MacBook Air M4 vs MacBook Air M1. If you want to see how the new MacBook Air compares to other laptops, visit our MacBook Air M4 vs MacBook Pro M4 or MacBook Air M4 vs M3.

Pricing and Availability

The MacBook Air M4 is available to buy now, from Apple’s website, the Apple Store and authorised retailers. Available in a choice of four colours: Sky Blue, Midnight, Silver and Starlight, and either 13-inch or 15-inch models, the MacBook Air M4 has a starting RRP of £999 for the former and £1199 for the latter.

Although it’s no longer available to buy directly from Apple, the MacBook Air M1 can be found on third party retailers such as Amazon, usually in refurbished condition. Unlike its successor, it’s available in a choice of three colours (Space Grey, Gold and Silver) and just one 13-inch size. 

M4 vs M1

The biggest difference between the MacBook Air M4 and MacBook Air M1 are their respective processors. Although both sport Apple’s own M-chip, the M1 is the older of the two as it launched back in 2020. 

Apple claims the M4 chip in the new 2025 MacBook Air features a powerful 10-core CPU, up to 10-core GPU and support for up to 32GB of unified memory, making it “up to 2x faster than the M1 model”. Plus, the M4’s Neural Engine is up to 3x faster than the M1, which should significantly increase speed in AI-based tasks. 

Having said that, it’s worth remembering that the MacBook Air M1 still supports the entire Apple Intelligence toolkit despite being nearly five years old. 

Apple also claims the tasks such as spreadsheet calculations in Microsoft Excel are 1.6x faster in the MacBook Air M4 than the MacBook Air M1, while video editing in iMovie and using Adobe Photoshop is up to 2x faster too.

As we haven’t reviewed the MacBook Air M4 yet, we can’t confirm whether Apple’s claims are correct. It’s also worth noting that in our review of the MacBook Air M1, we found its performance to be “incredible, far exceeding anything [we] could have imagined for what is essentially a first-gen product.”

MacBook Air M4 supports Spatial Audio

While the MacBook Air M1 has decent stereo speakers and support for Dolby Atmos playback, the MacBook Air M4 undoubtedly boasts a higher-specced setup. 

With a four-speaker sound system, support for Spatial Audio when playing content with Dolby Atmos, plus Spatial Audio with dynamic head tracking when using supported models of the best AirPods, Apple promises the MacBook Air M4 will see a “three-dimensional soundstage for music and movies.”

MacBook Air M4 has a 12MP Centre Stage camera

If you’re constantly in video calls and Zoom meetings, then you’ll be pleased to know the MacBook Air M4 promises a much better camera than the MacBook Air M1, with a 12MP lens which offers 1080p HD video recording. 

In fact, its 12MP lens is fitted with Center Stage technology, which ensures you remain in frame at all times, and supports Desk View which simultaneously displays the user and a top-down view of their desk. In comparison, the MacBook Air M1 sports a measly-sounding 720p lens which we found “looks washed out and blurry, and it performs poorly in anything but great light.”

MacBook Air M4 comes in two sizes

We appreciate the versatility of the MacBook Air M4, as it comes in two size options: a 13-inch and 15-inch. For those constantly on the go, the 13-inch model might suit them better as it’s nicely compact and weighs just 1.24kg, while the 15-inch alternative offers more room to multitask. The MacBook Air M1 on the other hand, is available in just one 13-inch size. 

It’s worth pointing out that although both are marketed at 13-inches, the M4’s display actually measures at 13.6-inches while the M1’s is 13.3-inches, as the latter has a slightly larger bezel around the screen.

MacBook Air M4 has a Liquid Retina display

The MacBook Air M1 sports an LED-backlit display with IPS technology, that offers up to 400 nits peak brightness. In our review, we found the display to be sharp and bright enough for most use cases.

On the other hand, the MacBook Air M4 boasts a Liquid Retina display with a slightly boosted 2560×1664 pixels and up to 500 nits of peak brightness. For the best screen experience, we’d recommend opting for the pricier MacBook Pro M4 with nano-texture which also sports Apple’s ProMotion technology. Unfortunately, neither MacBook Air benefits from up to 120Hz refresh rate and caps out at just 60Hz instead.

Early Verdict

Considering we gave the MacBook Air M1 a perfect five-star rating, it supports Apple Intelligence and remains a perfectly capable machine, it’s understandable why anyone still sporting the laptop might not want to fork out on the latest MacBook Air M4. 

However, as Apple promises the successor will be much faster and more powerful, sport a much better camera and has a more immersive display, the MacBook Air M4 looks like an exciting upgrade.

We’ll update this review once we get our hands on the MacBook Air M4.

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