New Apple MacBook Air M4: More power and 12 MP camera

After the MacBook Pro, the Air is next: The Apple MacBook Air M4 is said to have a 10-core CPU and a 10-core GPU.

January 6, 2025 2 0

One of Apple’s first product announcements in 2025 will likely be the update of the Apple MacBook Air 13″ and MacBook Air 15″ with the M4 chipset. Here’s the latest rumor mill on the next MacBook Air models.

Apple MacBook Air M4 ahead of launch

The new Apple MacBook Air models are expected to come with the already released M4 chip, which features a 10-core CPU and a 10-core GPU. Apple already updated the MacBook Pro, iMac and Mac mini with M4 chips a few months ago. Geekbench 6 results showed that the M4 chip runs up to 25% faster than the M3 chip in terms of multi-core performance. At the same time, as is usual with new processors, energy efficiency also increases, so the new Apple MacBook Air M4 should have a longer battery life with the same performance.

Additionally, Apple recently increased the minimum RAM for MacBook Air models from 8GB to 16GB. Accordingly, 16GB RAM is likely to become the base configuration for 2025. And although the last design update for the MacBook Air was three years ago, there aren’t expected to be any major design changes to the chassis this year either.

The Apple MacBook Air M4 models will follow in the footsteps of the MacBook Pro and will likely feature an improved 12MP camera with Center Stage support. Center Stage automatically keeps you in the center and focus of the camera as you move. The camera will also likely support Desk View, which shows an overhead view of your desk.

Center Stage is available in video calling apps like FaceTime and Zoom. Previously, the feature was limited to newer iPad models and Macs connected to Apple’s external Studio Display. The new Apple MacBook Pro M4 and iMac models were the first Macs to support Center Stage without relying on a Studio Display.

The new Apple MacBook Air M4 models are expected to be equipped with three Thunderbolt 4 ports, compared to two Thunderbolt 3 ports on the current notebooks. They are also expected to support up to two external displays, even with the lid open.

Apple MacBook Air M4 with nano-texture display?

The latest MacBook Pro and iMac models can be configured with a nano-texture display, which has a special coating that scatters light better to minimize reflections on the displays. If this is not an exclusive feature for the Pros and iMacs, the Apple MacBook Air M4 should also soon have a nano-texture panel. The release date is already clear – last month Apple released macOS Sequoia 15.2 and inadvertently confirmed that new MacBook Air models are coming this year.

Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman recently said that the new Apple MacBook Air M4 will launch “earlier” than some other devices. He was referring to the upcoming iPhone SE 2025, for example, which is rumored to launch this spring. This likely means that the new MacBook Air models will see the light of day sometime between January and March. The other devices, on the other hand, may be announced at Apple’s usual spring event in March or March. A foldable MacBook Pro 19, on the other hand, is not expected until 2026 at the earliest.