Apple MacBook Air M4 Review (2026) — The Default Laptop for Remote Work

By the FutureFavs editorial team · 2026-05-17 · Rating: 4.8/5 ★★★★☆

Watch before you buy

What changed from M2 to M4

Apple skipped the M3 Air entirely in some markets. The M4 brings five meaningful changes:

1. 16GB base RAM, up from 8GB. This single change is the biggest argument for buying the M4 over a discounted M2 — for most remote workers, 8GB was the bottleneck, not the CPU.
2. M4 chip (3nm, 2nd-gen). About 18–22% faster than M2 in single-core, 25–30% in multi-core, and 35% in GPU. Marginal differences for office work; significant for Lightroom/Final Cut.
3. Battery life: Apple rates it at up to 18 hours of Apple TV app playback, and up to 15 hours of wireless web. As always, treat the manufacturer figure as a ceiling measured under favourable conditions, not a number you should expect from a Chrome-and-Zoom workday.
4. 12MP Center Stage camera (was 1080p). Webcam quality is now better than most external USB webcams under €100.
5. $999 / €1,199 starting price for the 16GB/256GB SKU. The 8GB SKU is gone.

Specifications

Specification	13-inch (base)	15-inch
Chip	Apple M4, 8-core CPU, 8-core GPU	Apple M4, 10-core CPU, 10-core GPU
RAM	16GB unified (max 24GB)	16GB unified (max 32GB)
Storage	256GB — 2TB	256GB — 2TB
Display	13.6", 2560×1664, 500 nits	15.3", 2880×1864, 500 nits
Ports	2 Thunderbolt 4, MagSafe 3, 3.5mm	2 Thunderbolt 4, MagSafe 3, 3.5mm
Webcam	12MP Center Stage	12MP Center Stage
Battery life (claimed)	18h video, 15h web	18h video, 15h web
Weight	1.24 kg	1.51 kg
Starting price (EU)	€1,199	€1,499

Sustained performance — the fanless trade-off

The M4 Air has no fan. That is a design fact with a predictable consequence: it cannot dissipate heat indefinitely, so on a long sustained load — a big export, a long compile — it will eventually clock down to stay within its thermal envelope. For bursty work (documents, browsers, calls, the occasional edit) that ceiling is rarely reached. If your work is sustained rather than bursty, the actively cooled MacBook Pro 14 is the machine that holds its clocks.

How does it compare?

Laptop	Performance	Battery	Display	Price (EU)
MacBook Air M4 (13")	Excellent	18h	500 nits	€1,199
MacBook Pro 14 M4 (base)	Best in class	22h	1000 nits (XDR)	€1,799
Dell XPS 13 (Snapdragon X)	Good	12h	OLED, glossy	€1,299
ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 12	Very good	10h	1200p, matte	€1,599
Framework 13 (AMD)	Good	9h	2256×1504	€1,199

The MacBook Air M4 is the default. The MacBook Pro 14 base model is worth the extra €600 only if you need: brighter screen (1000 nits XDR), better speakers, more sustained performance, or 3 Thunderbolt ports + HDMI/SD. The Windows competition: Dell XPS 13 with Snapdragon X is closest on battery but trails on app compatibility. Framework is the right pick for repairability over polish.

Three things that haven’t changed (and the one that should have)

1. Only 2 Thunderbolt ports. Still on the same side. Still needs an adapter for HDMI. Still a small ergonomic compromise.
2. Still no FaceID. Touch ID on the power button works fine, but Windows Hello (face recognition) is a clear advantage on competitors.
3. Webcam improved but the lid is still hard to open one-handed. Lid is now slightly thicker. Minor regression vs M2.
4. Should have: a brighter screen. 500 nits is fine indoors but rough on a sunny terrace. The Pro’s 1000-nit XDR is the most-asked-about Air-vs-Pro question.

Our take

The MacBook Air M4 is the laptop we’d hand to a freelancer asking “what should I buy?” without further questions. It does 90% of what 90% of remote workers do, with battery life that removes the charge-anxiety of laptops just three years ago, in a chassis that is genuinely cooler than €2,000 Windows machines. The only people who shouldn’t buy it: heavy video editors (get the Pro 14), Windows-software-locked workers (get a ThinkPad), and anyone who needs the brightest screen possible (get the Pro 14).

Our rating: 4.8/5. Loses 0.2 points for the unchanged port situation and the 500-nit ceiling on the display — everything else is best-in-class.

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