Apple launches new M4-Powered MacBook Air with AI features, price cut to $999 to drive upgrades

Apple’s latest MacBook Air models bring more than just a performance boost. With the new M4 chip, AI-driven features, and a lower starting price, Apple is aiming to make its lightweight laptop lineup more appealing.

The base 13-inch model starts at $$999 — $100 less than before — and $899 for education, while the 15-inch version is priced at $1,199. The 13-inch and 15-inch MacBook Air models are available for pre-order now, with in-store availability starting March 12.

Apple is betting on AI to make its devices more useful, integrating “Apple Intelligence” features that streamline tasks like writing emails, editing photos, and answering questions with ChatGPT access. The company has been rolling out these tools across different regions and languages, broadening its reach.

Mac sales reached $8.99 billion in the holiday quarter, surpassing analyst expectations of $7.96 billion, according to LSEG.

Alongside the MacBook Air updates, Apple also introduced the M3 Ultra processor, offering a significant performance jump for its Mac Studio lineup. Designed for AI developers, video editors, and power users, the Mac Studio starts at $1,999. The M3 Ultra variant includes at least 96GB of memory, while the M4 Max model starts with 36 GB. Apple says the M3 Ultra can run large language models with over 600 billion parameters directly on the device.

With AI capabilities now baked into its latest hardware, Apple is reinforcing its position in a market increasingly focused on intelligent computing.

A Fresh New Hue: Sky Blue Joins the MacBook Air Lineup

Apple is adding a new color to its MacBook Air collection—sky blue. This metallic light blue shifts dynamically depending on how light hits its surface, giving it a striking, modern look. Sky blue joins existing color options: midnight, starlight, and silver. To complete the look, Apple includes a color-matched MagSafe charging cable with each model.

MacBook Air with M4 is available in a stunning new color, sky blue.

The new M4 chip pushes MacBook Air’s performance forward, making multitasking smoother and boosting the speed of tasks like photo and video editing. The 10-core CPU, up to 10-core GPU, and support for up to 32GB of unified memory make it up to twice as fast as the M1 model. Compared to the fastest Intel-based MacBook Air, Apple claims the M4 version is up to 23 times faster.

“MacBook Air is by far the world’s most popular laptop, and today we’re giving everyone even more reasons to love it, including a big boost in performance with the M4 chip, a new Center Stage camera, and a beautiful new sky blue color,” said Greg Joswiak, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing.

“Combined with its thin and light, fanless design, all-day battery life, and the incredible capabilities of macOS Sequoia with Apple Intelligence, MacBook Air is unlike any other laptop. And with a new lower starting price of $999, MacBook Air delivers more value to consumers than ever before, making this the perfect moment to upgrade or experience the Mac for the first time,” He added.

Battery life is another major upgrade. Users switching from Intel models can expect up to six extra hours, with the M4 MacBook Air lasting up to 18 hours on a single charge.

Apple is also leaning heavily into AI-powered features with its updated Neural Engine, which speeds up tasks like photo enhancements and background noise removal in videos.

For those who rely on their MacBook for heavy workloads, the M4 brings significant performance improvements across key applications:

• Microsoft Excel calculations are up to 4.7x faster than on an Intel-based MacBook Air and 1.6x faster than on the M1 model.
• iMovie video editing is up to 8x faster than the Intel-based version and 2x faster than the M1 model.
• Adobe Photoshop runs up to 3.6x faster on the Intel-based version and 2x faster than the M1 model.
• Web browsing is up to 60% faster than on a PC laptop with an Intel Core Ultra 7 processor.

Built for AI: Apple Intelligence on MacBook Air

With Image Playground powered by Apple Intelligence, MacBook Air can easily create fun and unique images, with concepts like themes, costumes, accessories, and places.

Apple has optimized MacBook Air for AI-powered features, making it more intuitive and efficient. Users can experiment with Image Playground for visual creativity, create custom emojis with Genmoji, and refine their writing with new editing tools. Siri now offers improved voice-to-text interactions and provides step-by-step instructions for Mac features.

ChatGPT is integrated into Writing Tools and Siri, allowing users to tap into its expertise without needing an account. Apple ensures privacy by obscuring IP addresses and preventing OpenAI from storing user requests. Users have full control over when and how they engage with ChatGPT.

With a fresh design, a stronger AI focus, and noticeable speed gains, the M4 MacBook Air is shaping up to be a compelling option for both longtime Apple users and those considering an upgrade.

With AI now woven into its latest hardware, Apple is making a clear push to keep its devices relevant in an industry racing toward more intelligent computing.