Apple's new MacBook Air M4 has arrived to bolster the company's base laptop lineup, but aside from a new chipset and double the base memory, we don't get much else in terms of improvements. Is that a problem? No, as laptops enjoy a slightly different design and feature cycle than phones or tablets.
So, performance and efficiency are paramount here, but when going through the available MacBook Air configurations, one inevitably asks themselves if they should just get a MacBook Pro instead.
With the M4 generation, it was the Pro laptops that got the newer chipset first, and due to the nature of the MacBook Pro line, they can deliver significantly higher peak performance thanks to the active cooling on board. Add in the much smoother and brighter display, and you're facing a classic buyer's dilemma.
Apple M4 (10-core CPU, up to 10-core GPU, 3nm) Apple M4 Pro (Up to 16-core CPU, up to 40-core GPU) Apple M4 Max (Up to 16-core CPU, up to 40-core GPU)
Apple Intelligence support
Apple Intelligence support
Up to 32GB unified memory
Up to 32GB unified memory with M4 Up to 128GB unified memory with M4 Pro or M4 Max
Up to 2TB storage
Up to 2TB storage with M4 Up to 8TB storage with M4 Pro or M4 Max
Four (13-inch) or six (15-inch) speakers Spatial Audio support
Six Hi-Fi speakers Spatial Audio support HDMI port with multichannel audio output
2x Thunderbolt 4 (USB-C) ports 3.5mm audio jack
3x Thunderbolt 4 (USB-C) ports on 14" M4 3x Thunderbolt 5 (USB-C) ports on 14"/16" M4 Pro/M4 Max SDXC reader HDMI port High-impedance 3.5mm audio jack
MagSafe 3 charging port 30W USB-C (13" M4 w/ 8-core GPU) 35W USB-C (13" M4 w/ 10-core GPU or 15")
MagSafe 3 charging port 70W USB-C (14" M4) 70W USB-C (14" M4 Pro with 12-core CPU) 96W USB-C (14" M4 Pro with 14-core CPU or M4 Max) 140W USB-C (16" M4 Pro or M4 Max)
Fast-charging w/ 70W+ wall adapter
Fast-charging w/ 96W+ wall adapter (14-inch M4, M4 Pro or M4 Max) Fast-charging w/ 140W+ wall adapter (16-inch M4 Pro or M4 Max)
Supports two external displays with up to 6K resolution
M4/M4 Pro support up to two external displays M4 Max supports up to four external displays
12MP 1080p FaceTime camera with Center Stage
12MP 1080p FaceTime camera with Center Stage
Wi-Fi 6E Bluetooth 5.3
Wi-Fi 6E Bluetooth 5.3
Starting at $999 (13-inch) $1199 (15-inch)
Starting at $1,599 (14-inch M4) $1,999 (14-inch M4 Pro or M4 Max) $2,499 (16-inch M4 Pro or M4 Max)
Since the MacBook Air M2, both the Air and Pro lineups have converged to a very similar design language. Both laptop lineups feature slab-like aluminum unibody design with flat sides that curve towards the back.
The M4 lineup of the MacBook Pro is quite diverse. Aside from the 14-inch version with the standard M4 chip, there's also a 14-inch one with either an M4 Pro or M4 Max, as well as a 16-inch one with M4 Pro or M4 Max. The MacBook Air M4 comes in just two versions, a 13-inch and 15-inch ones.
Size-wise, the M4 Air is the most compact laptop here, with dimensions of 30.41 x 21.5 x 1.13 cm and weighing just 1.24 kg. The 14-inch MacBook Pro is slightly larger at 31.26 x 22.12 x 1.55 cm. The M4 versions weighs 1.55 kg, while the M4 Pro tips the scales at 1.6 kg and the M4 Max––1.62 kg.
The 15-inch MacBook Air is the larger entry-level laptop, measuring 34.04 x 23.76 x 1.15 cm and weighing 1.15 kg, while the 16-inch model with either M4 Pro or M4 Max measures 25.57 x 24.81 x 1.68 cm and weighs 2.14 kg.
The MacBook Pro looks snazzy in all colors (Image Credit-Apple)
Obviously, if you're going for a more compact device, it's the MacBook Air that you should consider, as both of its versions beat the MacBook Pro models in this regard.
All laptops feature sturdy internal hinges, 78/79-button QWERTY keyboards with scissor switches, Touch ID embedded in the power button, and large and functional Multi-touch trackpads.
There's a big difference in the color selection here. The MacBook Air M4 is definitely the livelier one in terms of color selections, as it's available in Silver, Starlight, Midnight, and the exclusive for the range Sky Blue color, which looks snazzy. At the same time, the MacBook Pro keeps things on the down-low with a decidedly more business-like color selection: you can have them in either Space Black or Silver, which is relatively limiting.
Ports
The "Pro" in MacBook Pro doesn't only stand for faster chipsets and better displays––the port selection is more advanced here.
First up, we get three Thunderbolt ports on all models. The M4 version of the 14" MacBook Pro uses Thunderbolt 4 ports, while the M4 Pro/Max versions feature Thunderbolt 5 ports. The main difference here are the data throughput speeds: up to 40Gb/s for Thunderbolt 4 and up to 120Gb/s for Thunderbolt 5.
Left-hand side of a MacBook Pro (Image Credit-Apple)
All MacBook Pro laptops also come with a dedicated MagSafe 3 charging port, an SDXC card reader, and an HDMI port, and a 3.5mm audio jack.
New on the MacBook Air line is the external display support, as the device can feed signal to up to two 6K external monitors with the lid open, a first for the lineup. The external display support with the MacBook Pro is way more complicated.
The MacBook Air has a less impressive port selection (Image Credit-Apple)
The 14-inch MacBook with M4 supports full native resolution on the built-in display as well as on up to two external screens at 6K@60Hz over Thunderbolt, or one 6K@60Hz display over Thunderbolt and another 4K@144Hz one over HDMI. If you have an 8K@60Hz or a 4K screen with 240Hz refresh rate, the MacBook Pro with M4 can use extend to either one.
Models equipped with the M4 Max turn things to eleven. They support all aforementioned configurations, but also allow you to connect three external 6K@60Hz displays via Thunderbolt and one more up to 4K@144Hz over HDMI. That's definitely a more professional setup in comparison with the MacBook Air, which is expected.
A fully docked MacBook Pro is a lovely sight (Image Credit-Apple)
Display
The 14-inch MacBook Pro features a 14.2-inch Liquid Retina XDR display with a high 3024 x 1964-pixel resolution, as well as higher brightness: up to 1,000 nits in regular mode and up to 1,600 nits peak brightness with HDR content. There's also ProMotion support here, allowing the display to refresh at up to 120Hz.
Things are a bit tamer with the MacBook Air line. The 13-inch version comes with a Liquid Retina 13.6" IPS LCD screen with 60Hz refresh rate and 2560 by 1664-pixel resolution. The 15-inch model has a 15.3-inch screen with a slightly higher 2880 x 1864-pixel resolution. This screen is not HDR-capable, but will output HDR content to an external monitor if you hook it to one.
Aside from using the awesome display on the MacBook Pro, you can extend it to two or even four external monitors (Image Credit-Apple)
The MacBook Pro comes with a mini-LED display, which is a vastly more advanced and sophisticated version of IPS LCD which features thousands of different backlight areas. Those enable the screen to achieve superb color vividness and much better contrast, only rivaled by a true OLED screen.
Yet, mini-LED displays can't suffer from burn-in like an OLED does, making them more suitable for laptop screens. However, mini-LED displays suffer from blooming at higher brightness levels when viewing contrasting content.
Apparently, previous MacBook Pros have used a red KSF phosphor film to allow the displays to produce a wider color gamut, but reports claim Apple has silently upgraded the latest MacBook Pro M4 with quantum-dot film which has allowed for both a better color gamut and a superior and smoother motion performance.
Display resolution 2560 x 1664 (13") 2880 x 1864 (15")
Display resolution 3024 x 1964 (14") 2880 x 1864 (15")
Performance & Memory
Now it becomes interesting
The chipset situation on the M4 MacBook Pro is pretty diverse. That's because Apple has reined not one or two, but three different versions of the M4 chip with its more advanced laptops.
There's a base 14-inch MacBook Pro with the same base second-gen 3nm Apple M4 chip, with a 10-core CPU (4 performance + 6 efficiency cores) and a 10-core GPU and up to 32GB of unified memory with 120GB/s memory bandwidth, hardware-accelerated ray-tracing, and a 16-core Neural Engine for AI computing.
That's the same chipset that's available on the latest MacBook Air. The difference, however, is in the cooling: the Air only has passive cooling with no fan, while the MacBook Pro has one.
Therefore, the latter can sustain its peak performance for longer before resorting to thermal throttling during very intensive usage. At the same time, at similar loads, the MacBook Air M4 will be the first to reach the chip's peak temperature limit of 100ºC and throttle due to high temperatures, so it's definitely not a suitable choice if you intend to torture your hardware with Assassin's Creed: Shadows, STEM research, 3D modelling, video editing, etc.
M4 is not the best chipset choice for the MacBook Pro (Image Credit-Apple)
But wait, there's more!
Both the 14 and 16-inch versions of the MacBook Pro are also available with the M4 Pro, which is available with up to a 14-core CPU and up to a 20-core GPU and 273GB/s memory bandwidth. Finally, the range-topping M4 Max chip comes with up to a 16-core CPU and up to a 40-core GPU, as well as the staggering 546GB/s memory bandwidth! That's a significantly more impressive loadout for those who truly need significantly more computing power.
Apple M4 Chip
Apple M4 Pro chip
Apple M4 Max chip
10-core CPU 4 P-cores @4.41GHz 6 E-cores @2.59GHz TDP 22W
14 or 12-core CPU 10/8 P-cores @4.52GHz 4 E-cores @2.59GHz TDP 46W (14-core) / 38W (12-core)
16 or 14-core CPU 12/10 P-cores @4.52GHz 4 E-cores @2.59GHz TDP 70W (16-core) / 62W (14-core)
Hardware-accelerated H.264, HEVC, ProRes, and ProRes RAW
Hardware-accelerated H.264, HEVC, ProRes, and ProRes RAW
Hardware-accelerated H.264, HEVC, ProRes, and ProRes RAW
ProRes encode and decode engine Video encode/decode engine
Dual ProRes encode and decode engines Dual video encode engines Video decode engine
Dual ProRes encode and decode engines Dual video encode engines Video decode engine
AV1 decode
AV1 decode
AV1 decode
Unlike the MacBook Air M4 or the base 14-inch MacBook Pro M4, the MacBook Pro with the M4 Pro or M4 Max chip boast dual video encode engines, as well as dual ProRes encode and decode engines, vastly improving the speed at which they, well, decode or encode video files.
Other than that, the rest of the chip specs are common. Both feature hardware ray-tracing, and support nearly all relevant software codecs, including the latest AV1 one.
Here's how the Apple Silicon performance has evolved through the years.
Chipset
Geekbench Single-Core Score
Geekbench Multi-Core Score
Apple M4 Max (16-core)
3986
26190
Apple M4 Max (14-core)
3996
23725
Apple M4 Pro (14-core)
3899
22639
Apple M4 Pro (12-core)
3864
20499
Apple M4 (10-core)
3692
14819
Apple M3 (8-core)
3043
11687
Apple M2 (8-core)
2596
9728
Apple M1 (8-core)
2346
8356
The MacBook Air M4 is available with 16GB, 24GB, or 32GB of RAM, shared between the M4's CPU and GPU. That's double the base memory with the M4, which vastly improves the value of the new MacBook Air. The base MacBook Pro with M4 also comes with either 16GB, 24GB, or 32GB of unified memory.
The more powerful MacBook Pro with M4 Pro or M4 Max can be configured with up to 128GB of unified memory and up to 8TB SSDs inside, but that will definitely cost you, as those are the absolute best-spec'd MacBooks out there at the moment.
Software
All of Apple's MacBooks are currently compatible with the company's latest macOS 15.3 Sequoia software, which brought most Apple Intelligence features to Apple's computer lineup, including Writing Tools, ChatGPT integration, Image Playground, and Genmoji. The widely anticipated improved Siri has been delayed, possibly to 2027.
Sequoia also gave us iPhone Mirroring, an improved Safari browser, and vastly better gaming capabilities thanks to GPTK 2. The latter supercharges the Wine compatibility layer, allowing macOS gamers to emulate even newer AAA games and other software through Crossover or Whisky.
In terms of support, we expect that either one of these laptops will be supported for at least seven years or more.
Battery and Charging
The MacBook Air M4 comes with a 53.8Wh battery in the 13-inch version or a 66.5Wh one in the 15-inch one, however both deliver battery life similar to their predecessors, with Apple expecting up to 15 hours of web browsing or 18 hours of video streaming on either model.
The situation with the MacBook Pro is slightly different: all the MacBook Pro laptops have higher-capacity batteries and last longer, as per Apple's official expectations. Surprisingly, it's the 16-inch M4 Pro model and not the M4 Max one that has the best battery life here: up to 17 hours of web browsing and up to 24 hours of video streaming.
Battery life (web) Up to 17 hours (16" M4 Pro) Up to 14 hours (16" M4 Max) Up to 13 hours (14" M4 Max) Up to 14 hours (14" M4 Pro) Up to 16 hours (14" M4)
Battery life (video) Up to 18 hours (15" and 13")
Battery life (video) Up to 24 hours (16" M4 Pro) Up to 21 hours (16" M4 Max) Up to 24 hours (14" M4 Max) Up to 22 hours (14" M4 Pro) Up to 24 hours (14" M4)
Charging MagSafe 3 30W USB-C with 8-core GPU 35W Dual USB-C with 10-core GPU Fast charging with 70W+ wall adapter
Charging MagSafe 3 70W USB-C with M4/M4 Pro 12-core 96W USB-C with 14" M4 Pro/M4 Max 14-core 140W USB-C with 16" M4 Pro/M4 Max Fast charghing with 70W+ wall adapter (14" M4) Fast charging with 96W wall adapter (14" M4 Pro/M4 Max) Fast charging with 140W wall adapter (16" M4 Pro/M4 Max)
All MacBook Pro models come with at least a 70W USB-C wall adapter in the box, with 96W chargers reserved for the higher-tier M4 Pro/M4 Max models. The fastest 140W charger can be found inside the boxes of the larger 16-inch M4 Pro and M4 Max models.
Audio and camera
We get four speakers on the 13-inch versions and six speakers on the 15-inch MacBook Air M4 models. The difference between the two sizes are the dual force-cancelling woofers, which greatly improve the bass on the 15-inch model.
That said, all MacBook Pro units arrive with high-fidelity six-speaker setups with force-cancelling woofers and wide stereo sound, delivering the absolute best audio quality on the MacBook range.
All models support spatial audio when playing Dolby Atmos audio/video content. There are high-impedance 3.5mm audio jacks on all laptops, but the MacBook Pro ones are high-impedance ones, which means they output a stronger signal (which is better for the sound quality).
The cameras at the front of all MacBooks in this comparison are 12MP ones and support both Center Stage and Desk View modes, allowing you to always keeps your face in the center of the frame during video calls, as well as showcase your desk in a top-down view.
Which one should you buy? Should you upgrade?
It's obvious the MacBook Pro is a better machine, but do you really need one? (Image Credit-Apple)
Now, to the final question––which one to get?
From a financial standpoint, the MacBook Air makes a rather strong case for itself. While it's marginally less impressive specs-wise, it's better than previous MacBook Air models and once again starts at $999.
Either the 13-inch or the 15-inch should be more than enough for most people, delivering excellent performance in a familiar and very compact form factor.
However, it's definitely worth it to consider getting a MacBook Pro model. Even the base one improves over the MacBook Air with more I/O ports, a better screen, active cooling, and more configuration options.
Professional users with more niche use cases should absolutely consider the M4 Pro and M4 Max models, which deliver even better performance and even more diverse memory and storage configuration options for demanding use cases.
As a MacBook Pro user myself, I'd definitely recommend getting one, you will pat yourself on the back eventually.
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Peter, an experienced tech enthusiast at PhoneArena, is captivated by all things mobile. His impartial reviews and proficiency in Android systems offer readers valuable insights. Off-duty, he delves into the latest cryptocurrency trends and enjoys sci-fi and video games.
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