MacBook Air M4 vs M3 vs M2 vs M1 – What’s the Smart Buy in 2025?

Should You Buy the M4 MacBook Air or Stick With an Older Model?

When it comes to the new M4 MacBook Air, most people are really only asking two questions:

• How does it compare to previous Apple Silicon MacBook Airs?

• Is it worth buying the latest version, or should you save some money and go with an older model?

Let’s start with the first question, because it’s the more straightforward one.

 

Physical and Design Differences:

Since the redesign from the M1 to the M2 Air in 2022, Apple hasn’t made any major physical changes to the MacBook Air. That redesign introduced a brighter screen, improved webcam, better speakers, upgraded keys, an improved trackpad, and enhanced port selection.

Comparing the M3 Air to the M4, the differences are far more subtle. The M4 features a slightly upgraded webcam with Center Stage and marginally better image quality, though in video calls, this doesn’t have a significant impact. There’s also a new color Sky Blue replacing Space Gray, which has been a fan-favorite for years. The current lineup now includes Sky Blue, Silver, Starlight, and Midnight.

Perhaps the most significant hardware update is the support for two external displays in addition to the MacBook’s built-in screen. The M3 allowed dual external displays only when the laptop’s lid was closed. The new feature that lets you use the built-in screen and two external monitors at the same time is great news for people who use two monitors.

Previous generations, including the M2 and M1, only supported one external monitor, regardless of the lid’s position.

 

Performance and Price:

Now to the performance and Apple has made two big changes with the M4 MacBook Air:

• Base model RAM is now 16 GB, up from 8 GB.

• Retail price is lower, back down to $999.

Just the extra RAM by itself is a big improvement. While partly aimed at streamlining Apple’s offerings and competing with Windows laptops, the bigger picture is Apple’s long-term vision. The company has big plans for Apple Intelligence, and 8 GB simply isn’t sufficient to support it fully. This was clear when the M4 iPads came out with just 8GB of RAM.

Doubling the RAM is something users have requested for years, and it finally happened. While the 256 GB base storage remains limiting, more RAM has a bigger impact on performance especially in memory-intensive tasks.

Also, the price is back to the old $999, which was the launch price of the M1 Air in late 2020. The M2 increased it to $1,199. Now, the M4 is back at $999 with better features, which makes it possibly the best value laptop available today, even compared to Windows laptops.

This also makes it harder to compare with older MacBook Air models, as many of them are now being sold at attractive secondhand prices.

 

Comparing the Apple Silicon Generations

Here’s a quick breakdown of what you get in each base model of Apple Silicon MacBook Air:

• M1 and M2: Base 8GB RAM, single external display support.

• M3: Also 8GB RAM in most existing models, improved GPU/media engine.

• M4: 16GB RAM base, support for two external displays, upgraded webcam, new color, faster memory bandwidth.

You can upgrade the M4 to 32GB of RAM. There’s also an option to increase the GPU from 8 to 10 cores, but it’s not really needed. The main performance improvement comes from upgrading the RAM and SSD. Also, if you upgrade the RAM or SSD, you automatically get the 10-core GPU and a stronger dual USB-C charger included.

One important thing to note: Apple’s current comparison page shows the M2 and M3 Airs starting with 16GB RAM, but that only became standard after the M4 was released. In reality, most used or earlier M2 and M3 base models still come with just 8GB RAM.

 

Media Engines, Gaming, and Real-World Use

Both the M3 and M4 introduce hardware-accelerated ray tracing, which benefits gaming and 3D design workflows. RAM access speeds (memory bandwidth) are also faster on the M4 but not dramatically so.

To explain, all Apple Silicon MacBook Airs have a neural engine, which handles artificial intelligence and machine learning. With macOS Sequoia supporting Apple Intelligence, this engine is getting more important. The M1 and M2 are starting to get slower in AI tasks, but the M3 and M4 work about the same in AI jobs.

In real life, when doing things like multitasking, browsing, checking email, and opening apps, all these laptops feel fast and smooth. Even the M1 Air from 2020 handles these tasks exceptionally well.

But what about harder work? Whether it’s compiling big code, rendering in Blender, editing in Final Cut Pro, or handling ProRes videos, the performance is more detailed and varies.

The M4’s 16 GB RAM plays a crucial role here. The M1, M2, and M3 units used in testing had only 8GB. While the M4 is faster especially in rendering and 3D workflows the gap isn’t massive. For ProRes footage, the M1 struggles significantly due to lacking dedicated ProRes encoders and decoders.

3D applications like Cinema 4D or Blender clearly benefit from the new ray tracing tech, as long as the software supports it. In gaming, performance gains are marginal gaming on MacBooks remains hit or miss, especially without active cooling.

 

Thermals and Battery Life

MacBook Airs don’t include fans. They rely on passive cooling via a metal heat sink, which means during heavy loads, the chassis gets warm. Under max load, temperatures can reach up to 45°C (113°F) uncomfortable, but not dangerous. However, for general use, heat is barely noticeable across all generations.

Apple claims all four MacBook Air versions have similar battery life around 15 hours of wireless web browsing. Real-world tests confirm this is mostly accurate. In a streaming-heavy test:

• M1 lasted until 5% battery.

• M2 ended at 18%.

• M3 finished at 21%.

• M4 clocked in at 22%.

The M4 clearly has the edge but not by a massive margin. However, it’s important to remember that older models like the M1 or M2 may have degraded batteries unless they’re brand new or refurbished with fresh cells. Even so, the M1 in this test still had 90% battery health after five years a testament to Apple’s battery longevity.

 

SSD Speeds and Final Thoughts on Performance

The M4 has the fastest SSD speeds among all 256GB base models. Faster SSDs can slightly help with multitasking, especially when macOS uses swap memory because of limited RAM. Sadly, the M2 is known for having slow read speeds in this category because it uses lower-quality SSD parts.

 

So, Which MacBook Air Should You Buy?

If you already have a MacBook Air M1, M2, or M3 there’s no compelling reason to upgrade unless your current machine no longer meets your needs. For 95% of daily tasks, all of these machines perform nearly identically.

Even the original M1 Air, released in December 2020, remains a solid option today. It’s efficient, reliable, and still impressively capable.

However, if you’re buying a MacBook Air right now, the answer is simple: go with the M4.

Here’s why:

• It’s back at the original $999 price point—and already available for less through resellers.

• It comes standard with 16 GB RAM.

• Full warranty and software support for 7+ years.

• Support for two external displays.

• Best battery life of the lineup.

• Top performance in creative and productivity workloads.

The only exception? If you find a lightly used M3 or M2 with 16 GB RAM at 30–40% less than the M4, that might be worth considering. Otherwise, the M4 is the best all-around value.

Lastly, if you’re considering a more powerful machine, it might be worth looking into the MacBook Pro lineup. It costs more, but gives a big boost in performance.