Apple's MacBook Air M4 launching this week: What to expect
What's the story
Apple is set to announce its latest MacBook Air models with the powerful M4 chip, as soon as this week. The news comes from Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, who wrote on X, "I expect the M4 MacBook Air to be introduced as early as this week." Gurman also noted that Apple's inventory has been depleted considerably and a related announcement is just around the corner.
Upgrades
M4 chip offers enhanced performance
The new MacBook Air models are likely to sport 13-inch and 15-inch displays, running on Apple's M4 chip. The SoC comes with a 10-core CPU and a 10-core GPU. The M4 chip was integrated into the MacBook Pro, iMac, and Mac mini last October. Gurman noted that Geekbench 6 results showed that M4 is up to 25% faster than its predecessor, the M3 chip, in multi-core CPU performance.
Improvements
New models may offer upgraded RAM and battery life
Last October, Apple doubled the minimum RAM across all MacBook Air models to 16GB from 8GB. The maximum RAM option could also be doubled to 32GB in the new models. Along with this, you can expect longer battery life from the new releases. The latest MacBook Pro and iMac models can be configured with a nano-texture display that scatters light better to reduce glare on the screen. This option could also be extended to the new MacBook Air models.
Enhancements
Advanced camera and connectivity features
The M4 MacBook Air models are expected to come with an upgraded 12MP camera with Center Stage support. The feature automatically keeps users centered on video calls as they move around, something that was previously limited to newer iPad models and Macs connected to Apple's external Studio Display. The new MacBook Air models will probably come with three Thunderbolt 4 ports, as opposed to two Thunderbolt 3 ports on the current ones.