How to pre-order the new Apple MacBook Air M4
Among the slew of Apple announced news from the previous few weeks is a refreshed MacBook Air. The laptop still comes in 13- and 15-inch sizes, starts with 16GB of RAM and offers up to 18 hours of battery life. The big spec bump here is the new M4 chipset, and that's paired with a $100 price cut; the base model starts at $999. MacBook Air pre-orders are open now, and the notebook will be widely available starting March 12. Here's everything you need to know about the M4 MacBook Air. <br /> Apart from the new pricing, the marquee upgrade is the M4 chip. Although it isn't a massive leap over the M3, it still makes the 2025 MacBook Air up to twice as fast as the M1 model. (You know it's less than a generational breakthrough if Apple's comparing it to its first in-house silicon from 2020.) The M4 silicon in this model has a 10-core CPU and up to a 10-core GPU. <br /> <br /> <br /> The MacBook Air still starts with 16GB of RAM, but the top-tier configurations support up to 32GB — an increase from a maximum of 24GB in the M3 model. When combined with the faster processor, you should see a noticeable speed boost when upgrading from an M1 or (especially) an older Intel MacBook. <br /> In a welcome change for those whose laptop does double duty as a desktop PC, you can now connect it to two external displays while still using the built-in one. Last year's model only supported two with the MacBook lid closed or one with it open. <br /> The new MacBook Air also adds Center Stage, Apple's auto-centering camera feature, for the first time in the lineup. It's paired with a 12MP camera, which should make your video calls and selfies look much sharper. <br /> The last big upgrade is a cosmetic one. It now ships in sky blue, a light metallic color also found in the iPad Air and AirPods Max. It joins the carryovers midnight, starlight and silver. <br /> Elsewhere, it still supports Apple Intelligence (if you're into that), runs macOS Sequoia and has a pair of Thunderbolt / USB 4 ports.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/computing/laptops/how-to-pre-order-the-new-apple-macbook-air-m4-140559026.html?src=rss