{"id":1542,"date":"2025-06-20T02:24:05","date_gmt":"2025-06-20T02:24:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.batterymap.co.nz\/blog\/?p=1542"},"modified":"2025-06-20T02:24:05","modified_gmt":"2025-06-20T02:24:05","slug":"ive-been-using-the-macbook-air-m4-for-3-months-heres-my-pros-and-cons","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.batterymap.co.nz\/blog\/2025\/06\/20\/ive-been-using-the-macbook-air-m4-for-3-months-heres-my-pros-and-cons\/","title":{"rendered":"I’ve been using the MacBook Air M4 for 3 months \u2014 here’s my pros and cons"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

It’s my everyday laptop<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"MacBook<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Right now, the13-inch MacBook Air M4comfortably sits at the top of ourbest laptopslist. And with good reason. It\u2019s $100 cheaper than its predecessors yet packs impressive power, a sharp webcam and long battery life in an elegant chassis. If you likemacOSand need a reliable laptop that\u2019s easy to travel with, this is the notebook to get.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since I review thebest Windows laptopsandbest MacBooks, I like to use machines featuring those respective operating systems. For work and gaming, I preferWindows 11, but for leisure, I prefer a MacBook since it pairs nicely with my Apple devices like theiPhone 16 Pro MaxandiPad Pro M4. For the latter, my go-to machine is the 13-inch MacBook Air M4.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here are my pros and cons after using the 13-inch MacBook Air M4 for the past three months.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

also:A1496 Battery for Apple MacBook Air 13″ A1466(Mid 2013 \/ Early 2014)<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

MacBook Air M4: Pros<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Lightweight design\"MacBook<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

At home, I have a16-inch MacBook Pro M4 Prothat I reviewed late last year. While that laptop has a gorgeous 16-inch display, a roomy keyboard, plenty of ports and delivers excellent performance, I don\u2019t use it as my daily driver because it’s too big and heavy. When I\u2019m at home or on the road, I want to use something lightweight, hence the 13-inch MacBook Air M4.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At 11.9 x 8.4 x 0.4 inches and 2.7 pounds, the MacBook Air M4 lives up to its \u201cAir\u201d moniker since it\u2019s so thin and light. When I\u2019m home and want to quickly send some messages or browse the internet, using this laptop is more convenient than its bulkier 16-inch sibling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Similarly, I can almost forget the laptop is in my backpack when I take it on the road. That’s important since I travel to many press events. Having a thin and light computer that doesn\u2019t literally weigh me down is crucial.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Speaking of design, I\u2019m still a fan of the MacBook Air\u2019s nondescript design, which is something all modern MacBooks share. Aside from the iconic Apple logo on the back, the laptop is free of embellishments, which is perfect for me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Plenty of power and battery life\"MacBook<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The 13-inch MacBook Air M4 I have features an M4 chip, 16GB of RAM and 256GB of storage. Thanks to that, it delivers plenty of performance for my everyday workload, which consists of usingGooglefor browsing the web and word processing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since I mostly use the MacBook Air M4 at home, I don\u2019t often have dozens of open tabs like I do when working on articles. But if I\u2019m on a work trip, I know this laptop has more than enough power to handle whatever I throw at it. I might say otherwise if I were editing videos (which this machine is quite capable of), but since I\u2019m a writer, that\u2019s not a concern. That said, editing photos in GIMP is a breeze on this laptop.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The M4 chip doesn\u2019t just deliver excellent performance. Since this chip is so efficient, this MacBook Air has stellar battery life. In our battery test, which involves continuous web surfing over Wi-Fi with the display set to 150 nits of brightness, the laptop endured for nearly 15 hours. For my purposes, which involve web surfing and watchingYouTubevideos, I generally have to charge the laptop every two or three days, which is pretty great.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

also:A1965 Battery for Apple Macbook Air 13 A1932 2018 2019 year Retina New<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Display and speakers<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

YouTube is my main source of entertainment outside of gaming, and I watch plenty of it on the MacBook Air M4. Doing so is pretty enjoyable thanks to the bright and colorful 13.6-inch Liquid Retina display. Yes, things look better on the iPad Pro M4 OLED\u2019s panel, but the MacBook Air M4 still delivers excellent image quality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In our lab testing, the 13-inch MacBook Air M4\u2019s screen reached 470 nits of brightness when displaying HDR content. That’s close to the marketed 500 nits of brightness, which is awesome. The level of brightness hits the sweet spot of being vivid but not overbearing. Because of that, I never feel much (or any) eye strain even after hours of use.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The four-speaker sound system also helps all the YouTube videos I watch sound great. That said, this isn\u2019t an ideal device for listening to music since the bass is kind of disappointing. But when it comes to podcasts and similar videos, the speakers do a solid job.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

MacBook Air M4: Cons<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Minimal game support compared to PC<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"MacBook<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Apple has been making great strides with gaming since the company began releasing M-series computers. Games likeBaldur\u2019s Gate 3andResident Evil 4, which have been optimized for Apple silicon, look and run like a dream on current Macs.Cyberpunk 2077 is also coming to Macs, which proves that game companies are starting to view Macs as a viable platform.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That said, despite Apple\u2019s admittedly laudable gaming efforts, I won\u2019t ditch my gaming PC for a Mac any time soon. For instance, the majority of games on my Steam account aren\u2019t available or won\u2019t run well on Macs. M4 Macs have more than enough power to run graphically demanding games, but that doesn\u2019t mean much if you can\u2019t play some of the biggest titles on Macs. I seriously doubtGrand Theft Auto VIwill be available for Macs at launch (though I\u2019d love to be wrong).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I know that I can play Windows games on a Mac through software like Parallels. While that\u2019s great, some games won\u2019t always work as intended. Plus, I don\u2019t like the idea of using third-party software to run games. Native support is always best, but that\u2019s sadly lacking for many of thebest PC games.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not a lot of ports<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"MacBook<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Though I prefer using a 13-inch MacBook Air M4 over a 16-inch MacBook Pro M4, the latter has a greater number of ports.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While I can minimize this issue by connecting to one of thebest wireless miceandbest wireless keyboards, I\u2019d need to purchase a USB dock with an HDMI port if I want to connect the Air M4 to my monitor. This isn\u2019t a problem with a MacBook Pro, which does have an HDMI port.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The minimal port selection isn\u2019t a huge problem since I mostly use the MacBook Air M4 as a laptop instead of a replacement PC. I also appreciate that it has MagSafe charging, so I don\u2019t have to use up one of those USB-C ports. Still, I wouldn’t mind more ports if I ever need them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My favorite MacBook<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The MacBook Pro is Apple\u2019s premium laptop and certainly one of my favorites. That said, the humble 13-inch MacBook Air M4 is my go-to choice since it better fits my lifestyle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s lighter than even a 14-inch MacBook Pro and more portable than the 15-inch MacBook Air. And though I wish it had more ports, it has plenty of power for my needs, along with a phenomenal display and long-lasting battery life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While it\u2019s more of an iterative update, it\u2019s my preferred MacBook and the best MacBook for most people. I don\u2019t think I\u2019ll switch to another laptop for everyday use anytime soon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It’s my everyday laptop Right now, the13-inch MacBook Air M4comfortably sits at the top of ourbest laptopslist. And with good reason. It\u2019s $100 cheaper than its predecessors yet packs impressive power, a sharp webcam and long battery life in an elegant chassis. If you likemacOSand need a reliable laptop that\u2019s easy to travel with, this … Continue reading I’ve been using the MacBook Air M4 for 3 months \u2014 here’s my pros and cons<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1542","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-apple"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.batterymap.co.nz\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1542","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.batterymap.co.nz\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.batterymap.co.nz\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.batterymap.co.nz\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.batterymap.co.nz\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1542"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.batterymap.co.nz\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1542\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1543,"href":"https:\/\/www.batterymap.co.nz\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1542\/revisions\/1543"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.batterymap.co.nz\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1542"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.batterymap.co.nz\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1542"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.batterymap.co.nz\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1542"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}