Apple just announced the hotly anticipated new M4 MacBook Pro lineup, the last of the three Mac models getting refreshed this week. But I didn’t even have to look at the M4 MacBook Pro’s press release to tell you that if you’re dying to buy the M4 MacBook Air, you’re in for a massive upgrade.
Apple’s lightest and most portable laptop will get the same M4 treatment early next year. The M4 will give the 2025 Air the same performance as the M4 iMac, M4 Mac mini, and base M4 MacBook Pro. That means 16GB of RAM will be included in the cheapest configuration, which will make the upcoming MacBook Air an incredible value.
I’m speculating about a laptop that won’t hit stores for several months. Rumors say the M4 MacBook Air is coming in early 2025. But I’m right, and it’s all because of that one feature that Apple keeps harping on left and right even though it’s lagging so far behind rivals: Apple Intelligence.
About a month ago, rumors said the base M4 MacBook Pro would feature 16GB of RAM instead of the usual 8GB. We saw ample evidence that the leaks were real once a couple of Russian bloggers bought the unreleased laptop from the local black market and confirmed the specs.
I said at the time that the 16GB RAM upgrade would practically get you a $200 discount on the next MacBook Pro purchase. You wouldn’t have to pay for 16GB of memory, which will be available in all MacBook Pro configurations.
On Monday, Apple unveiled the M4 iMac, which also comes with 16GB of RAM out of the box. Then, the redesigned M4 Mac mini followed, which also starts at 16GB of unified memory. Since we already know the M4 MacBook Pro will pack 16GB of RAM in its cheapest configuration, the picture is clear.
Apple is making sure its Macs will have the minimum requirements for supporting current, and especially next-gen, Apple Intelligence features. It’s not about to repeat the iPhone 15 mistake. As a reminder, the iPhone 15 and 15 Plus can’t run Apple Intelligence because RAM is a problem. These smartphones feature only 6GB of RAM instead of the minimum 8GB required for Apple Intelligence.
Since laptops are meant to work differently than smartphones, Apple ensures that its Macs will have enough RAM for both AI and non-AI tasks.
Also, the M4 MacBook Air should be just as powerful as the base M4 MacBook Pro (and the other M4 Macs). The same thing was true for all the M-series chips that preceded the M4 generation. Therefore, the M4 MacBook Air memory should be bumped to 16GB.
But wait, it gets even better than that. When unveiling the M4 MacBook Pro, Apple dropped a small MacBook Air but critical detail in the press release. The M2 and M3 MacBook Air variants will now start with 16GB of RAM instead of 8GB:
MacBook Air is the world’s most popular laptop, and with Apple Intelligence, it’s even better. Now, models with M2 and M3 double the starting memory to 16GB, while keeping the starting price at just $999 — a terrific value for the world’s best-selling laptop
With all that in mind, I’m absolutely sure that the M4 MacBook Air will also ship with 16GB of RAM at its cheapest price points. That’ll give you a $200 discount on RAM, just like on the M4 Macs Apple announced this week. Or you could continue paying that extra $200 for the next memory tier, usually set at 24GB for most Macs.
Whatever the case, the base M4 MacBook Air will be a more formidable computer than I’d have imagined.
