Don’t buy an M1 MacBook Air when the M4 model is only $150 more

This is just a small public service announcement before Black Friday. Walmart will once again promote the M1 MacBook Air as an unbeatable deal for laptop shoppers. It sure is tempting $599especially if you haven’t seen the deal before. This may be the right choice for some people.

But for the majority edge Readers who buy either for themselves or for someone who needs to get things done, it’s not a great value. Not when 2025 M4 modelwith spec improvements, design tweaks, and processing speed improvements, is only $150. You can currently get one of these starting at $749.99 from Amazon and Best buy.

Apple’s M series processors are becoming more powerful every year, and the M4 represents the fourth generation. This doesn’t mean the M1 MacBook Air is a bad device. You could do a lot worse for $600. Compared to some of Apple’s Intel-based laptops, the 2020 model has upped the ante in performance and battery life. But its concessions become more apparent with each passing year. You should also buy a laptop that will get more software updates.

The $599 MacBook Air has just 8GB of RAM, which is less than most flagship smartphones have these days. It’s surprisingly fast when handling a light load, but my wife has one, and it’s a very slow experience when loaded with a lot of browser tabs. The latest MacBook Air comes with 16GB of RAM by default, and the M4 processor lets you get things done faster. It has a similar array of ports (two USB-C ports, one headphone jack), though its USB-C ports are faster with Thunderbolt 4 support. It also has a dedicated MagSafe charging port, so you won’t have to sacrifice one of your precious USB-C ports for charging.

These are just the biggest differences in specifications; Apple ditched the wedge-shaped design for the M1 and previous MacBook Air models starting with the M2. It looks more advanced, almost like a MacBook Pro. The screen is larger thanks to smaller bezels, and there’s a notch housing the 12MP Center State webcam – another big improvement over the M1 model.

Look, I could go on. Our reviews do a great job of pointing out all the little differences, including in-depth metrics from testing processing-intensive apps. But in short, the M4 is about the M1, and for just $150 more, the M4 MacBook Air is the clear winner if you’re looking for a semi-affordable MacBook this holiday.