Following the introduction of new 13-inch and 15-inch MacBook Air models with M4 chips, Apple has discontinued the M2 and M3 variants on its online stores. Both models were available to buy new from Apple up until today.
Apple launched the M2 MacBook Air in July 2022, and the M3 MacBook Air became available in March 2024. Both laptops will likely remain available to buy from Apple through its online Refurbished store in the months to come.
Apple does not provide a like-for-like performance comparison for the new M4 MacBook Air versus the M2 or M3 models. Instead, it compares the new version with MacBook Air models powered by Intel and Apple M1 chips. However, when the M4 chip debuted in the iPad Pro last year, Apple promised around 20% faster performance than the M3 chip in both single and multi-core tasks.
The M4 provides up to 23x faster performance than equivalent Intel-based MacBook Air models, and up to double the performance than the M1 model, according to Apple. The new MacBook Air models also support up to two external displays with the lid open, versus two with the lid closed on the M3 models.
The new MacBook Air with M4 chip starts at $999, and is available to pre-order today, with availability beginning Wednesday, March 12.
