Apple's new MacBook Air M4 will likely be announced this week – here's what we know

Apple is gearing up to launch its lineup of MacBook Air laptops with the M4 chip — and they’re coming this week. Apple CEO Tim Cook posted a short teaser video on X this morning that reads “There’s something in the air.” To seal the deal, the caption simply states “This week.” 

There’s nothing else in the video to suggest which device will be launching, but speculation has been floating for months that it will be the MacBook Air with the new M4 processor. Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman reported earlier this month that both the 13-inch and 15-inch configurations are expected to drop at the same time, just like last year’s M3 Air models.

The M4-Mac family will be complete

The much-anticipated addition of the MacBook Air to the M4 family will round out all of the consumer laptop products with Apple Silicon’s latest in processor technology, as the iMac, Mac Mini, MacBook, and MacBook Pro all launched with it in the fall of 2024.

We’ve seen some competitive sale prices on the MacBook Air M3, along with inventory reduction over the last few months, which is another sign that Apple wants to make room for the new M4 models. Following the pattern of past releases, the new MacBook Air models will likely be similarly specced to the low-end MacBook Pro, with 16GB of RAM and a 10-core CPU.

Also: Apple’s response to trade tariffs? A $500 billion investment and thousands of US jobs

It’s likely the new MacBook Airs will look similar to last year’s version, but a key feature we’ll be looking for is the Air M4’s ability to support up to two external displays with the lid open, like the MacBook Pro M4. As of now, the MacBook Air can only support a single external display.

Release date

The first week of March has historically been the time for MacBook Air updates, and Cook’s announcement this morning suggests this year will be no different. That being said, rumors have also circulated that Apple will be releasing new iPad Air models around the same time as the iPhone 16E announcement. 

Also: I replaced my M1 MacBook Pro with a base model M4 – and it blew my $3,000 laptop away  

With the Air getting the M4 chip, only the Mac Studio and Mac Pro computers will remain the last to be updated. The timeline for these devices comes last, as they’re the most powerful (and most costly to upgrade). Gurman previously stated that he expects to see the Mac Studio’s upgrade to the M4 somewhere between March and June and the Mac Pro as late as this fall.

We’ll keep a close eye on announcements as they roll out over the next few days.