MacBook Air M4
The best laptop for most students. The 2025 MacBook Air features the M4 chip with 10-core CPU, now starting at 16GB unified memory. Fanless design, all-day battery, and Apple Intelligence capabilities.
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Our Verdict
The MacBook Air M4 replaces the dead HP Envy listing as the lightweight value pick for Figma, Illustrator, Photoshop, and light creative work; it is not the right choice for heavy video or 3D.
Score Breakdown
Pros & Cons
Pros
- •Exceptional battery life (up to 18 hours)
- •Silent fanless design
- •16GB RAM now standard
- •M4 chip with 10-core CPU
- •Premium build quality
Cons
- •Only 2 Thunderbolt ports
- •No ProMotion display (60Hz)
- •Expensive for students
Specifications
| OS | macOS |
| Processor | Apple M4 (10-core CPU) |
| RAM | 16GB - 32GB |
| Storage | 256GB - 2TB SSD |
| GPU | Apple M4 (8 or 10-core) |
| Display | 13.6" Liquid Retina 2560x1664 |
| Weight | 2.7 lbs |
| Battery | Up to 18 hours |
Who Is This For?
Best For
- Students wanting premium
- macOS users
- Long lecture days
Not For
- Budget students
- Windows users
- Gamers
Where to Buy
Appears In
Customer Reviews
Alternatives to Consider
MacBook Air M5
Apple
The current MacBook Air for most students. The 2026 refresh moves to Apple's M5 chip and doubles base storage to 512GB, while keeping the fanless design and all-day battery life that made the M4 generation a top student pick.
Acer Aspire 5
Acer
Best budget laptop for students. Solid performance for everyday tasks at an unbeatable price.
Lenovo IdeaPad 3
Lenovo
Reliable and affordable. A great all-around student laptop with good build quality.
Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3 (2026)
Lenovo
Lenovo's 2026 IdeaPad Slim 3 replaces the older 11th Gen IdeaPad 3 with a 13th Gen Core i5-13420H processor and DDR5 memory, giving budget students a meaningfully newer machine at a similar price point.