MacBook Air 13-inch M4 vs. MacBook Air 13-inch M1: Is it worth upgrading?

The MacBook Air 13-inch M4 became the new thin, long-lasting, top-notch value Apple laptop when it launched on March 12, 2025, gracefully succeeding the Air M3 that launched about a year prior. But how does this brand new laptop compare to the first Apple Silicon-powered MacBook Air 13-inch M1 that debuted in 2020?

Despite quite a jump in generations between the Air M1 and Air M4, the laptops share a surprising number of similarities. Both offer fantastic battery life, a movie-buff-worthy display, and a lightweight, thin profile sought after by commuters and students.

Where these two laptops differ the most, and what'll likely influence your decision to stick with your Air M1 or upgrade to a new Air M4, is in performance capabilities. The Air M4 boasts significant performance improvements compared to the Air M1, making it a no-brainer for first-time MacBook Air buyers and a smart upgrade pick for current Air M1 users.

That said, I'll dive into each of the most important deciding factors in detail and use Laptop Mag's testing and reviews to ultimately help you figure out whether you should hang onto your MacBook Air 13-inch M1 or make the leap to an Air M4 model.

See also: Asus Zenbook 14 UX3405 vs. Apple MacBook Air 13-inch M4

Apple MacBook Air 13-inch M4 vs. MacBook Air 13-inch M1: Pricing and configuration

The M4 MacBook Air lineup debuted with a $100 price cut for every configuration, an impressive choice from Apple among rising prices in 2025. This brings the starting price of an M4 MacBook Air down to $999, a first since the M1 MacBook Air in 2020.

For that $999 starting price, the 13-inch M4 MacBook Air features an M4 processor with a 10-core CPU and an 8-core CPU, 16GB of RAM, 256GB of SSD storage, and a 13.6-inch, 2,560 x 1,664-pixel Liquid Retina display. In our 13-inch M4 MacBook Air review, the test model came equipped with 512GB of SSD storage and a 10-core GPU for $1,199.

Apple first launched the M1 MacBook Air at $999 in 2020, packed with an M1 processor with an 8-core CPU and a 7-core GPU, 8GB of RAM, 256GB of SSD storage, and a 13.3-inch, 2560 x 1660-pixel Retina display. Our M1 MacBook Air review unit featured an 8-core GPU and increased the RAM to 16GB and the storage to 1TB, upping the starting price to $1,649.

Comparing these two laptops at their original starting price, the M4 MacBook Air is a much better value for the specs you get in return. That said, if you can find a new M1 MacBook Air, which is currently only available at Walmart, you can snag it for $999.

As I write this, the 13-inch M4 MacBook Air is available via Amazon at just $949, giving you a $50 discount. If you qualify to shop at Apple's Education Store, you can grab $100 off the price of any configuration of the Air M4. Then, a new 13-inch M1 MacBook Air via Walmart is $649, discounted from $699.

The M1 MacBook Air is a better value than most other laptops priced at $649, but the M4 MacBook Air is a much better buy for those looking for a new laptop, even at $300 more. And if you're looking to upgrade your M1 MacBook Air to a newer model, the M4 model is an obvious pick over the M2 or M3 models.

Winner: Apple MacBook Air 13-inch M4

Apple M4 MacBook Air 13": was $999 now $949 at Amazon

The verdict: The Apple MacBook Air 13-inch M4 sets a new standard for laptop value by lowering its price while raising the bar on performance and adding a class-leading webcam. (Read the full review.)

Price check: $999 at Best Buy and $949 at B&H

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Apple M1 MacBook Air 13": was $699 now $649 at Walmart

The verdict: The M1 MacBook Air is a successful first attempt at showing what Apple's proprietary silicon chip can do. It promises fast performance, long battery life, and a slim unibody design — all at an incredibly affordable pricepoint. (Read the full review.)

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Apple MacBook Air 13-inch M4 vs. MacBook Air 13-inch M1: Battery life

Since Apple made the decision to transition from Intel chips to its own Apple Silicon chips, the MacBook Air has been one of the laptops with the best battery life. This is true whether you have a first-gen M1 MacBook Air or a current-gen M4 MacBook Air.

All the laptops Laptop Mag reviews go through the same battery life test, which involves continuous web surfing over Wi-Fi at 150 nits brightness. On this test, the Air M4 lasted an impressive 15 hours and 42 minutes, outlasting the Air M1 (14:41) by about an hour.

The Air M4 is clearly the longer-lasting winner here, but with just an hour separating the two laptops, overall battery life shouldn't affect your buying decision.

Winner: Apple MacBook Air 13-inch M4

Apple MacBook Air 13-inch M4 vs. MacBook Air 13-inch M1: Display

Although the display tests we ran on the MacBook Air 13-inch M4 differed slightly from the tests we performed on the MacBook Air 13-inch M1, one thing is clear: the Air M4 has a better display.

The Air M1 features a 13.3-inch, 2560 x 1660 Retina display that's LED-backlit, while the Air M4 is equipped with a slightly larger 13.6-inch, 2560 X 1664 Liquid Retina LCD display.

Both displays feature a 60Hz refresh rate and extremely similar DCI-P3 color gamut percentage scores. When it comes to brightness, the Air M4 averages about 100 nits extra brightness than the Air M1.

Winner: Apple MacBook Air 13-inch M4

Apple MacBook Air 13-inch M4 vs. MacBook Air 13-inch M1: Performance and heat

There's no denying the MacBook Air 13-inch M1 is a powerful laptop, especially when you consider it's five years old at this point and much more impressive than other laptops at its low price. On the Geekbench 5.2 overall performance benchmark, the Air M1 delivered a multi-core score of 5,962, outperforming all other laptops at the time of testing in 2020.

Alternatively, the MacBook Air 13-inch M4 produced a multi-core score of 14,849, though this is using the new Geekbench 6 overall performance benchmark. Taking a look at modern Geekbench 6 scores for the Air M1, the laptop earns an average multi-core score of 8,356, putting it closer to (yet still quite far away from) the Air M4's performance capabilities.

Based on the recent Geekbench 6 scores we can find for the Air M1 and the score our Air M4 review unit delivered, the MacBook Air 13-inch M4 outperforms the Air M1 by about 78%.

If performance benchmarks alone aren't enough to convince you the Air M4 is a powerhouse compared to the Air M1, let's take a look at real-world usage.

On the Handbrake conversion test, which measures how quickly a laptop can convert a 4K video to 1080p, the Air M4 completed the task in just 5 minutes and 40 seconds, shaving just over 3.5 minutes off the Air M1's time of 09:15.

Despite the Air M4's winning performance scores and its fanless chassis design, it doesn't get too hot. After 15 minutes of video playback, the Air M4 reached only 85.2 degrees at its hottest point, well below our comfort threshold of 95 degrees.

Comparatively, the Air M1 topped out at 84 degrees, which is lower yet slightly less impressive than the Air M4's temperature regulation because it's a much less powerful laptop.

Winner: Apple MacBook Air 13-inch M4

Apple MacBook Air 13-inch M4 vs. MacBook Air 13-inch M1: Should you upgrade?

If your MacBook Air 13-inch M1 has been giving you issues, from slow loading times to decreasing battery life and hot performance under pressure, the MacBook Air 13-inch M4 is absolutely worth upgrading to.

For those who have held out this long without upgrading, you made a great decision, because upgrading to the Air M4 now is a better choice than it would have been to upgrade to the Air M3 a year ago. That's simply because Apple is giving its customers better specs for less money, something no one had on their 2025 bingo card.

Of course, if your Air M1 is still performing well for your current needs, keep it for a little longer! You might as well squeeze all you can out of an old laptop before splurging on a new one. Who knows, it might end up lasting until the Air M5 inevitably launches in early 2026.

This guide is designed to help those who currently have an Air M1 and are trying to decide whether to upgrade to an Air M4, but if you've stumbled across this looking for guidance on buying a new Air M1, for which stock is dwindling, or a new Air M4, here's my advice.

If you have a strict budget and only plan to use your laptop for very basic tasks, the Air M1 is a great starter laptop. However, if you know you're going to have the laptop for years, I'd recommend spending the extra $300 upfront for an Air M4 as it's a significantly better value overall and way more future-proof.