It has been a massive year for Apple silicon. With the entire portable Mac lineup now transitioned to the M4 family of chips, the dust has finally settled. If you are reading this in December 2025, you are likely seeing holiday deals and wondering: Is the M4 MacBook actually worth the hype?
From the ultra-thin Air to the powerhouse Pro, here is the definitive "State of the Mac" news round-up for the M4 generation.
The Heart of the Machine: The M4 Chip
At the core of the new lineup is the M4 chip, built on the second-generation 3-nanometer process. While the jump from M1 to M2 was about efficiency, and M3 was about graphics, the M4 is unapologetically about AI and raw throughput.
Neural Engine: The new 16-core Neural Engine is capable of 38 trillion operations per second. With Apple Intelligence features now fully matured in macOS Sequoia, this speed difference is noticeable in daily tasks like localized voice dictation and image generation.
Gaming: Hardware-accelerated ray tracing is now standard across the board, making gaming on a MacBook Air genuinely viable for the first time.
MacBook Air M4: The Crowd Favorite (Released March 2025)
The M4 MacBook Air (13-inch and 15-inch) remains the best laptop for 90% of people. Apple fixed the biggest complaint of previous generations: the base model now starts with 16GB of RAM.
Top Features:
Dual Display Support: Finally, you can connect two external displays (with the laptop lid closed). This was a massive missing feature in the M1/M2 eras.
New Colors: The new Sky Blue finish has been a huge hit, replacing the fingerprint-prone Midnight for many buyers.
Price Drop: In a surprising holiday move, we’ve seen the 13-inch M4 Air hit record lows around $749 this week at major retailers, making it an absolute steal.
MacBook Pro M4: The Professional's Weapon
For those who need sustained power, the MacBook Pro (14-inch and 16-inch) updated with M4, M4 Pro, and M4 Max chips is a beast.
What’s New & Noteworthy:
Battery Life King: The 16-inch model is clocking nearly 24 hours of video playback. It is virtually impossible to kill this battery in a single work day.
Thunderbolt 5: If you opt for the M4 Pro or Max chips, you get Thunderbolt 5 speeds (up to 120 Gb/s), a future-proofing feature for video editors with massive external arrays.
Nano-Texture Display: The optional matte screen coating (previously an expensive iMac exclusive) is now available on the MacBook Pro, drastically reducing glare for outdoor workers.
Verdict: Should You Buy Now?
If you are still holding onto an Intel MacBook or even an M1 Air, the leap to M4 is now massive.
The Sweet Spot: The 13-inch MacBook Air M4 with 16GB RAM / 512GB SSD. It handles everything from heavy web browsing to 4K video editing without a fan.
The Power Play: The 14-inch MacBook Pro with M4 Pro. It offers the best balance of portability and desktop-class power.
Final thought: With M5 rumors already swirling for 2026, the M4 lineup has reached a level of maturity that makes it a "safe" buy. These machines are powerful enough to last easily until 2030.