Brief Summary
Eileen unboxes and shares her first impressions of the new M4 MacBook Air in sky blue. She highlights the upgraded specs, including 16GB of RAM, the M4 chip, and a lowered price of $999. She compares it to her older MacBook Pro, discussing its lightweight design and performance in tasks like photo and video editing. Overall, she finds it to be a great value for those seeking portability and efficiency.
- Upgraded specs: 16GB RAM, M4 chip
- Lightweight and portable design
- Good performance for photo editing
- Capable of light video editing
- Great value for the price
Intro and Unboxing
Eileen introduces the unboxing of the new M4 MacBook Air in sky blue, noting it was refreshed in Spring 2025 with upgraded M4 chips. She expresses her excitement to open it and share her first impressions. She mentions getting it from the Apple store and appreciates the bag, which she rarely receives.
Exterior and Specs
Eileen discusses the specs listed on the back of the box, highlighting the upgrade to 16GB of RAM for the base model, a significant increase from the previous 8GB. She emphasizes that the price has been lowered by $100, making it $999, the cheapest since 2020. She expresses pleasant surprise at Apple for lowering the price while improving the RAM. Eileen clarifies she purchased the base model 13-inch version with 16GB of RAM and 256GB of storage to test its power.
Unboxing Experience
Eileen proceeds to unseal and open the MacBook Air box, expressing her excitement for Mac products. Inside, she finds the MacBook, a braided blue cable matching the MacBook, instruction booklets, and a compact 30W charger. She notes the absence of stickers, which she finds disappointing.
First Look and Comparison
Eileen removes the MacBook Air, admiring its fresh appearance. Upon turning it on, she notes its light weight and the blue color, which appears more pronounced than in the store. She compares the blue color to her silver MacBook Pro 14-inch with an M1 chip, noting the subtle blue tint. She also highlights the significant weight difference between the Air and the Pro. Eileen explains that the Air lacks a fan, making it smaller and slightly less powerful, but the M4 chip's efficiency potentially rivals the Pro in many tasks.
First Impressions and Features
Eileen shares her initial impressions after using the M4 MacBook Air. She reiterates how incredibly light it is, contrasting it with the heavier MacBook Pro. She finds the keyboard slightly cramped, suggesting those with larger hands should test it in-store. The speakers are surprisingly loud. She misses having a Thunderbolt port on the right side for charging. A key improvement is the support for up to two simultaneous displays via the Thunderbolt 4 ports, which previous models couldn't do while open. She notes the absence of HDMI and SD card slots, common on the Pro, but acknowledges adapters can solve this.
Performance Tests: Lightroom and Premiere Pro
Eileen describes her tests using Lightroom and Adobe Premiere Pro. In Lightroom, she batch-edited 100 photos, finding it slow but stable, with the device getting warm but not excessively so. She suggests it's suitable for photographers due to its portability and performance. In Premiere Pro, she edited a 17-minute video with multiple layers and effects. Playback wasn't perfectly smooth, with some dropped frames, but it handled the task. The device got hot, but didn't thermally throttle. Export and render times were comparable to her M1 Pro, which is impressive given the price difference.
Additional Observations and Conclusion
Eileen notes the display felt a bit small initially but quickly adjusted. She found the color accuracy good, comparing it to her MacBook Pro. The camera quality is also good for calls. She appreciates the design and color. In conclusion, she believes the M4 MacBook Air is a great device for those wanting portability, efficiency, and a sleek design. The upgraded specs and lower price make it a good value. She thinks it will be a great device for many people.
