【eroticized】

Apple's new M4 MacBook Air is eroticizedhere, with a new chip, new price, and a new color on offer. I took it for a quick spin.

Apple sent me the 15-inch variant of the new MacBook Air in the new "sky blue" color, with an M4 chip, 16GB of memory, and 1TB of storage space. I haven't yet spent enough time with it to tell you whether it's a good purchase, but I can say one thing: The sky blue color will only shine in a certain light.

So, so subtle.

Pulling the new Air out of its box, I thought there must've been a mistake, as the thing seemed gray to my eyes. Only after a direct comparison with my 16-inch, silver MacBook Pro was I able to determine that the device Apple sent me indeed has a blue hue to it.

---

You May Also Like

---

---

Lighter, slimmer, and slightly more colorful than a silver, 16-inch MacBook Pro. Credit: Stan Schroeder/Mashable

In its marketing materials, Apple did say that the Air "creates a dynamic gradient when light reflects off of its surface," and it does, but you do need that light to see it. In other words, don't expect people to notice your new fancy Air unless it's basking in sunlight. Oh, and if you wondered, the MagSafe charge cable you get with it is color-matched.

SEE ALSO: Apple’s new M3 MacBook Air is $300 off at Amazon. And yes, I’m tempted.

Enough about the color (the new Air is also available in midnight, starlight, and silver). The new Air, as I expected, was incredibly sleek and light next to my massive MacBook Pro. With a 15-inch LED display and at 2.7 pounds of weight, it's definitely not a small laptop, but I feel it still deserves the "Air" moniker, if only barely.

Mashable Light Speed Want more out-of-this world tech, space and science stories? Sign up for Mashable's weekly Light Speed newsletter. By clicking Sign Me Up, you confirm you are 16+ and agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Thanks for signing up!

What else is new?

This year's MacBook Air seems to be about refinement. It looks and weighs the same as the last one, but it has the new, faster M4 chip, it starts with more RAM (16GB), it has a much-needed, upgraded 12-megapixel FaceTime camera, and it starts at $999 (down from $1,099) That's for the 13-inch variant, though; the 15-incher that I've tested starts at $1,199.

You get a matching MagSafe charge cable in the box. Credit: Stan Schroeder/Mashable

That's actually quite a lot of improvements, and while I didn't have time to truly put the new M4 chip to the test, the new Air seems to be a no brainer if you're looking for a sleek, portable Apple laptop.

Sure, the display doesn't get as bright as the one on my Pro, but having them both side by side right now, both on maximum brightness, I'm not really noticing that much of a difference. The fact that the Air's display only supports 60Hz refresh rate while the Pro goes up to 120Hz is noticeable when things are moving on screen.

No USB-C ports on the right side; you only get a 3.5mm headphone jack there. Credit: Stan Schroeder/Mashable

And yes, the Air could definitely use more ports. It only has the MagSafe port (if you wondered, the charinge cable you get with it is color-matched), two Thunderbolt 4 ports, and a 3.5mm headphone jack. This could be of particular importance if you plan to use the new Air with two external monitors, which you now can -- those two Thunderbolt ports probably won't cut it for all your needs.

Stay tuned for a more thorough assessment of whether the new Air is worth your money. For now, though, it appears to be a winner.

Topics Apple MacBook

• Games
• Shopping
• Digital Culture
• Social Good
• Tech
• Life
• Science
• Deals

• Then and Now: Six Generations of $200 Mainstream Radeon GPUs Compared
• I'm a college writing professor. Here's how I teach my students to use AI
• How to unblock Pornhub for free in Virginia
• A NASA Mars rover looked up at a moody sky. What it saw wasn't a star.
• The Best CPU & GPU Purchases of 2017
• Why Game Developers Keep Getting Laid Off
• A Steve Ballmer Story That Helps Explain Microsoft
• Steam Refunds: Friend or Foe?
• Best Soundcore by Anker Space A40 earbuds deal: Save $35 at Amazon
• NYT mini crossword answers for May 20, 2025

• NASA's Ingenuity helicopter poses for glamor shot on the Mars surface
• Lunii My Fabulous Storyteller Review: An interactive story speaker
• 'Godzilla vs. Kong' posts pandemic
• 150,000 handpainted hearts on memorial wall represent each life lost to COVID in the UK
• Bees invade a motorbike and it's truly unbeelievable. (Sorry.)
• A timeline of whatever the hell is happening between Justin Bieber and Selena Gomez
• Twitter's search tool is blocking photo searches of 'bisexual'
• Bath bomb destruction videos are a satisfying way to waste time
• I'm polyamorous, and Facebook doesn't think my sexuality exists
• Lil Nas X's 'Satan Shoes' will be recalled in settled lawsuit with Nike

• CES 2025: Hands
• NYT Connections Sports Edition hints and answers for May 20: Tips to solve Connections #239
• Kérastase's K
• The 12 Best Games on PC
• NYT mini crossword answers for December 20
• Nintendo raises Switch 2 sales forecast to 20 million units
• Steam Refunds: Friend or Foe?
• Agentic AI: What is it and why are people talking about it?
• Touring Logitech's Audio HQ
• Google I/O 2025 keynotes: How to watch live

• NYT Connections hints and answers for February 1: Tips to solve 'Connections' #601.
• Where to Watch Free Movies and TV Online
• Secure Email and Cloud Alternatives to Gmail and Dropbox
• Touring Logitech's Audio HQ
• How to make a hook in a TikTok video
• An Android User's Perspective: Two Weeks with the iPhone 6s, Part 2
• The Best Skyrim Mods
• Best earbuds deal: Save $30 on Soundcore C40i earbuds
• Greenpeace activists charged after unfurling 'Resist' banner at Trump Tower in Chicago
• Fire TV vs. Roku vs. Chromecast: Between a set