Apple Launches MacBook Air With M4 Chip, Updates Mac Studio for Apple Intelligence

Apple has launched a new MacBook Air, powered by the M4 chip that debuted last year on the iPad Pro and gradually made its way to the MacBook Pro and iPad Air. The new M4 chip is claimed to offer twice as fast performance as the M1-powered MacBook Air, but it can deliver up to 23x faster performance when compared with an Intel-based MacBook Air. On the other hand, the new Mac Studio comes in M4 and a new M3 Ultra variants, both offering performance suitable for intense workloads.

MacBook Air M4

The new MacBook Air also has a new sky blue colour option, but, more importantly, a lower price tag. Apple has reduced the price of the base model of the MacBook Air with the new model, making it more affordable amid concerns about recent hikes in Apple's most affordable laptop.

MacBook Air M4 starts at ₹99,900 for the 13-inch model, while the 15-inch model is priced starting at ₹1,24,900. For education customers (students and teachers with a valid ID), these models start at ₹89,900 and ₹1,14,900, respectively. It is now up for pre-orders and will be available from March 12 through Apple Stores and authorised resellers, such as Flipkart and Amazon .

The M4 chip has further configurations: the entry-level model has a 10-core CPU, 8-core GPU, and 16GB of unified memory, along with 256GB of base storage; the top model has a 10-core CPU, a 10-core GPU, 32GB of unified memory with 2TB of storage. The new chip, Apple claims, is two times faster than the M1-powered MacBook Air. The Neural Engine in the M4 chip is said to be up to 3x faster than the one on the MacBook Air with M1.

With expanded support for Apple Intelligence, the MacBook Air M4 can be “even more helpful and powerful.” It has a 12MP Center Stage camera with improved video quality — the same as the one on the MacBook Pro. The MacBook Air M4 also supports up to two external displays with the built-in display still open.

Mac Studio M4 Max and M3 Ultra

The Mac Studio has received an overhaul after more than one and a half years. The new model comes in two configurations: an M4 Max version and an M3 Ultra model. Apple claims while the M4 Max model is up to 3.5x faster than the M1 model, featuring between 14 to 16 CPU cores and 32 to 40 cores GPU, the M3 Ultra model has “50 per cent more” performance cores than “any previous Ultra chip.” It has up to 32 cores with 24 performance cores, paired with a GPU with 60 to 80 cores.

While the M4 Max model comes with a base RAM of 36GB, but can go up to 128GB for ultimate performance. It has 512GB as the base for SSD storage, going all the way up to 8TB. On the other hand, the M3 Ultra model starts with 96GB and goes to a whopping 512GB of unified memory — enough to run foundational models locally. The internal storage starts at 1TB with an option of as high as 16TB.

The Mac Studio starts at ₹2,14,900 for regular customers and ₹1,94,900 for education customers. It will be available from March 12 in India through Apple Store locations and Apple Authorised Resellers.

Read more: Apple's New iPad Has New Chip, More Memory But Lacks Important Feature