I received my new MacBook Air on Friday, and finished migrating my configuration to it a few hours later. This 2025 model replaces the 2020 version I’ve been using happily as my primary ‘browsing’ computer. And so far at least I’m happy with the upgrade.
The new MacBook Air is clearly faster (about 20 times faster than my old Intel based Air if you believe Apple) and has a few nice improvements like a better camera. But mostly I’m just happy to be ‘safe’ from obsolescence for another five or six years.
What I got
My new 2025 Air is powered by Apple’s own M4 CPU with ten cores each for the CPU and GPU. I selected 24 gigabytes of RAM and a one terabyte SSD for the memory and storage configuration. The colour I picked is the almost-black ‘Midnight’.
The main thing that is different versus my old machine is the processor. My previous Air was an early 2020 model with an Intel CPU. The latest M4 chips are ‘up to 23 times faster’ than the Intel equipped models… according to Apple. More on that in a bit. I also selected a bit more memory than I had before: 24 GB up from 16 GB on my previous machine.
The display is also supposedly somewhat of an upgrade, sporting the ‘Liquid Retina’ technology which was introduced a couple of years ago. Liquid Retina as I understand it introduces a more advanced ‘micro LED’ backlighting system which is brighter and supports more precise screen brightness assignments. I can say that it is quite sharp, but then so was the previous display. To my eyes it is not much different than my five year old model, but then I’m not doing anything currently to specifically demonstrate the new capabilities.
The newer machine also increases the camera resolution versus my 2020 model from about 2 megapixels to 12 megapixels. Similarly there is some new magic included regarding how the microphones work, but that probably won’t be obvious to me until or unless I use the machine for video conferencing / FaceTime.
Initial observations
There are some small changes right out of the box that I appreciate. The new ‘Midnight’ colour looks pretty good, and Apple has done some things to change the shape of the Air in the past five years. Some of the subtle external curves in the older machine are gone: so far I like the way the more ‘angular’ machine feels when I hold it.
I also notice that the keyboard layout and feel has been slightly changed. The function keys are slightly larger, and the ‘fingerprint scan’ key is more obvious. Keypresses are ever-so-slightly more tactile, which I personally like. The key spacing and sizes are close enough that I haven’t suffered any touch typing indignities. I think the touchpad may be better at ignoring errant palm touches during typing, but that may just be my imagination.
More functionally, I can clearly see the speed improvement the M4 processor brings. Apple’s claim of ‘up to 23 times faster’ appears to only apply to pretty specific work loads, but overall the machine feels much faster just based on my usual interactions. Applications like Mail, Safari, and 1Password launch almost instantly on the new machine versus five or ten seconds on the old 2020 Air. I also ran GeekBench6 benchmarks and captured the results in the table below.
| Model | CPU | GPU (OpenCL) |
|---|---|---|
| MacBook Air M4 (2025; 10 cores) | 3734 single core; 14809 multi | 34879 |
| MacBook Air i5 Intel (2020; 4 cores) | 1257 single core; 3241 multi | 5561 |
One thing I do fairly regularly is apply ‘AI enhanced’ edits like image resizing, background removal, and the like with Pixelmator Pro. On the older Intel MacBook this could take 20 or 30 seconds, whereas on the new machine the same tasks complete in one or two seconds. Reading the article linked above about Apple’s ’23 times faster’ claim I see that they were specifically referencing Pixelmator Pro: how’s that for a coincidence.
Processor architecture problems
One small ‘hiccup’ I encountered involved 1Password version 8.1- the program I use as a database for managing my passwords. I was prompted to install the ‘Rosetta’ compatibility layer when I launched the app after migrating over to my new Mac. This implied that 1Password wasn’t actually ‘compatible’ with the Apple silicon M-series processors.
The truth was a bit more subtle. For whatever reason, 1Password isn’t distributing their app container with ‘bundled’ binaries that support both CPU architectures. Instead, they install different binaries during the installation process. The way to ‘fix’ the problem is to uninstall 1Password and re-install it, causing the correct M-series architecture binaries to be installed.
I found the guidance to correct this problem in an older document from back in 2020 on 1Password’s site. But bundling both binaries in the app file should be normal practice here in 2025 at least based on my understanding. None of my other migrated apps that I’ve tested thus far have had this problem, indicating that most apps do in fact include both Intel and M-series binaries in the app container. I don’t know why 1Password isn’t doing this yet, but it is an easy enough problem to correct via re-installation.
Wrap up
I try to follow a regular pattern of waiting approximately five years between upgrades for my Apple gear. My observation is that this avoids obsolescence and breakdowns due to mechanical wear and tear. Apple has a pretty good track record of keeping everything ‘supported’ and compatible over durations of about five years. The delay is also a long enough span that, when I do upgrade, I get a big ‘jump’ in capabilities.
I should also say that chasing the ‘latest and greatest’ by upgrading every time Apple ships something new is a very expensive pastime. I got into a pattern like that with Windows gaming PCs, and it was a merry-go-round I’m glad I got off of.
I upgraded my main ‘desktop’ machine earlier this year and now my laptop is ‘current’ technology as well. This means that my five year Apple refresh is nearing completion- I just need a new iPhone to complete the cycle. The improvements from both computer upgrades are pretty obvious and generally make me smile.
In more general terms the new 2025 MacBook Air seems like a great machine to consider for basic portable computing. It is ideal for me as my ‘second’ computer which, curiously, is usually the one I use the most.
