Don’t buy a MacBook Air – a new M4 version is tipped to land within weeks

A person holding the 15-inch MacBook Air at Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) in 2023.

(Image credit: Apple)

The M4 MacBook Air release date could be imminent
Apple Stores are getting ready and cutting stock of the M3 MacBook Air
The new laptop is expected to bring modest improvements

We’ve been hearing for months that Apple is going to launch a new MacBook Air with an M4 chip soon, and now it looks like the date is almost upon us. If you’ve been thinking about buying a MacBook Air, you’ll want to hold off for just a little longer.

That’s because Bloomberg reporter Mark Gurman has claimed in his Power On newsletter that Apple Stores are preparing for the new MacBook Air to arrive. His evidence for this? Inventory of the M3 MacBook Air is apparently being wound down at Apple Stores, meaning there will soon be fewer units of the current model available to buy.

This is usually a surefire sign that Apple is getting ready to launch a new device. After all, what’s the point in the company maintaining high stock levels of a product that will soon be superseded?

Hang on a little longer

Screenshots from WWDC 2022 — (Image credit: Apple)

All of this means that you probably shouldn’t buy a MacBook Air right now. If you do, you’ll end up with an M3 model that will quickly be surpassed by the M4 version.

As we’ve seen from the MacBook Pro and the iPad Pro, the M4 chip should be a decent upgrade over the M3, if not a groundbreaking one. In terms of performance, we’ll likely see some increased core counts, a more efficient Neural Engine, and improved memory bandwidth.

Other than the new chip, the M4 MacBook Air isn’t expected to include many other new features. The design will almost certainly stay the same, as will the speakers. And while Apple is working on an OLED MacBook Air, it’s still a few years away from release.

Still, the M4 MacBook Air is enough of an upgrade to make it worth waiting for. If you’ve been itching to pull the trigger on a new MacBook Air, you’d do well to hang on just a few more weeks.

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Alex Blake has been fooling around with computers since the early 1990s, and since that time he's learned a thing or two about tech. No more than two things, though. That's all his brain can hold. As well as TechRadar, Alex writes for iMore, Digital Trends and Creative Bloq, among others. He was previously commissioning editor at MacFormat magazine. That means he mostly covers the world of Apple and its latest products, but also Windows, computer peripherals, mobile apps, and much more beyond. When not writing, you can find him hiking the English countryside and gaming on his PC.