Apple MacBook Air 13-inch (M4): The Best Laptop of 2025
This year has seen some excellent laptops, but it seemed almost inevitable that the MacBook Air 13-inch (M4) would be our choice for the overall best laptop of 2025 in the TechRadar Choice Awards 2025.
Why It Stands Out
Despite fierce competition from the likes of Microsoft and Dell, the MacBook Air 13-inch (M4) feels like a culmination of Apple’s remarkable journey since the launch of its first computing chip, the M1, in 2020. Each subsequent generation has improved upon the M1’s exceptional balance of performance and efficiency, setting the stage for the powerful M4 chip in this latest model.
Launched earlier this year, the MacBook Air achieves a potent blend of quick speeds and long battery life. The laptop’s stunning thin and light design, complemented by Apple’s renowned build quality, makes it a top choice for consumers and TechRadar alike. With a competitive price point, the award for best laptop was an easy decision.
A Perfect Marriage of Performance and Efficiency
(Image credit: Future)
The MacBook Air 13-inch (M4) impresses with its performance while maintaining excellent power efficiency. This is increasingly important in today’s context of soaring utility bills, making the laptop an enticing option for everyday users.
The power-efficient M4 chip ensures enough strength to easily handle day-to-day tasks, along with more resource-intensive activities like video editing. Its design also leads to less electrical power consumption, resulting in exceptional battery life—an outstanding 14 hours and 51 minutes during web browsing. Some activities, such as video watching, extend this life even further.
Many rivals that offer matching performance levels often come with significantly shorter battery lives. Additionally, the M4 chip generates less heat, allowing Apple to eliminate built-in fans, keeping the MacBook Air silent during operation.
An excellent feature of the MacBook Air is that it doesn’t throttle performance when running on battery power, unlike many other laptops, giving users sustained performance whether plugged in or not. This flexibility is a significant advantage for mobile users.
Other Features We Love
(Image credit: Future / Lance Ulanoff)
The MacBook Air 13-inch (M4) boasts a thin and light design, continuing the aesthetic evolution that began with a significant redesign in 2022. This newer model features a larger screen, thinner bezels, and an improved webcam, all contributing to a modern and enticing look.
In terms of display, the 13.6-inch Liquid Retina screen offers a 2560 x 1664 resolution with 500 nits of sustained brightness, setting a high standard compared to other laptops around this price range. The keyboard is also user-friendly, providing an excellent typing experience.
Launched at an attractive price of $999 / £999 / AU$1,699, the MacBook Air 13-inch (M4) represents outstanding value for its capabilities. As such, it clinched TechRadar’s best value award for the year. It’s hard to find another laptop that combines such performance, battery timeliness, and design quality at this price.
While the 13-inch version dominates headlines, the MacBook Air 15-inch (M4) provides a fantastic alternative, especially for users seeking a larger screen. Although it is less portable and commands a slightly higher price, it offers all the same foundational advantages as its smaller counterpart.
Ultimately, regardless of which size you choose, the M4 MacBook Air is a deserving winner of our Laptop of the Year 2025 award.
For an in-depth look at this remarkable laptop, check out the full review Here.
Image Credit: www.techradar.com
