Apple quietly updates MacBook Air with one small change that'll save you £200 at checkout
While it didn't receive a new design or M4 chipset, Apple did quietly update the MacBook Air — saving you £200
APPLE PRESS OFFICE
As promised, it was a blockbuster week for fans of the Mac — with the introduction of a colourful new iMac, upgraded MacBook Pro, and an unrecognisable Mac mini with a price cut. These machines all arrive with the brand-new M4-series of chipsets from Apple, which offer faster performance, optimisations for Artificial Intelligence (AI) features, and improved efficiencies for bolstered battery life.
But what about the MacBook Air — the best-selling Mac in Apple's lineup?
Well, the Californian company introduced new 13-inch and 15-inch models of this best-selling laptop earlier in the year, so it would be a little quick for these to already be scrapped and replaced with a newer variant. But that doesn't mean Apple hasn't upgraded these laptops at all.
A range of new Writing Tools, powered by Apple Intelligence, will help you summarise, proof-read, and rewrite everything on your Mac in a variety of tones APPLE PRESS OFFICE In the flurry of other announcements, Apple quietly upgraded all MacBook Air models to include 16GB of RAM as standard, without increasing prices. This significant boost applies to both the 13-inch and 15-inch MacBook Air models with M2 and M3 chips.
Until now, Apple charged £200 to upgrade to 16GB from the previous baseline of 8GB — the same amount found in the new iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Pro. So you can pocket the extra cash, or pay the same as you would have for a 16GB model and take delivery of a maxed-out 24GB model.
The move comes as Apple prepares to launch its Apple Intelligence features in the UK, which attempts to process as much as possible on-device to enhance privacy — but takes its toll on the memory built into your laptop or desktop PC. So, while the MacBook Air hasn't received a new design or the latest M4 chips this week, this memory upgrade should enhance performance when multitasking or executing AI-driven tasks.
The MacBook Air M2 still starts from £999, with the newer M3 model beginning at £1,099. The 15-inch M3 MacBook Air maintains its £1,299 starting price in the UK. Students can secure a £100 discount on all of those prices via the Education Store run by Apple.
The first Copilot Plus PCs from the in-house team at Microsoft was the Surface Pro and Surface Laptop 7th Edition, which started to ship to those who preordered back in mid-June and are now widely-available
MICROSOFT PRESS OFFICEThe company has not announced plans for an M4-powered MacBook Air, leaving room for speculation about future upgrades. Given that Apple unveiled the M3-equipped variant in March, we'd expect to see new M4 iterations of the best-selling laptop anytime from that date onwards.
For now, the 16GB RAM upgrade positions the MacBook Air as a more competitive option in the laptop market, especially for users interested in Apple's forthcoming AI features. It goes face-to-face with a swathe of new Windows 11 laptops equipped with chipsets from Qualcomm, the US manufacturer behind the silicon inside some of the biggest-selling Android smartphones, tablets, and VR headsets.
These ARM-based processors offer faster performance and longer battery life — something that Mac owners have already seen the benefit from, when Apple switched to its own M-branded silicon some four years ago. Branded Copilot+ PCs, these new machines from Microsoft, Lenovo, Samsung and others want to take the MacBook Air's crown as the best-selling laptop.
As such, that 8GB RAM bump from Apple — or £200 discount, if you want to see it that way — keeps its notebook competitive.
Outside of the RAM bump for new MacBook Air owners, Apple has unveiled a range of new Mac updates this week, all featuring 16GB of RAM as standard and the shiny new M4-series processors — the fourth-generation of custom-designed silicon for the Mac.
The new M4-powered iMac boasts a 12MP Centre Stage camera and comes in seven vibrant colours. It starts at £1,299 and offers up to 1.7x faster performance for daily tasks compared to its M1 predecessor.
The refreshed iMac starts from £1,299 with an Apple M4 system-on-a-chip with an 8-core CPU and GPU and 16GB of unified RAM. The first models will be available in-store on November 8 APPLE PRESS OFFICEThe redesigned Mac mini, now more compact at just 5 by 5 inches, introduces M4 and M4 Pro chips. It features front and back ports, including Thunderbolt 5 on the M4 Pro model.
Apple's new MacBook Pro lineup, powered by M4, M4 Pro, and M4 Max chips, introduces a space black finish and Thunderbolt 5 connectivity on Pro and Max models. It also includes an advanced 12MP Centre Stage camera.
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Elsewhere, Apple ditched its proprietary Lightning charging standard in favour of USB-C ports on its Magic Keyboard, Magic Mouse, and Magic Trackpad accessories, so you can use a single cable to charge your iPhone, Mac, accessories, AirPods, and other gadgets, like Kindle and Nintendo Switch. The push to USB-C, which Apple helped to design alongside other technology giants like Microsoft and Google, comes as a result of a new EU law that Prime Minister Keir Starmer is purportedly looking to implement in the UK.
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