Unveiling the New MacBook Air: Apple Claims 23x Speed Boost Over Intel Models—What You Need to Know!

Apple has made a bold claim about its new MacBook Air featuring the M4 chip.

Apple claims the new MacBook Air is up to 23 times faster than the last Intel model. But there are a few important details to note.

For this comparison, Apple used a 2025 MacBook Air with a 10-core M4 chip and 32GB of RAM. They matched it against a 2020 MacBook Air with a quad-core Intel Core i7 and 16GB of RAM, both with a 2TB SSD. This means they compared the new model to the fastest Intel MacBook Air on the market.

Secondly, the speed is based on a specific task. Apple showcased a feature called Super Resolution in Pixelmator Pro. This tool enhances image resolution while maintaining detail. The 23x speed claim is tied to this particular use case.

Here’s what Apple stated in detail:

Testing conducted by Apple in January 2025 using preproduction 13-inch and 15-inch MacBook Air systems with Apple M4, 10-core CPU, 10-core GPU, and 32GB of RAM, as well as production 1.2GHz quad-core Intel Core i7-based MacBook Air systems with Intel Iris Plus Graphics and 16GB of RAM, all configured with 2TB SSD. Tested using Super Resolution with Pixelmator Pro 3.6.14 and a 4.4MB image. Performance tests are conducted using specific computer systems and reflect the approximate performance of MacBook Air.

How does the new model perform with other applications? Here’s a summary of Apple’s findings:

– Excel spreadsheets work up to 4.7 times faster than the best Intel-based model, and 1.6 times faster than the M1 MacBook Air.
– Video editing in iMovie is up to 8 times faster than the fastest Intel model and 2 times faster than the M1 version.
– Photo editing in Adobe Photoshop runs up to 3.6 times faster than the best Intel model and up to 2 times faster than the M1 MacBook Air.
– Web browsing is up to 60% faster compared to a PC laptop with an Intel Core Ultra 7 processor, with more demanding tasks seeing up to 2 times faster performance.

These comparisons seem more relatable for everyday tasks.

While the 23x claim may be a stretch, it’s evident that any MacBook Air with an M1 chip or newer is significantly faster than the Intel versions. If you’ve been considering an upgrade, now might be the perfect time.

The new MacBook Air is available for pre-order now and will ship starting Wednesday, March 12.