I thought I had this figured out. I was making a hard-headed decision to buy a refurbed M1 MacBook Air with 16GB RAM for half the price of a new M4 one, for reasons I’ll explain in a moment. But, ironically,

MacBook Air with M1 chip is a powerhouse, and now it’s just $514.99 (reg. $1,499). Apple has a habit of setting the gold standard for laptops, and the 2020 MacBook Air with the M1 chip is no exception.

Here are 7 upgrades the MacBook Air M4 offers over the MacBook Air M1. The most obvious upgrade between the laptops is their respective designs. The MacBook Air M4, like its M3 and M2-powered predecessors, features a sleek and minimalist square design. In contrast, the M1 Air’s once-inconic tapered design now appears ancient.