MacBook Air: When to buy? Which model?

Buy what you want when you want it. The situation of something better coming soon has been, and always will be the case.

It all depends on what you want to use it for. If you plan on a, say, lot of video editing and semi-pro production then give more detail and you'll get good advice around these parts.

If you're just doing some browsing, writing that book, listening to music with the odd bit of video and photo editing then any Mac will do. That's more or less my case and the ultimate deciders for me were physical - magsafe, number of USBs, memory card slot - not CPU, RAM, SSD and suchlike. I upgraded RAM one notch (8 to 16) and SSD to 1TB and it's suited me fine. If you can afford it then adding RAM is always a good thing and the best future-proofing you can do. If you run out of SSD in the future then you can always add storage, albeit in the form of inconvenient external drive or NAS, but you can never add RAM. Note that I have no interest in AI and I don't know what impact that would have on the choice.

Give us an idea of what you're going to be mostly using it for (what software you use, do you want to travel with it, what peripherals you plug in) and I'm sure you'll get some useful advice.

“When should I buy a MacBook Air? When you need or want a MacBook Air.

Which one? Buy the latest model or if you are constrained by budget, select a refurbished model from Apple’s website.

No matter which model you purchase, there will be a newer model released. The capabilities of your unit will not diminish with the release of a newer version.

dwb wrote:

When someone posts that they are hesitant to purchase a new computer because they fear Apple will release a new model soon after I’m reminded of a former boss. He asked me for advice and we went computer shopping one weekend. He decided to wait. Four years later he still hadn’t bought a computer because he knew a new model would soon be released. What a waste of time and lost opportunity!

Wow! Funny, but sad.

My feeling is that, for the vast majority of people, it doesn't matter that much. Most computers will work just fine. I can't count the number of times people have said in posts here, "I need a really powerful computer. Which one should I buy?" Then, when people ask what they plan on using it for, they say, "Emails, word processing, web browsing, streaming some movies." People get stuck on the idea that faster, bigger, and newer means it is a de facto better choice. A couple of years ago, I needed a new computer in something of a hurry. I bought the base model MBA. Was it perfect? No, but it did fine for a year while I saved up for the MBP I really wanted. And, of course, that dream MBP is now no longer anywhere near the latest model.

There will always be newer better models coming. no company is going to sit and wait 5 years between new products. They stay relevant by releasing devices in cycles. There will always be something newer and better coming after you buy something.

So the answer is, buy something when you need it. not because nothing else is coming and you'll be at the top of the food chain with it. It's not about being able to gloat, it's about buying something that will serve you regardless of if its the shiniest, newest thing that was put out.

Wirth that said, for the last several years Apple has released MacBook Airs in March, so if you buy it now, you have almost a full year before a new MacBook Air is released.

Other computers, like MacBook Pros, probably desktop iMacs, Mac Studios and Mac minis etc... can and likely will get released between now and the nest MacBook Air though.

The best way I've found for "future-proofing" our tech purchases is to up-order storage. We bought an M4 iMac and M4 Pro Macbook Pro 14" a year ago and up-ordered both with the optional 1TB of storage. We keep our Macs a long time and that policy has proved effective.

Those had at base 16GB and 24GB RAM respectively, and we felt that was adequate for what we do. If you are doing "pro" apps, you'll probably want to up-order RAM as well. Remember—you cannot get more than 8GB RAM in a NEO at this time.

When someone posts that they are hesitant to purchase a new computer because they fear Apple will release a new model soon after I’m reminded of a former boss. He asked me for advice and we went computer shopping one weekend. He decided to wait. Four years later he still hadn’t bought a computer because he knew a new model would soon be released. What a waste of time and lost opportunity! When should you buy? When you need a new computer. (Or if you are made of money, when you want a new computer)

I hope you understand that it’s not only Apple. ALL PC manufacturers release new models on a regular basis. Waiting to jump in is an exercise in futility. Of course a new model will be announced after you buy. So you can either sit back and wait forever for the right time or buy what you want when you want it as my colleagues have pointed out.

Since the M5 MacBook Air just came out, it is very unlikely that an M6 will come out in a few months.

As others have said, if you want or need a new machine now, buy it now. There will always be something newer at some time in the future but will it be earth shatteringly better than the one you buy today, not likely.

gulmatan wrote:

But, here's the hitch: as I stated earlier, it seem that a new Apple device comes out every year. So, it seems inevitable that a few months after I pick up a MB Air M4 or M5, Apple will come out with an M6.

If you wait for technology to stop evolving, you will be waiting forever.

Apple released 14" MacBook Pros with plain M5 chips in October 2025 - about half a year ago. They released 13" and 15" M5 MacBook Airs, and 14" and 16" MacBook Pros with M4 Pro and M4 Max chips just this month.

So, if you are looking to buy a MacBook Air or MacBook Pro at the beginning of an update cycle, now is the time to buy a M5-series one. The M4-series machines are not exactly "chopped liver", but they are also older models that date from November 2024 (M4-series MacBook Pros) or March 2025 (M4 MacBook Airs).

The Neo runs full macOS Tahoe, it will run the same versions of Pages and Numbers as the MacBook Airs.

It's still not as robust as an M4 or M5 MacBook Air though.

But that was not the question you asked originally. you asked "When should I buy a MacBook Air? Which one?"

"When" has been answered.

Which one will depend on your budget. I bought the M4 in November knowing full well an M5 was likely to be released this year, but the Cyber Monday deal on Amazon was too good to pass up.

If the decision is between the MacBook Neo and the MacBook Air, and you want some longevity out of it, go for the MacBook Air even though it's considerably more expensive than the Neo.

If you foresee upgrading it within the next 3 to 5 years to something else and all you need it for is Pages, Numbers, email and web browsing now, the Neo should work fine. But with 8GB of non upgradable RAM, longevity will be the main issue to contend with.

gulmatan wrote:

Network Attached Storage… fascinting.

And that means having external storage that is accessible over a network, not physically plugged into your computer. Many people use a NAS so everyone in the household can access the files stored on it, or be used to backup data from multiple devices, i.e. a house full of teenagers and their Macs, iPads, iPhones. iPods.