We’re getting antsy for a more significant redesign, but the MacBook Air 15-inch remains Apple's best value in a big-screen laptop, thanks to a lower starting price, kicked-up CPU performance, and a boost in the base model's memory capacity.

Apple rarely offers you more for less, especially in its most popular products with the broadest appeal. It has perfected the measured, iterative year-over-year product cycle. But for the 13- and 15-inch M4 MacBook Airs, Apple has put new chips in its established design while shoring up the device’s biggest flaws and dropping the price by $100.

The smaller Air is the perfect student laptop, but once you're out of school you should graduate to the larger but still highly portable 15-inch model.