M4 Air Build Quality

[Ray2]

Note to buyers. It might be wise to go to a store and use the M4 Air before committing to buying one. We have had Air's in the family since the first one. Currently we have 2, the last Intel Air and an M1. My wife just purchased the M4. Very first impression is this is not Apple build quality. While it would be a stretch to call it flimsy, it's certainly not the milled out of a solid block of aluminum we're accustomed to. Tilting the screen feels cheap, picking it up makes me wonder how thin it might be. The keyboard is also sort of loose with imprecise feedback compared to the older models. Even the paint/coating (Midnight) seems uneven. Probably the way light hits it but not attractive in any respect. Shades of pure Tim Cooke, cheap is good, he can stuff more exec comp in his pocket.

It's going back today. Fortunately an Apple Store is right down the street. Will start looking for an earlier model refurb.

 

[russell_314]

Note to buyers. It might be wise to go to a store and use the M4 Air before committing to buying one. We have had Air's in the family since the first one. Currently we have 2, the last Intel Air and an M1. My wife just purchased the M4. Very first impression is this is not Apple build quality. While it would be a stretch to call it flimsy, it's certainly not the milled out of a solid block of aluminum we're accustomed to. Tilting the screen feels cheap, picking it up makes me wonder how thin it might be. The keyboard is also sort of loose with imprecise feedback compared to the older models. Even the paint/coating (Midnight) seems uneven. Probably the way light hits it but not attractive in any respect. Shades of pure Tim Cooke, cheap is good, he can stuff more exec comp in his pocket.

It's going back today. Fortunately an Apple Store is right down the street. Will start looking for an earlier model refurb.

I have an M2 Air and in theory should be exactly the same as the M4.

The quality feels good to me. The screen opens up without lifting the base. It doesn’t feel like it’s built like a tank out of solid aluminum or stainless steel though. It’s built to be lightweight so there are compromises on that. The screen doesn’t move or tilt when I’m using it. The keyboard feels fine to me, but I don’t have anything like a MacBook Pro to compare it to. It doesn’t flex when typing. The key travel is very short but I suspect that’s to make it thinner. I have the silver finish because it’s my favorite. To me the black finishes made it look like plastic, but that’s just my opinion.

Perhaps look into the MacBook Pro if you want something built a little bit more heavy. I suspect it feels sturdier than the Air.

 

[russell_314]

Note to buyers. It might be wise to go to a store and use the M4 Air before committing to buying one.

I forgot to include this in my original reply, but I totally agree with this for any Mac or even iPhone. It’s like if you read the specs the 14” MacBook Pro is about the same as the 13” Air. They feel totally different in person. The spec sheet does not give it justice on how different they feel in your hand. I feel like I made the right purchase with the Air, but others would prefer the Pro

 

[helloapple1]

I’ve observed the same thing. Out of curiosity was it assembled in Vietnam or China?

I noticed the one from Vietnam was of better build quality and specifically the trackpad was smooth whereas the one in China was coarse like sandpaper.

15” M4 MBA btw.

 

[xaqt93]

This is all very interesting...I have an M2 MBA and I love it. I have had it since the day it came out. However, I recently wanted to up grade and get the M4 and decided against it because it wouldnt do anything for me in my day to day. Anyway, I went to the Apple Store to check it out...and I did not notice anything different in build quality. It felt the exact same as my M2. It is possible that you just got a "Lemmon" which happens with all products. Anyway, that is just my experience and this is the first I am hearing about this.

 

[Howard2k]

I went from an M1 Air to and M4 Air, both 13". No difference in build quality that I notice, except a slightly different feel to the keyboard and trackpad.

 

[Nismo73]

I have an assembled in Vietnam M4 15" and it's perfect.

 

[Technerd108]

Note to buyers. It might be wise to go to a store and use the M4 Air before committing to buying one. We have had Air's in the family since the first one. Currently we have 2, the last Intel Air and an M1. My wife just purchased the M4. Very first impression is this is not Apple build quality. While it would be a stretch to call it flimsy, it's certainly not the milled out of a solid block of aluminum we're accustomed to. Tilting the screen feels cheap, picking it up makes me wonder how thin it might be. The keyboard is also sort of loose with imprecise feedback compared to the older models. Even the paint/coating (Midnight) seems uneven. Probably the way light hits it but not attractive in any respect. Shades of pure Tim Cooke, cheap is good, he can stuff more exec comp in his pocket.

It's going back today. Fortunately an Apple Store is right down the street. Will start looking for an earlier model refurb.

It is always a great idea to check and see an item in person before you buy it. Can save a lot of headaches later!

I also don't agree about the build quality of the 13.6" MBA. Coming from the older Intel models the design was very different. It is funny as people who had the older MBP hated them as they were too thin and light while the air's were just about perfect. Now the Pro's are built like Tanks and the air's are flimsy?? Quality Control was certainly better for the older models.

As far as feeling of cheap I can understand that because I have felt that way going back 10 years at least. Just poorer product assembly. It is why if I get a special order I am always worried as the QC on a couple I ordered in the past wasn't good. Also the feel of the products overall does seem a bit cheaper somehow?? Hard to explain. Like my iPad 5th gen air. It is a solid tablet but it has it's flex points where as older iPads in the back were totally solid??

I would say the MacBook Pro's on the other hand feel super premium to me. Better than previous models going back a while?? And while the M2 and up MBA may feel in some ways lighter to the m1 air it is still a very solid laptop while being thin and light. A hard balance to achieve for sure.