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M4 Air Build Quality

R

Ray2

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Jul 8, 2014
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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.
 
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Ray2 said:
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.
Click to expand...
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.
 
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Ray2 said:
Note to buyers. It might be wise to go to a store and use the M4 Air before committing to buying one.
Click to expand...
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
 
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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.
 
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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.
 
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Ray2 said:
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.
Click to expand...
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.
 
Doing a side-by-side now with an M4 MBA and M3 MBA -- the M3 feels a bit "flimsy" in the keyboard, but the M4 feels much more solid. Never had an M1 and maybe the old wedge design offered a different robust feel.
 
This is my first MacBook of any kind. My last Mac laptop was the big white shitcase thing back in the 90's. I believe it was the first laptop Apple made. Talk about a tank...

My 15" M4 MBA feels great to me. My prior laptop is a 17" windows based Dell Inspirion. It's definitely a tank but has a lot of features that I wish my new MBA had. The screen folds completely back and under to create a giant iPad type device, and it has a touch screen that works nicely when in the iPad configuration. But it's heavy and borders on unwieldy. I did some soul searching when I opted to get my MBA in the 15" size, thinking that it might also be a little large for comfort. NOPE, it's fantastic. The build quality seems super to me, it is a featherweight compared to the Dell, yet has a large enough screen that watching movies and such is a pleasure. And, once I figured out the protocol/pecking order, my Oticon hearing aids link up via bluetooth and I can watch videos, movies, TV, etc without bothering anyone else.

In short, I've been very impressed with the MBA. Except for Apple TV, as it has become unusable for some reason. I've got a post out on that hoping someone can identify some "bone head" mistake I've made that changed a setting or whatever.

Ron
 
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Ray2 said:
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.
Click to expand...
I have been a big advocate for MacBook Air in the past. However with the recent models I agree with you. They look and feel much less premium than M1 and earlier. On top of that comparing new Air to Pro you do see a massive difference in smoothness now as well. 60Hz screen is starting to look dated and everything feels choppy relative to Pro. I couldn't live with that.

That's not to say Pros are not cutting corners to make the production cheaper... I have never seen in the past keyboards on Macbooks flex like it is the case for so many WIN laptops. With current Pros that is very much true - you have keyboard flex previously associated with cheaper non-unibody laptops. This flaw alone however can be still stomached as otherwise they still look and feel good, not so much for the Air...
 
SmOgER said:
I'm sorry but the current Air does feel like a toy compared to pre Apple silicon Airs or even M1 MBA.
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Your perception of build quality might feel different. But it was definitely milled out of 1 piece of aluminum(all Unibody Macs since 2009). Apple wouldn't make a lower quality product just for you
 
racerhomie said:
Your perception of build quality might feel different. But it was definitely milled out of 1 piece of aluminum(all Unibody Macs since 2009). Apple wouldn't make a lower quality product just for you
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I was not referring to this one trait explicitly nor disputing it. Laptop can still be lower quality and feel like a toy comparatively even if still technically has that feature of "milled out of 1 single piece of aluminum" so many nerds seem to be blindly hung up on lol

It's not some absolute definitive metric of quality that always means unquestionable perfection in every way.
 
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SmOgER said:
I was not referring to this one trait explicitly nor disputing it. Laptop can still be lower quality and feel like a toy comparatively even if still technically has that feature of "milled out of 1 single piece of aluminum" so many nerds seem to be blindly hung up on lol

It's not some absolute definitive metric of quality that always means unquestionable perfection in every way.
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Like I said it’s your perception. But in the 14 years of using Macs, Unibody ones have been the most durable and attractive. They are the reason why Macs are better made compared to most other OEMs and and is a major selling point for Macs.
 
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I use daily MBP (M1) and MBA (M2). I found the build quality of both very similar, and generally very good. But the one that has the annoying squeaking bottom case part is the MBP... so if I had to keep one based on build quality, I would actually keep the Air.
 
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racerhomie said:
Like I said it’s your perception. But in the 14 years of using Macs, Unibody ones have been the most durable and attractive. They are the reason why Macs are better made compared to most other OEMs and and is a major selling point for Macs.
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I mean perhaps some of that is perception. But the form factor isn't what it used to be and that hideous notch is certainly not helping the matters.

M3 vs M1 (the thinner one):
1747348016917.png


1747348037944.png


Air is no longer what Air used to define with it's hallmark 'feat of engineering' of those thin edges. Now it's kind of just a boring laptop on a budget, in my opinion.
 
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SmOgER said:
I mean perhaps some of that is perception. But the form factor isn't what it used to be and that hideous notch is certainly not helping the matters.

M3 vs M1 (the thinner one):
View attachment 2511145

View attachment 2511146

Air is no longer what Air used to define with it's hallmark 'feat of engineering' of those thin edges. Now it's kind of just a boring laptop on a budget, in my opinion.
Click to expand...
Yes, the MacBook Air is now Mainstream. It’s not 2008 anymore. I get your points
 
SmOgER said:
I mean perhaps some of that is perception. But the form factor isn't what it used to be and that hideous notch is certainly not helping the matters.

M3 vs M1 (the thinner one):
View attachment 2511145

View attachment 2511146

Air is no longer what Air used to define with it's hallmark 'feat of engineering' of those thin edges. Now it's kind of just a boring laptop on a budget, in my opinion.
Click to expand...
I do miss the wedge design. I used my 11" MacBook Air for over a decade before upgrading to a MacBook Pro. The Pro is better in almost every single way (as you'd expect going from a 2012 MBA to an M3 Pro MBP) apart from the notch, and lacking that amazing wedge design.

But they're design issues. Build quality is still amazing.
 
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Just coming back from returning an M4 base model. Learned more than I ever wanted about Apple's supply chain routes.

Basically, most of the M4 13" specs, if not all, are Assembled in Vietnam. At least those specs that were in stock at Best Buy--the Apple Store may have more choices. All the 15" in stock were assembled in China.

I was seeking out a China-sourced spec in hopes that the display panel would be a smidge better. The screen on my "Assembled in China" M3 13" Air is a bit better--enough for me to notice and not want to downgrade. The Genius at the Apple Store thought the panel sourcing in China would be of higher quality. Unfortunately, there were no "China" models in any 13" spec available--but plenty of 15".

So if concerned at all about some theoretical build quality, maybe getting that China build will put you at ease. Honestly, outside of the slightest display difference, I noticed no other QC issue with the M4.
 
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