The MacBook Air M4 crushes the M3 in benchmarks: does Apple really have competition in chips?

Apple has once again shaken the laptop market with the release of the M4 MacBook Air, delivering performance numbers that rival even the MacBook Pro. With its sleek design and lower price tag, this machine is proving that Apple’s silicon advancements continue to widen the gap between its competitors.

Benchmark performance proves Apple’s dominance

Early leaked Geekbench benchmarks reveal that the M4 MacBook Air reaches a single-core score of 3,680 and a multi-core score of 14,924. Compared to its predecessor, the M3 MacBook Air, this represents a massive jump in performance, as the M3 model only achieved 3,082 and 12,087 in single-core and multi-core scores, respectively.

What’s more impressive is that the M4 MacBook Air nearly matches the M4 MacBook Pro, which scored 3,807 in single-core and 15,114 in multi-core performance. This is remarkable considering that the MacBook Air starts at $999—$600 less than the MacBook Pro.

Can Intel, AMD, or Qualcomm keep up?

The latest chips from Intel, AMD, and Qualcomm are still trailing behind Apple’s silicon, with the closest competitor being Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X Elite in the Dell XPS 13. While it achieved a respectable multi-core score of 14,635, its single-core performance lags behind at just 2,797.

Meanwhile, Intel’s Core Ultra 7 256V and AMD’s Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 fall even further behind, reinforcing Apple’s dominance in efficiency and performance. The M4 chip’s ARM-based architecture, built on Apple’s proprietary designs, continues to offer industry-leading performance per watt, ensuring both power and battery life remain unmatched.

Apple’s strategy of vertical integration appears to be paying off, as its competition struggles to keep pace. With performance rivaling high-end laptops at a lower price, the M4 MacBook Air may be the best choice for those seeking both power and value.