{"id":837243,"date":"2025-03-27T17:12:30","date_gmt":"2025-03-27T22:12:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2025\/03\/27\/the-m4-macbook-air-is-displaying-some-odd-behavior-we-dont-understand-yet\/"},"modified":"2025-03-27T17:12:30","modified_gmt":"2025-03-27T22:12:30","slug":"the-m4-macbook-air-is-displaying-some-odd-behavior-we-dont-understand-yet","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2025\/03\/27\/the-m4-macbook-air-is-displaying-some-odd-behavior-we-dont-understand-yet\/","title":{"rendered":"The M4 MacBook Air is displaying some odd behavior we don\u2019t understand yet"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"h-maincontent\" data-post-id=\"3876921\" data-post-url=\"https:\/\/www.digitaltrends.com\/computing\/m4-macbook-air-displays-odd-cpu-activity\/\">\n<header id=\"dt-post-title\">\n<\/header>\n<div>\n<figure>\n\t<img width=\"1200\" height=\"720\" src=\"https:\/\/www.digitaltrends.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Apple-MacBook-Air-15-M4-front-angled-e1741668595207.jpg?resize=1200%2C720&#038;p=1\" alt=\"Apple MacBook Air 15 M4 front angled view showing display and keyboard.\" decoding=\"async\" fetchpriority=\"high\"><figcaption>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t<span><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMark Coppock \/ Digital Trends\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span><br \/>\n\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<article id=\"dt-post-content\" itemid=\"post-content\" itemprop=\"articleBody\">\n<p>People are getting their hands on the new <a href=\"https:\/\/www.digitaltrends.com\/computing\/apple-macbook-air-13-m4-review\/\">M4 MacBook Air<\/a> this week, which means they\u2019re posting lots of discoveries about its performance (and the blueness of the new Sky Blue color). While editing photos in Lightroom Classic, <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/VadimYuryev\/status\/1899986842998784243\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">YouTuber Vadim Yuryev<\/a> noticed that the CPU workload was being handled almost completely by the laptop\u2019s six efficiency cores.<\/p>\n<blockquote data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\" data-initial-classes=\"twitter-tweet\" data-embed-name=\"twitter\" data-sdk-src=\"http:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Woah!! Apple\u2019s M4 MacBook Air is pushing this CPU workload to all 6 of the Efficiency cores while the 4 Perfomance cores are barely being used. (Left photo)<\/p>\n<p>Compare that to the M3 (right) where the 4 Perfomance cores are seeing a lot more use.<\/p>\n<p>Photo editing in Lightroom Classic <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/y17D8G0ypB\">pic.twitter.com\/y17D8G0ypB<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Vadim Yuryev (@VadimYuryev) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/VadimYuryev\/status\/1899986842998784243?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">March 13, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Spotted by <a href=\"https:\/\/wccftech.com\/m4-macbook-pro-uses-all-efficiency-cores-instead-of-performance-ones-to-save-battery\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Wccftech<\/a>, this behavior is interesting because the image editing software is so CPU-intensive that anyone would assume it needed the performance cores to run. This was certainly the case for the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.digitaltrends.com\/computing\/apple-macbook-air-m3-review\/\">M3 MacBook Air<\/a>, which Yuryev shows using all four performance and all four efficiency cores to get the work done.<\/p>\n<p>We don\u2019t know why this behavior has changed, how purposeful it is, or if it\u2019s specific to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.digitaltrends.com\/photography\/lightroom-cc-vs-lightroom-classic\/\">Lightroom Classic<\/a> \u2014 but the benefits could be significant. Keeping the efficiency cores busy and limiting the activity on the performance cores could improve battery life and keep temperatures down.<\/p>\n<p>That said, we don\u2019t know from Yuryev\u2019s post how well the software is running while in this state \u2014 we can assume he\u2019s pointing it out because it\u2019s running fine but we don\u2019t know for sure.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s also not entirely impossible that this is a bug of some kind \u2014 the performance cores are there to be used, after all, or else they\u2019d be pointless. So the sheer amount of activity on the efficiency cores while the performance cores sit almost unused does seem quite odd.<\/p>\n<p>With outlets like Wccftech and tech influencers everywhere experimenting with this new model, we\u2019ll likely find out soon whether this was a fluke or an intended feature of the new MacBook Air.<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t<span id=\"publisher-md\" itemprop=\"publisher\" itemscope itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/Organization\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t<span itemprop=\"url\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/Url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.digitaltrends.com\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span itemprop=\"logo\" itemscope itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/ImageObject\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<meta itemprop=\"url\" content=\"https:\/\/cdn.dtcn.com\/dt\/dt-logo-small.png\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<meta itemprop=\"width\" content=\"0\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<meta itemprop=\"height\" content=\"0\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span><\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<meta itemprop=\"name\" content=\"Digital Trends\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/span><\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t<span itemprop=\"image\" itemscope itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/ImageObject\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<meta itemprop=\"url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.digitaltrends.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Apple-MacBook-Air-15-M4-front-angled-e1741668595207.jpg?p=1\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/span><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t<\/span><\/p>\n<section>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.digitaltrends.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/IMG_3588.jpg?resize=200%2C200&#038;p=1\" alt=\"Willow Roberts\">\t<\/p>\n<p>\n\t\t\t\tWillow Roberts has been a Computing Writer at Digital Trends for a year and has been writing for about a decade. She has a\u2026\t\t\t<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<div>\n<div>\n<div>\n<p>\n\t\t\t\t\tTim Cook just teased the M4 MacBook Air, and it\u2019s coming this week\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><img src=\"https:\/\/www.digitaltrends.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Screenshot-2025-03-03-at-17.08.31.jpg?resize=650%2C390&#038;p=1\" alt=\"MacBook air graphic teaser video.\" decoding=\"async\" previous-src=\"https:\/\/www.digitaltrends.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Screenshot-2025-03-03-at-17.08.31.jpg?resize=650%2C390&#038;p=1\">\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div>\n<p>Apple CEO Tim Cook just posted a teaser to X with the caption &#8220;This week.&#8221; and a six-second video showing the words &#8220;There&#8217;s something in the AIR.&#8221; We&#8217;ve been expecting the M4 MacBook Air announcement for a couple of weeks now, and with the iPhone 16e reveal out of the way, it looks like this is the week.<\/p>\n<p>https:\/\/x.com\/tim_cook\/status\/1896589954517701057<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.digitaltrends.com\/computing\/tim-cook-teases-m4-macbook-air-this-week\/\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t\tRead more\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div>\n<p>\n\t\t\t\t\tMacBook Air refresh with M4 silicon might arrive within a week\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><img src=\"https:\/\/www.digitaltrends.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/macbookair15-01.jpg?resize=650%2C390&#038;p=1\" alt=\"Apple's 15-inch MacBook Air seen from above and the side.\" decoding=\"async\" previous-src=\"https:\/\/www.digitaltrends.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/macbookair15-01.jpg?resize=650%2C390&#038;p=1\">\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div>\n<p>A new version of MacBook Air powered by Apple\u2019s M4 processor is right around the corner, it seems, and might be launched within a week. \u201cApple is preparing to make a Mac-related announcement as early as this coming week,\u201d reports Bloomberg, adding that the reveal is imminent.<\/p>\n<p>The current-gen MacBook Air with M3 silicon was announced in the first week of March in 2024, and it seems Apple is sticking with its refresh schedule rather strictly for its popular entry-level laptop. The machine will likely arrive in 13-inch and 15-inch formats, just like its predecessor.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.digitaltrends.com\/computing\/apple-macbook-air-refresh-m4-processor-launch-report\/\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t\tRead more\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div>\n<p>\n\t\t\t\t\tApple expected to launch MacBook Air refresh with M4 silicon in March\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><img src=\"https:\/\/www.digitaltrends.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/macbook-air-m3-09.jpg?resize=650%2C390&#038;p=1\" alt=\"The M3 MacBook Air in front of a window.\" decoding=\"async\" previous-src=\"https:\/\/www.digitaltrends.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/macbook-air-m3-09.jpg?resize=650%2C390&#038;p=1\">\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div>\n<p>It looks like the next-gen MacBook Air laptops with the M4 silicon upgrade are merely a few weeks away. According to Bloomberg, Apple is toning down inventory of the current-gen model and is readying the M4-equipped trim for a launch in March.<\/p>\n<p>Apple is unlikely to make any design changes, serving the same aesthetic formula it introduced with the M2 MacBook Air. The most notable change, of course, is going to be the M4 silicon, which enhances the processing chops and lifts the efficiency figures, as well.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.digitaltrends.com\/computing\/apple-m4-processor-macbook-air-refresh-launch-march-report\/\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t\tRead more\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.digitaltrends.com\/computing\/m4-macbook-air-displays-odd-cpu-activity\/\" class=\"button purchase\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Mark Coppock \/ Digital Trends People are getting their hands on the new M4 MacBook Air this week, which means they\u2019re posting lots of discoveries about its performance (and the blueness of the new Sky Blue color). While editing photos in Lightroom Classic, YouTuber Vadim Yuryev noticed that the CPU workload was being handled almost [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":837244,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[115332,22870],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-837243","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-displaying","8":"category-macbook"},"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/837243","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=837243"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/837243\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/837244"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=837243"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=837243"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=837243"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}