MacBook Air M4 will be delivered to buyers with a surprisingly old version of macOS Sequoia

If you've taken the plunge and ordered a MacBook Air M4, or a new Mac Studio (with M4 Max, or M3 Ultra), when these computers arrive later this week (hopefully), you'll be required to perform a day-one update of macOS.

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Apple's new MacBook Air M4 will arrive with macOS 15.2 installed (Image Credit: Apple)

MacRumors reports that a software update will need to be applied to get your Mac running Sequoia 15.3.1, the latest version of Apple's desktop operating system.

This is because the MacBook Air M4 seemingly arrives with macOS Sequoia 15.2 installed, whereas the Mac Studio is more up to date, and runs macOS Sequoia 15.3, but will still require that bump to version 15.3.1.

There isn't a great deal of difference between 15.3.1 and 15.3, mind you, and by all accounts the upgrade is mostly about applying security fixes, and covering your Mac against fresh vulnerabilities - although obviously that's important enough.

Reaction to the MacBook Air M4 has been positive, as you may have seen. Mainly because Apple has brought the Air in line with other recent Macs, with an entry-level allocation of 16GB of RAM, while dropping the price to $999 for that baseline model.

Another tiny change that flew under the radar initially - but is an interesting twist with the new laptop - is that the MacBook Air M4 finally has the correct symbol for the mute key. Yes, Apple has used an odd choice of icon here for the past quarter of a century, believe it or not.