Apple has announced updated versions of its MacBook Air laptops featuring the latest M3 chip. Both the 13-inch and 15-inch models offer significant performance improvements compared to previous versions while maintaining the sleek and lightweight design.
Upgraded performance with the M3 chip
The key highlight of the new MacBook Air models is the M3 chip. Built on a 3-nanometer process, it delivers faster performance and improved power efficiency. The M3 boasts an 8-core CPU and up to a 10-core GPU, making it ideal for everyday tasks like browsing, word processing, and even light gaming. It can also handle demanding tasks like photo and video editing and software development.
Apple claims up to 35% faster CPU performance and up to 65% faster GPU performance compared to the M1 chip. Additionally, it offers a 20% improvement over the M2 chip in CPU and GPU performance.
And when you compare these new MacBook Air models to the M1 MacBook Air, Apple claims they are up to 60% faster. These new laptops offer up to 18 hours of battery life, which ekes out six more hours than the Intel-based MacBook Air.
Apple claims it’s the “best consumer laptop for AI,” too. The M3 features a more efficient 16-core Neural Engine and accelerators in the CPU and GPU. This supposedly boosts on-device machine learning, allowing it to offer “powerful camera features, real-time speech to text, translation, text predictions, visual understanding, accessibility features, and much more.”
These new laptops can also run optimized AI models, including large language models and diffusion models for image generation.
MacBook Air’s improved features and design
While the exterior design remains unchanged from the previous models, Apple has incorporated several notable upgrades. Both models now support up to two external displays, a significant improvement over the previous single-display limitation. Additionally, they come equipped with Wi-Fi 6E, offering faster download speeds.
The new MacBook Air models also feature Liquid Retina displays, a 1080p FaceTime camera, three microphones, and support for Spatial Audio and Dolby Atmos. True to their name, they maintain a thin and light design, measuring less than half an inch thick. These laptops’ Magic Keyboard includes a full-height function row with Touch ID.
Choosing the right size
Apple offers the 13-inch MacBook Air with either an 8-core or 10-core GPU configuration, while the 15-inch model comes only with the 10-core option. Both base models come with 8GB of unified memory and 256GB of storage, with the option to upgrade to 24GB of memory and 2TB of storage.
If you’re wondering which size to get, we’d recommend the 13-inch model for most users due to its portability and good balance of performance and size. However, if you need a larger display for extended work sessions, the 15-inch model might be a better fit.
Apple MacBook Air M3: Pricing and availability
The base model 13-inch MacBook Air starts at USD 1,099, while the 15-inch model starts at USD 1,299. Both are available for pre-order now and will begin shipping on March 8. You can get in Starlight, Space Gray, Silver, and a more fingerprint-resistant Midnight.
Have you been waiting for this MacBook Air upgrade? Let us know!