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Apple has announced that the new M3 MacBook Air will be released on 8th March. This comes after the release of the M3 MacBook Pro in October 2023. And we have some mixed feelings.
It’s no secret that we love MacBook Airs. Ever since they got superpowered by Apple Silicon, they’ve offered the best value for money, retaining high performance with little sacrifice. But this time around, not a lot seems to have changed.
Apart from the obvious addition of an M3 chip, the only difference between the previous M2 model seems to be ability to support more external screens. The unified memory and SSD options are identical, as are the number of ports.
Right now, that leaves us with a lot of questions, the most important being; is the M3 MacBook Air worth the money? Or can you make do with an M2 or M1 version?
We can’t answer that at the moment, but for now let’s go through what we do know about Apple’s new MacBook Air.
M3 MacBook Air Release Date
The M3 MacBook Air was made available to order from the Apple Store on 4th March. Orders for the new MacBook Air will ship, and be available in-person from Apple Stores, on 8th March.
This comes as somewhat of a surprise announcement from Apple. Many were expecting new iPads to come before any M3 MacBook Airs, but Apple has pulled the trigger early. Despite this, we’re still putting our money on an imminent M3 iPad release this month.
Notably, the M3 MacBook Air release date comes almost exactly a month after the Apple Vision Pro. Is this announcement a distraction? A sign that Apple is disappointed with the reaction to Vision Pro?
I don’t think so. Apple has so many products to release every year nowadays. The schedule is jam-packed, made only more busy by new products like Vision Pro and potentially the Apple Ring.
So this M3 MacBook Air release was most likely planned far in advance. And, if you know about our love of the MacBook Air, it could be the most exciting release of the year!
M3 MacBook Air Price
In what must be one of the most generous moves from Apple in its history, the base-level 13-inch M3 MacBook Air is priced at $1,099/£1,099. This means the price has fallen by $100/£150 from the M2 MacBook Air which originally sold for $1,199/$1,249. This gets you an 8-core GPU, 8-core CPU, 8GB unified memory and a 256GB SSD.
Prices hike up as you spec up, with the most expensive, maxed-out 13-inch M3 MacBook Air costing $2,299/£2,299.00. This nets you an 8-core CPU, 10-core GPU, 24GB unified memory and a 2TB SSD.
If you want a larger display, the base-level 15-inch M3 MacBook Air is priced at $1,299/£1,299 for the same specifications as the base-level 13-inch version.
The most expensive M3 MacBook Air of all costs $2,499/£2,499. Again, this gives you the same specification as the maxed-out 13-inch version but with a 15-inch display instead.
Do these options offer good value for money? That remains to be seen through our hands-on tests. But previous Apple Silicon MacBook Airs have been excellent, with the base-level version of the M1 MacBook Air being one of our favourite ever Apple products.
For the money, you can’t get a better laptop.
M3 MacBook Air Chip
The obvious upgrade over the M2 MacBook Air is the M3 chip. For our full explainer of why the M3 chip is better than the M1 or M2, click here. But here’s a brief overview.
In the chip game, bigger isn’t better. The M1 chip and M2 chips both run on a 5nm node. The smaller node size of the M3 allows for a higher transistor density. Transistors are responsible for telling electrical signals where to go and when. Therefore, they dictate efficiency and overall performance.
The M3 has 25 billion transistors whilst the M2 has 20 billion and the M1 16 billion. Apple says that this means the M3 chip is about 50% faster than the M1 chip, but only around 15% faster than the M2.
Either way, an M3 MacBook Air will be faster than previous generations. By how much depends on your use case and workflow. Stay tuned for our testing results once we’ve got our hands on the new M3 MacBook Air.
M3 MacBook Air Specifications
Beyond the obvious M3 chip, the one difference between the M3 MacBook Air and the M2 version is the former’s ability to support up to two external displays. Other than that, the specifications are identical.
That means every M3 MacBook Air has the same 16-core Neural Engine, gorgeous Liquid Retina display, two Thunderbolt ports and 1080p FaceTime HD camera.
Every M3 MacBook Air option has an 8-core CPU, but you can pay an extra $200/£200 for more GPU cores. The base-level 15-inch M3 MacBook Air already comes with a 10-core GPU, compared to the base-level 13-inch version’s 8 GPU cores. That makes it the better pick for those involved with work like video editing or photography.
Apple continues its trend of sticking with 8GB unified memory for base-model Macs. If you want more, each jump in memory will cost you an extra $200/£200. So a base-model 13-inch M3 MacBook Air costs $1,299/£1,299 with 16GB unified memory and $1,499/£1,499 with 24GB. You cannot buy more than 24GB of unified memory.
It’s a similar story for the SSD. Both screen size base models start with a 256GB SSD. If you want 512GBs, you’ll have to fork out an extra $200/£200, with a 1TB SSD costing $400/£400. But if you want the highest, 2TB SSD then it’s a hefty $800/£800.
M3 MacBook Air Colours
When we say nothing has really changed between the M3 and M2 MacBook Airs, we really mean it. Even the colour options remain unchanged. And there’s no Space Black option.
You have the option of the fingerprint magnet Midnight as well as Starlight, Space Grey and Silver. It’s a slightly puzzling move from Apple. They usually love a new colour to boost sales after a new device launch. And not including the popular Space Black colourway seems like a missed opportunity.
Should you buy an M3 MacBook Air?
We can’t give you an answer to this until we have got our hands on the new M3 MacBook Air. But even then, it may be a complicated answer.
We love MacBook Airs ever since the M1 version was released. The combination of raw power, portability and the same display as top-of-the-range models gives you the best of all worlds for less money. The M1 MacBook Air is, in our opinion, a masterpiece of computing.
But the M3 chip throws a spanner in the works. It is undeniably the most powerful computer chip ever made. But our testing across various devices, including the M3 iMac, has shown that the gains over the M2 chip, and even the M1 chip, can be marginal at best. Unless you are really putting your laptop through its paces, you may not even notice much of a difference (see video below).
For now, we’ll reserve full judgement. But if you’re trying to save money then a refurbished M2 or M1 MacBook Air may be the best option overall. You can pick up a refurbished M1 MacBook Air from Best Buy right now for a ridiculously low $674!
Apple is actually still selling new M2 MacBook Airs from the online store while stocks last for $899/£999, which is genuinely a massive bargain. Best Buy, for example, is still selling them for $1,099.
Conclusion
We’re excited by the M3 MacBook Air release. There’s no hiding it. Amongst all the star power of the Vision Pro and rumours of an Apple Ring, you can’t beat an old reliable. And that’s what MacBook Airs are. As long as you aren’t using them for overly-intensive tasks, you won’t go far wrong.
The only question here is this; does an M3 chip justify splashing the cash on a new MacBook Air, or should you just buy an M2 or M1 version? We won’t know that until we’ve reviewed the new model next week.
Keep an eye out for our content on the website and let us know below if you want an M3 MacBook Air?
Review: Apple Vision Pro: 2 Weeks Later
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