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The Apple MacBook Air is synonymous with lightness, portability, and ease of use. For years, this laptop has been the go-to device for students, professionals, and casual users who need a reliable machine for everyday tasks. The latest refresh to the MacBook Air, featuring the new M3 chip, has many excited. But, as with all Apple products, the MacBook Air M3 raises several questions: Is this new update enough to warrant the price? And more importantly, is it worth buying, especially considering the cost of upgrades and its comparison with previous models?
In this review, we’ll dive deep into the details of the MacBook Air M3, evaluating its design, performance, features, and overall value proposition.
Design and Build Quality: Small Changes, Big Impact
At first glance, the M3 MacBook Air looks quite similar to its predecessor, the M2 version. Apple has not drastically changed the design of the MacBook Air; it still retains its slim, sleek, and ultra-lightweight body that we’ve come to know and love. However, there are subtle design upgrades worth mentioning.
The anodized finish on the M3 MacBook Air has been updated to give it a slightly more fingerprint-resistant look. While this might sound like a minor change, it’s important for users who frequently handle their device without a case. That being said, fingerprints still do accumulate on the MacBook Air, and users who are particularly sensitive about this may want to consider purchasing a skin from companies like Dbrand. Dbrand’s skins offer a fantastic alternative, allowing users to add texture and a bit of style to their MacBook Air. The leather option from Dbrand also offers a rich, plush texture that can patina over time, giving the laptop a unique, personalized look.
In terms of physical size and weight, the MacBook Air M3 is still incredibly light and portable, making it ideal for people who need a machine that they can carry around with ease. It weighs just 2.7 pounds (1.24 kg), which is extremely light considering the amount of power packed inside the device.
While the design has not dramatically changed, Apple’s choice to keep it similar is a smart move, as the MacBook Air’s form factor is already highly regarded. However, in terms of color variety, Apple still sticks with only three basic options – Silver, Space Gray, and Starlight. Though this might be enough for most users, some might appreciate more unique colors, especially considering that other tech brands offer more diversity.
The M3 Chip: Power and Performance Improvements
When it comes to performance, the M3 chip in the MacBook Air offers significant improvements, though not as groundbreaking as some might expect. The M3 chip is part of Apple’s third generation of Apple Silicon and continues the trend of offering powerful performance at a lower power consumption.
On the whole, the M3 chip provides a performance boost of 10-20% over the M2 chip, which is decent but not revolutionary. For general usage such as web browsing, video streaming, and light office work, the M3 chip performs just fine. You’ll also experience noticeable improvements in graphic-heavy tasks like photo editing, rendering, and gaming, thanks to the upgraded GPU in the M3.
The new M3 chip introduces ray tracing, which enhances graphics for applications that support it, providing a more realistic and immersive experience in supported apps. If you’re someone who does occasional gaming or uses graphics-intensive software, this is a substantial improvement. The GPU also makes a big difference in media tasks like video editing or rendering large files. For most regular users, however, these changes may not be immediately noticeable unless they’re working with tasks that leverage this power.
In terms of raw benchmarks, the M3 MacBook Air doesn’t disappoint. It holds up well against both the M2 MacBook Air and even some of the higher-end MacBook Pro models. In typical MacBook fashion, you can expect lightning-fast boot times, quick app launches, and excellent multitasking performance for lighter workloads.
If you’re planning to use the MacBook Air for more demanding tasks like professional video editing, 3D modeling, or software development, the M3 chip should provide a much smoother experience than previous models. That being said, if you are heavily relying on these tasks, the MacBook Pro with its M3 Pro or M3 Max chips will be more suitable for you.
Battery Life: Excellent, As Usual
Battery life is one of the strongest features of the M3 MacBook Air, and the M3 version continues this tradition. Thanks to the power-efficient M3 chip and macOS optimizations, the M3 MacBook Air can easily last all day with typical usage. Apple claims up to 18 hours of video playback, and real-world tests generally back this up. This means that you’ll be able to work, study, or enjoy media without worrying about constantly needing to charge the device.
In terms of charging, the M3 MacBook Air still uses USB-C charging, which supports fast charging. You can go from 0% to 50% in about 30 minutes, which is impressive. However, the MacBook Air doesn’t feature the MagSafe charging port, which was reintroduced with the M2 MacBook Air. While MagSafe is a nice-to-have feature for those who prefer it, USB-C charging is still convenient, as it allows you to use a universal charging cable for all your devices.
Display: The Same, But Still Great
The M3 MacBook Air retains the same 13.6-inch Liquid Retina display as the M2 model. With 500 nits of brightness, this display is vibrant and sharp, making it great for productivity, watching movies, and browsing the web. It’s worth noting that the display is not the best in class when compared to higher-end devices like the MacBook Pro or other premium laptops, but it’s still excellent for its price range.
While the M3 MacBook Air supports P3 wide color, it lacks some of the additional display enhancements found on the MacBook Pro lineup, such as a ProMotion display with a 120Hz refresh rate. However, the MacBook Air’s display is more than enough for everyday tasks, media consumption, and light photo or video editing.
In short, Apple has not made any significant changes to the display with this update, but given that the screen quality was already top-notch, this is hardly a complaint.
Storage and RAM: Base Configurations and Price Considerations
One of the most contentious aspects of the M3 MacBook Air is its pricing, particularly the cost of upgrades. The base model comes with 8GB of unified memory and 256GB of storage, which may be fine for everyday users, but it may not be enough for those who rely on larger files or multitasking. Apple’s pricing for RAM and storage upgrades is notoriously high, which means that upgrading from the base model can quickly drive up the price.
To bump up the RAM to 16GB, Apple charges an additional $200, and to increase storage to 512GB, you’ll have to fork out another $200. This brings the total price of the MacBook Air M3 to $1,500, a steep increase from the base price of $1,099. Apple’s markup on these upgrades is a bit of a frustration, especially when you consider how much it costs Apple to provide these upgrades at scale.
Who Should Buy the M3 MacBook Air?
The M3 MacBook Air is a fantastic device for those who need a lightweight, portable, and capable laptop for everyday tasks. If you primarily use your laptop for web browsing, office work, watching media, or light content creation, the M3 MacBook Air will serve you well. With a fast chip, great battery life, and a sharp display, the M3 MacBook Air is an excellent all-around laptop.
However, if you’re a more casual user or just need something for very basic tasks like web browsing or checking emails, the M2 MacBook Air, offers great value for money. If you’re on a tighter budget, there are also older models like the M1 MacBook Air available at significant discounts from retailers.
The M3 MacBook Air is perfect for those who want the latest chip and are willing to pay a premium for it, but if you don’t need the latest and greatest, the M2 or even M1 models are still perfectly capable laptops.
Conclusion: Is the M3 MacBook Air Worth It?
In conclusion, the MacBook Air M3 is a solid update, offering improved performance, better graphics, and more efficient power consumption. However, Apple’s pricing strategy, particularly with the cost of upgrades, leaves something to be desired. If you’re willing to splurge for the upgrades, the MacBook Air M3 is an excellent laptop that can handle light to medium workloads with ease.
For those who don’t need the very latest hardware, the M2 MacBook Air offers better value for money, and the M1 MacBook Air is still a fantastic option at a lower price point. If you’re someone who needs a device that can handle heavier workloads or more professional tasks, then you might be better off considering a MacBook Pro with an M3 Pro or M3 Max chip or Mac mini with M4.
Ultimately, the decision to buy the M3 MacBook Air comes down to your specific needs and budget. For many, it will be the ideal machine, but for others, the cheaper M2 or M1 models may be more than enough.
