Verdict
This is the best MacBook for the Brobdingnagian absolute majority of people . It ’s powerful , aerodynamic and has battery life that ’ll power through even the busiest of days . 8 GB of store and a 256 GB SSD feels scrimpy at the base layer , but there ’s still plenty of value to be had with Apple ’s later do - it - all laptop computer .
Pros
Cons
Key Features
Introduction
I ’ve been thirstily awaiting the MacBook Air M3 ever since the late Apple Silicon chip arrived towards the end of 2023 – it ’s now here , and it does n’t disappoint .
The MacBook Air is one of the most iconic laptops of the past decennary . The wedge shape - shape design has bid farewell , but the latest personification of the coffee store staple mixes excellent performance , recollective battery life and a lithesome body .
While there ’s a circumstances of contender for thebest laptopcrown , the MacBook Air M3 has plenty in its favour . For most people , this is thebest MacBookon the mart , and here ’s why .
Design and Keyboard
After a hefty redesign with the M2 MacBook Airs and the introduction a few calendar month by and by of a 15 - column inch edition , the M3 upgrade was live on to adhere to the same blueprint – that ’s how Apple mold .
This is no bad thing , as the MacBook Air M3 remain one of the most tastefully designed laptops on the market . The iconic hero sandwich shape that made the Air series so recognisable for over a decade has been replaced with a boxier overall look that ’s the same heaviness all over .
It remains a abstemious car , specially liken to the beefier MacBook Pro models . The 13 - column inch Air librate 1.24 kilogram , with the 15 - in model coming in slightly heavier at 1.51 kg . That ’s still light than the 1.55 kilogram M3 MacBook Pro .
significantly , the Air does n’t feel too lite – it still has a reassuring feel and it ’s weighted very well , ensure you may lift the lid with a undivided finger while the bottom abide firmly on a control surface .
Four colours are usable : Silver and Space Grey speak for themselves , while Starlight has a subtle gold mite that debar the gaudy , blingy finish of many of Apple ’s golden iPhones .
The final colour is Midnight , a bass , dark-skinned blue that can look inglorious in sealed light . This Midnight colourway stimulate a pot of criticism when it was launch due to its propensity to showcase fingerprint , Apple aver it has now added a new finish that should prevent this from being an issue . It would have been dainty to have a few more playfulness colour like the pastel fill in the iMac comes in . Maybe this will fare with the next redesign .
The keyboard and trackpad are both excellent . The winder are large , with a nice click and an even backlight . The trackpad is Brobdingnagian and wondrous responsive for gestures and scrolling .
Apple has built the MacBook Air M3 with 50 % recycle materials – a first , Apple claims , for the society . While the atomic number 13 inclosure is also made from recycled materials and the packaging is 99 % fibre - based , rather than charge plate .
Display and Sound
The MacBook Air M3 is available in two sizes , and for the first time , both sizes are uncommitted right by . The 13 - inch example is slightly cheaper , and more portable , while the 15 - in option offers more screen real estate . According to Apple , battery life is the same across both and they have the same national options , so it just come down to size druthers .
The actual video display , whether the 13.6 - inch or 15.3 - inch edition , is unchanged from the previous MacBook Air manikin power by the M2 chipset . The screen remains an IPS lead panel , with a max brightness of , in my tests , 450 nits . Both sizes have a PPI of 224 , making them sharp – if not quite to the levels of the MacBook Pro with a Mini direct panel .
By all accounts , the screenland on the MacBook Air is great and geminate with the gimcrack , unclouded verbalizer it can make for a good content - watching experience . It ’s colorful , promising enough for all billet and is understandably a in high spirits - quality LCD . Yet , that ’s not to say it could n’t be improved . The lack of anOLED(orMini LED ) pick imply there ’s no proper HDR playback here , whether that ’s for streaming cognitive content or edit an HDR workflow in Final Cut or Premiere Pro ,
There ’s no fast refresh rate option either , with the panel on the MacBook Air mystify at 60Hz . ProMotion has been a staple fiber on the MacBook Pro for several years now and I would have hoped we ’d at least have a 90Hz board on the entry - horizontal surface Apple laptop computer by now .
Sitting at the top of the display is the notch that hides the 1080p webcam . It ’s a ignominy that the only biometric unlocking comes from the Touch ID sensing element , rather than a interchangeable Face ID system to the iPhone . There ’s actually no form of facial unlocking at all here , something you ’ll find on most likewise - priced Windows machines .
The 1080p webcam is much better than any on an Intel MacBook Air and a huge betterment over the one on the M1 MacBook Air . Still , deal the amount of space it takes up I do n’t think the character matches up , specially when the lighting is n’t great .
Performance
Apple precede the base M3 chip towards the last of 2023 , launching it first inside an update iMac and 14 - inch MacBook Pro , Many have been waiting for the MacBook Air , Apple ’s most democratic laptop , to pluck up the latest chip ever since .
Whereas the MacBook Pro can be equip with beefierPro and Max version of the M3 chip , the MacBook Air is restrict to the base M3 . The base poser of the 13 - inch version comes with an 8 - heart and soul CPU and 8 - meat GPU , while all the higher - end variant and all 15 - column inch choices up the GPU core group reckon to 10 .
If you ’re looking at the base translation of the MacBook Air M3 then you ’ll have to be willing to make do with just 8 GB of RAM ( unified retention Apple calls in on these Macs ) and just 256 GB of depot .
I have n’t screen the 8 GB modeling , with 16 GB in my critical review samples , so I ca n’t remark on its performance , but it does seem a ungenerous amount for a automobile that cost over £ 1000/$1000 . If you ’re after a machine to last a unspoilt telephone number of yr , I would recommend drop a bit more and going for the 16 GB and 512 GB version . Slightly annoyingly , resellers like Amazon do n’t stock up the 16 GB memory board chance variable and the £ 200/$200 Apple charges for the extra 8 GB of storage remain usurious .
As with all these Apple Silicon Macs , the component part can not be elevate after leverage . You ca n’t open up the physical body and add more memory in if you incur 8 GB is n’t enough a year down the line as it ’s part of the M3 chip .
If the MacBook Air is buy through Apple , the retentivity can be upped to 24 GB and the storage up to 2 TB . All version have two USB 4 / bolt of lightning 3 ports and a MagSafe charging connective . I detect that having all the ports on one side is a annoyance . Larger supplement can often embrace up both ports rendering one useless and it ’s less flexible when attaching a admonisher .
I also miss the SD poster and HDMI embrasure that are now get on the MacBook Pro . I can do without HDMI , but an SD Card reader feel less like a Pro addition and more like a necessity .
I ’ll get to the carrying into action of the M3 check presently , but it does fall with a few other benefit over the M2 and M1 versions of the MacBook Air . you’re able to now output to two reminder ( up to 5K/60Hz ) rather than one , with the caveat being the MacBook ’s lid must be shut . There ’s also patronise forWi - Fi 6E(up from Wi - Fi 6 ) and computer hardware - accelerated ray hound for more graphic reflections in diagrammatically intensive game .
The M3 is n’t a Brobdingnagian jump over the already very subject M2 . alternatively , it extend more of a jump for those who have hold onto an Intel Mac or who dived into the Apple Silicon ecosystem early with an M1 machine . The vainglorious benefits will be to those coming from an Intel machine though , both in terms of stark naked performance and battery life .
In Geekbench 6 , a good benchmarking app that gives a general overview of a simple machine ’s performance , the MacBook Air M3 scored 3128 in the single - core tryout , and 11854 in the multi - core exam . Now , that ’s a slim advance over the 2626 and 10013 the M2 chip score . However , move to the M1 and the difference is much greater . TheM1 MacBook Airscored 2316 in single - core , and 7721 in the multi - core test – this is where you would get down notice that performance increment in mundane utilization .
Moving over to an Intel MacBook Pro , a 2020 model power by an Intel i5 chipset , the improvement is vast . I ’d say this is really the market where an upgrade to an M3 model would make the most amount of sentience . In the same Geekbench 6 test , the 2020 Intel MacBook Pro scored 1188 and 4381 mean the MacBook Air M3 scored nearly three times the exclusive - core and more than double for multi - magnetic core . telling clobber , specially in less than four class .
In Cinebench R23 , another good test of the political machine ’s all - round skills , the M3 splintering scored 9253 in mult - core tests and 1901 in unmarried - core tests . This is an advance over a machine running the M1 chip , which make 1496 and 7619 respectively .
These sorts of final result are the same in other benchmarking apps too , and you’re able to see an overview of the scores in the graphical record below .
No one should grease one’s palms a Mac for gaming , but Apple has been slowly improving these auto ’s capabilities when playing secret plan in the last few years . In more CPU - intensive games , something like Football Manager 2024 for representative , functioning is first-class . One of the biggest knocks against Mac play is the excerpt of titles available so as a test , I ladder the benchmark inside acclivity of the Tomb Raider and it managed a unchanging 30fps .
I ’ve been using the MacBook Air M3 for an extended period and for everyday usage it ’s a mythologic political machine . The want of a rooter means it ’s silent , quite the opposite of an Intel Mac , and it stay put cool too . Anyone who has more of a professional work flow , including high-pitched - end video editing or 3D study , should see at the MacBook Pro with either the M3 Max or M3 Pro , but for most the great unwashed who might partake in pic editing , weak video editing and worldwide daily tasks there ’s more than enough grunt here .
Battery Life
Anyone come from an Intel MacBook will instantly observe the improvement in stamp battery life and even though there ’s been no monolithic parachuting since the M1 ’s arrival , these machines are still some of the best when it follow to survival .
orchard apple tree claims both the 13 - inch and 15 - inch are good for 15 60 minutes of vane browse and 18 hours of video playback . I put these claim to the test , and my resolution matched up . A looped TV , download into the Apple TV app , ran for just shy of 18 60 minutes – that ’s up from the same test on the M2 MacBook Air by a dyad of hour .
I am not indisputable how useful these results are , but rest insure in actual tasks and real - life work the battery life is fantastic . In a pretty intensive 9 - 6 pm workday – full of browsing , word processing , video calls and light-colored pic retouching in Photoshop , the Air last with 25 % left at the end of the day . On light days I was left with upwards of 50 % off when I clocked off .
What ’s just as important to me is standby clock time . I used to find that whenever I was mold on an Intel MacBook , it would break down after a few days of inaction and send away considerable amount overnight . That ’s not the case here , with barely 2 % turn a loss overnight .
All MacBook Air M3 variations come with a MagSafe 3 port for charging and a braided battery charger that magnetically clips into place . The bully benefit of MagSafe is that if you accidentally run your metrical foot through the cable , it ’ll detach without bringing the whole laptop computer with it . you may also charge the machine with either of the USB - C ports , although you ’ll need to provide your own charger for this .
The base 13 - column inch model ( the one with the 8 - substance M3 ) come with a 30W USB - C index adapter . Move up to the 512 GB SSD example and this changes to a handy 35W plug with two USB - hundred ports – ideal for charging up both an iPhone and laptop concurrently . You could also buy this separately if you wish . The machine also support 70W debauched charging , but again this hoopla will demand to be purchased separately .
Software
Apple ’s latest MacBook Air comes running macOS Sonoma , which was released towards the ending of 2023 . It looks probably the next yearly rendering of macOS will be announced at WWDC sometime in June , with a full expiration coming later in the year after a thoroughgoing genus Beta unconscious process with both developer and the public .
It appear like AI will be a major radical for the next adaptation of macOS , piddle use of the neural engine built into the M3 crisp .
For now , a lot of the AI skill issue forth from third - party apps , like Adobe ’s Creative Cloud retinue and Microsoft ’s Office program which encompasses the brand ’s co-pilot helper .
For Sonoma , big newfangled additions admit a all-inclusive variety of gloriously designed moving wallpapers and screen recoverer , the ability to add thingummy to the screen background for glanceable information , improved TV conferencing features and a Game Mode that reduces latency for wireless gimmick and gives antecedency to the GPU .
When the M1 first arrived , app compatibility was an issue with the accompanying Macs . While Apple ’s interlingual rendition stratum ensured many apps plan for Intel ran fine on Apple Silicon , the best experience came from native services design for M - series . A few year on and I have n’t had issues with apps not functioning as they should . There are also many more aboriginal apps built for the chip , let in Office , Creative Cloud and more .
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Should you buy it?
Simple : the MacBook Air M3 is a very complete machine that does n’t have any glaring issues or missing feature of speech . It ’s tight , with unattackable barrage life and all the benefit of macOS .
If you need a bright HDR display then go for the MacBook Pro with any of the M3 iteration in spite of appearance . The MacBook Air M3 has a great screen , but it miss the brightness level required for HDR workplace .
Final Thoughts
For those who do n’t have professional workflows , this is thebest MacBookyou can presently buy and the one I would personally choose . I ’d only recommend the MacBook Pro M3 ( $ 1599/£1699 ) for those who want a fully capable HDR show .
There ’s lots of contest on the Windows side , with the £ 1399.99Asus Zenbook 14taking the best laptop treetop currently and this does have the OLED presentation the MacBook Air is drop .
It ’s not often say that Apple laptops pop the question expert value , but I think the MacBook Air M3 is just that . With a start price of £ 1099/$1099 ( down from £ 1249/$1199 for the M2 13 - inch model ) rising to a very tantalizing £ 1299/$1299 for the 15 - inch , this automobile is rightfully unvoiced to beat .
Trusted Score
How we test
Every laptop we retrospect goes through a series of uniform check designed to gauge central things include physique character , public presentation , screen quality and assault and battery life .
These let in courtly synthetic benchmarks and scripted tests , plus a series of real - creation checks , such as how well it run popular apps .
FAQs
If you ’re a light exploiter who mostly browses the web , does some word processing , replies to electronic mail and the like you should be fine with 8 GB . However , if you have the money for the 16 GB upgrade , it ’s always well to go for as much memory as you’re able to give .
There ’s a new coating on the benighted Midnight colour that does a much good job at reduce the amount of greasy fingerprint that linger . They can still be seeable , though .
