Apple has last announced the MacBook Air M3 , bringing its latest M - series chip to its most democratic range of laptops .

Apple first introduce theM3 chip in previous 2023 , with both the MacBook Pro 14 - in and iMacgetting refreshed versions with the new chip inside . It was leftover that the MacBook Air in either its 13 or 15 - inch did n’t receive an update though . Well , that has change now , as the MacBook Air M3 is last here .

If you ’re in the food market for a young Apple laptop , and are n’t fussed about one that includes a high - destruction M3 Pro or M3 Max bit , then there are two strong alternative use the regular M3 chip .

Here we ’ll equate the MacBook Air M3 with the MacBook Pro 14 - column inch M3 , look at the fundamental skills and benefits of each and helping you make an informed buying decision .

The MacBook Air comes in two sizes

Yes , you could get the MacBook Pro in either 14 - inch or 16 - column inch tone , however the M3 crisp is only available if you plump for the 14 - inch model . There ’s no 16 - column inch MacBook Pro with an M3 splintering uncommitted , as that exclusively uses the M3 Pro and M3 Max option .

With the MacBook Air though you could get it in two sizes , either 13 - inch and 15 - column inch . This is also the first time Apple has liberate both Air sizes at the same metre , so you ’re not sacrifice anything by pick a favoured size .

Even with that being said , the 14 - inch size does still seem like the perfect sweet-flavored office . It combines the portability of the 13 - column inch model with a gravid presentation that does n’t feel too far off the 15 - inch in terms .

The MacBook Pro 14-inch M3 retains the superior display

It might only come in one size of it pick , but the MacBook Pro 14 - inch M3 does have both M3 versions of the MacBook Air beat when it comes to screen quality .

With the MacBook Pro , you ’re getting amini - LEDpanel with Apple ’s XDR technical school and a peak brightness of 1600 nits . This allows for full workflows to be completed in HDR and also allows proper HDR message to be viewed on the screen . The MacBook Pro has a 600 nit peak for SDR content andProMotiontech for ramping up the refresh rate to 120Hz .

The LCD on the MacBook Air M3 is more low in comparability . It does n’t plump for HDR and has a top SDR luminousness of around 500 nits – according to Apple . It also has a fixed 60Hz refresh pace .

Go for the MacBook Air M3 if portability is key

The MacBook Air 13 - inch M3 is the picking if keeping the system of weights down is fundamental . It librate 1.24 kilo , notably less than the 1.55 kilo MacBook 14 - inch M3 . Even the 15 - inch atmosphere is lighter than the Pro , at 1.51 kg .

Both size of the Air are thinner than the Pro too , with the 13 - inch have a height of 1.13 centimetre and the 15 - inch 1.15 cm . The MacBook Pro , on the other deal , has a height of 1.55 cm .

Performance comes from the M3 chip

As all these automobile are powered by the M3 and , as a resultant , a portion of the contour are the same . All three machines have an 8 - core central processor ( comprised of 4 carrying out cores and 4 efficiency centre ) , a 10 - core GPU and indorse up to 24 GB of unified memory . They also support up to 2 TB of storage – although the Air depart at 256 GB , as opposed to 512 GB on the Pro .

Hardware accelerated ray tracing comes as standard , as does a 16 - core neural locomotive for AI tasks and 100GB / s memory bandwidth . All machine supportBluetooth 5.3andWi - Fi 6E.

The Pro 14-inch M3 could have the Air M3 beat for battery life

Now , we ’ll require to get all the machines into our trial run outer space to decent test the survival , however harmonise to Apple ’s number , the Pro 14 - in M3 has a slight advantage in the battery stakes .

Apple has claimed the MacBook Pro 14 - inch M3 can last up to 22 hours of video recording playback with the 13 - inch and 15 - in Airs tapping out at 18 minute . The score are the same when it comes to WWW browsing though , with all three aiming for 15 hours .

The MacBook Pro 14 - column inch does have the benefit of an included 70w USB - ascorbic acid power adapter , with fast charge supported if that ’s swapped out for the 96w variation . For the MacBook Air 13 - inch M3 the base mannikin ship with a 30w plug , with the other simulation coming with a 35w dual larboard cud .

There’s a clear winner for port selection

There ’s only one victor for port wine , and that ’s the MacBook Pro 14 - column inch M3 .

While all three political machine pack two Thunderbolt / USB 4 ports , the Pro adds in a very useful HDMI port and SDXC card slot . It ’s a real disgrace there ’s no SD identity card reader on the MacBook Air range .

The MacBook Air M3 is the more affordable choice

Right , let ’s get down to pricing . The MacBook Pro 14 - column inch M3 starts at £ 1699/$1599 for 8 GB memory and 512 GB SSD . The top theoretical account , with 16 GB computer storage and 1 TB SSD betray for £ 2099/$1099 .

With the MacBook Air 13 - in M3 the cost get at £ 1099/$1099 for 8 GB memory and 256 GB SSD and rises to £ 1499/$1499 for 16 GB computer memory and 512 GB SSD . The 15 - inch translation starts at £ 1299/$1299 ( 8 GB , 256 GB SSD ) and rises to £ 1699/$1699 ( 16GB/512 GB SSD ) .