The late version of the iconic MacBook Air has arrived . We ’ve exhaustively tested and full reviewed the new 13 - inch MacBook Air M3 and 13 - column inch MacBook Air M2 . Here ’s how they compare .
Apple dropped the new M3 chip towards the end of last year and a new Air was n’t part of that large number , so we ’ve had to wait a little longer . Now , it ’s been out a small while and we ’ve spent clip putting it through its gait .
A key dot of comparison is , of course , the late looping . So is this newMacBook Air M3 13 - inchworth a buy over the existingMacBook Air M2 13 - inch ? We ’ve listed all of the key differences we ’ve learned from our reviews below so you’re able to make up your mind .
Price and Availablity
The first affair to take line is that the new 13 - in MacBook Air is more expensive than its predecessor . The MacBook Air M3 13 - in has a starting terms of £ 1099/$1099 .
This is the same price point in time that the M2 - power MacBook Air originally launched with , but Apple has since slashed its price down to a more affordable £ 999/$999 .
Design
There ’s trivial to report on the invention front when comparing the new M3 Air and the older M2 Air . Next to nothing has changed . The 13 - inch Air still weighs 1.24 kilo , and that still leave a pleasing premium heave while still being exceedingly portable .
The four colours are still Silver , Space Grey , Starlight and Midnight . The latter is where the slight change comes in . Midnight was knock for its uber - fingermark attractive feature characteristics . Now , Apple says there is a raw software to serve with this exit .
Apple reckons the raw modeling is better for the environs though , despite the figure seeming monovular on the outside . It says the 13 - inch MacBook Air M3 is the very first gimmick from the company to be made with 50 % recycled materials . This is made up of 100 % recycled aluminium in the enclosure , 100 % reprocess rarefied globe elements in all the attraction and ( for the first time ) 100 % recycled pig in the master logic instrument panel .
Screen and Sound
As with the design , the MacBook Air M3 13 - inch display and audio setup remains the same as the M2 manikin . You still get a bright LCD with a strong 2560 x 1664 solving , all in a 13.6 - inch size of it .
While strait stay on top - notch , spectacularly full , tawdry and accurate for audio recording from such a trimming simple machine . It ’s a little unsatisfying there was n’t an acclivity here but things like ProMotion and Mini LED are appropriate for the MacBook Pro .
Performance
Again , nothing has alter when it make out to the wider specification on whirl with the MacBook Air M3 compared with the M2 . you’re able to spec it up with the same amounts ofunified memoryandSSDstorage .
The braggart alteration is the newApple M3chip itself but , even that , still offers the same 8 - center CPU option and up to 10 - core GPU option as the premature equipment .
However , in our testing , you’re able to see above that the variety does have an impact on performance . Geekbench 6 results show just under a 20 percent addition across single and multi - core workloads . In the Cinebench R213 rendering test , we saw just under a 15 % increase in the multi sum result .
The MacBook Air M3 remains a spectacularly strong machine for photo editing , light video redaction and general day-to-day tasks , just as the M2 was . Both doing this without a fan is hugely telling too . The uplift in performance is enough to be attractive but , with few fresh feature enable because of it , the difference between this machines is n’t stark .
Battery Life
For the battery spirit , Apple touts the same up to 18 hours of barrage life specification across the new M3 Air and the erstwhile M2 Air . give down , Apple says that is 15 hours of web browsing and 18 hours of video recording playback .
Despite this , the M3 actually performed stronger in our own test , looping a video using the Apple TV app and running the battery down . We managed 18 hours in that test , which is up 2 hours from what we experienced with the MacBook Air M2 13 - column inch .
Final Verdict
The Apple MacBook Air M3 13 - inch is another sensational laptop that ’ll be a enormous buy for those looking to do some light creative work or intensive productiveness tasking . It brings the same style and portability as the previous simulation too .
The performance boost is a dainty excrescence up but is n’t substantial enough to guarantee an upgrade from the M2 Air if you already have it . Further , if you do n’t have either , then the M2 Air is highly attractive at its newly thin out price , particularly if you may discover crack at third party retailers . However , there ’s always the disceptation of buying the late and greatest for longevity ’s sake , if you may give it .
