Refreshing its line-up of MacBook Air laptops, Apple unveils its latest M3 MacBook Air. As always, the new laptops are up for pre-orders, right away. The refresh was due, since the M3 chip was released. In this article, we’ll talk about all there is about the latest refresh.
When was the M3 Chip released?
Apple announced its latest chip on October 30, 2023. It was launched in three variants:
- Apple M3
- Apple M3 Pro
- Apple M3 Max
While, the first device to sport the M3 chip was Apple MacBook Pro, which was made available in November 2023.
Which version of M3 is coming to the MacBook Air?
Since the MacBook Air is the cheapest macOS laptop in Apple’s entire line up, it naturally comes with the least powerful version of the chip, hence it only gets the M3.
However, it isn’t bad by any means. It is an extremely powerful chip based on the 3nm technology, as opposed to M2’s 5nm process, which offers 60% faster performance compared to M1, which again was based on 5nm.
If you’re someone who owns an Intel-based MacBook, and is thinking of upgrading, you’re in for a treat, since Apple says that M3 offers 13 times faster performance than it’s Intel predecessor (sheesh!).
Apple M3 Specifications
The M3 chip comes in two specifications:
- 8-Core CPU
- 8-Core GPU
- 16-Core Neural Engine
- 8GB RAM (bummer!)
- 256GB Storage
- 8-Core CPU
- 10-Core GPU
- 16-Core Neural Engine
- 8GB or 16GB RAM
- 512GB Storage
Notably, the 8-Core GPU version is available in only the 13-inch model, and is understandably the cheapest M3 laptop you can get.
Other differences between M3 and previous MacBook Airs
The biggest upgrade is the support for two external displays. The M2 MacBook Air had the support for just one external display, with up to 6K resolution at 60Hz. But M3 MacBook Air supports two external displays, with up to 5K resolution at 60Hz, but with its lid closed. Yes, this means if you open the lid, you’ll lose on external display.
Apart from this, the new laptops come with an upgraded Wi-Fi 6E support, for blazing fast download speeds, and support for AV1 decode that ensures better video quality when streaming your favourite OTT platforms.
Apple MacBook Air M3 Pricing
13-inch MacBook Air M3 price, starts at:
- $1,099
- £1,099
- €1,299
- ₹1,14,900
15-inch MacBook Air M3 price starts at:
- $1,299
- £1,299
- €1,599
- ₹1,34,900
What about the old MacBook models?
As Apple unveils its latest M3 MacBook Air, it has slashed the price of MacBook Air M2 by various amounts in different regions, and has discontinued the MacBook Air M1, altogether. That marks the end of an era. We’re sure you all too loved the tapered sides design of the old MacBook Air, just like we did!
You can read the entire press release by Apple, here.
