Apple has just announced an update to its popular MacBook Air series, just one month after launching the Vision Pro headset. The big takeaway here? The new MacBook Air is equipped with the company's M3 chipset. Previously reserved for the more powerful MacBook Pro line and the latest iMac models, this chip is coming to the new 13- and 15-inch MacBook Air models.
The M3 chip is much more powerful than its predecessor, with benchmark tests showing an approximate performance increase of 17 percent on single-core tasks and 21 percent on multi-core tasks. This applies to GPU performance, with about a 15 percent improvement over the M2.
In other words, the line between the MacBook Air and Pro is still blurry. Gone are the days when Air was used exclusively for web browsing. (However, it's worth noting that the new Air features the standard M3 chip, not the M3 Pro or Max.)
Aside from the new chip, this is still the MacBook Air. It looks essentially the same as the 2022 model, with the same gorgeous 13.6-inch display and a surprisingly powerful quad-speaker setup. We called the M2 version from two years ago “Apple's near-perfect Mac” and “the perfect ultra-portable machine.” Likewise, the 15-inch model is essentially identical to the one Apple introduced last summer, minus the M3 upgrade.
The new MBAs come with a relatively modest 8GB of RAM — but these aren't Apple's power-hungry laptops. They have… just a very powerful chip. As before, both devices max out at 24GB of RAM and 2TB of storage. There should be new benefits, including, as Apple mentioned, support for up to two external displays when the laptop is closed. There's also Wi-Fi 6E included in the 2024 Air family of laptops.
The 13-inch M3 MacBook Air is priced at $1,099, while the 15-inch model starts at $1,299. Apple is also saying goodbye to the M1 MacBook Air, while the 13-inch M2 model will remain on sale for $999.
Both new MacBook Air models are available for pre-order today, and the devices will be available on Friday, March 8.
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