There were rumors about an imminent release. And in fact it was so. Apple officially unveiled this Monday updated version of MacBook Airwhich uses the famous M3 processor in both 13-inch and 15-inch versions.
This processor is actually not new. The company debuted it late last year on the MacBook Pro, where it has shown very good results in recent months. This chip has a new processor with High performance cores with low power consumption 15% and 30% more powerful than its predecessor, respectively. Overall, according to data released by Apple, the processor is 20% more powerful than the M2.
New MacBook Air chip too install an upgraded GPU which welcomes, among other things, technologies such as Grid shading, dynamic caching And Ray tracing via hardware. According to the brand, this GPU is 20% more powerful than the M2 and 65% more advanced than the M1.
The company then assured that Both the CPU and GPU of the M3 chip were not only more powerful, but also more efficient.. In fact, they are able to match the performance of the M1 CPU and GPU while consuming 50% less power.
This evolution also extends to the Neural Engine of the new MacBook Air, which 15% more powerful than M2 and 60% more advanced than M1. despite maintaining the same number of cores. Added to all this is memory bandwidth up to 100 GB/s and a Media Engine that accelerates any work with H.264, HEVC, ProRes, ProRes RAW and AV1.
What’s changed in the MacBook Air besides the M3 chip?
The new hardware, in addition to being more powerful, also offers Wi-Fi 6E connectivity, various improvements related to the microphone system and, for the first time on MacBook Air since the transition to Apple Silicon, Allows you to simultaneously connect to two external screens.
Otherwise, the MacBook Air features the same hardware as before. Design and colors, physical ports, screen, battery life, internal memory, RAM configurations, etc. are saved.
| 13-inch MacBook Air | 15-inch MacBook Air | |
|---|---|---|
| Screen | 13.6-inch Liquid Retina display with True Tone technology, up to 500 nits brightness and P3. | 15.3″ Liquid Retina display with True Tone technology, up to 500 nits brightness and P3. |
| CPU | Apple M3 with 8- or 10-core GPU | Apple M3 with 10-core GPU |
| Autonomy | Until 18 o’clock | Until 18 o’clock |
| Camera | FaceTime HD in 1080p resolution | FaceTime HD in 1080p resolution |
| Biometrics | Yes, Touch ID | Yes, Touch ID |
| Charger | One 30W port or two 35W ports | dual port 35W |
| RAM | 8, 16 or 24 GB | 8, 16 or 24 GB |
| Storage | 256 GB, 512 GB, 1 TB or 2 TB | 256 GB, 512 GB, 1 TB or 2 TB |
| Weight | 1.24 kg | 1.51 kg |
| Connectivity | Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.3, MagSafe 3, 3.5mm port and two Thunderbolt/USB 4 ports | Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.3, MagSafe 3, 3.5mm port and two Thunderbolt/USB 4 ports |
Prices for the new MacBook Air with M3
In terms of price, the new MacBook Air with M3 processor starts at €1,299 in Spain. (including taxes) and $1,099 in the US (before taxes). It can be reserved now on the brand’s website and official distributors, although the first copies won’t ship until Friday, March 8th.
| Model | Price |
|---|---|
| 13-inch MacBook Air with M3 processor (8-core GPU), 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD | 1299 euros |
| 13-inch MacBook Air with M3 processor (10-core GPU), 8GB RAM, 512GB SSD | 1529 euros |
| 13-inch MacBook Air with M3 processor (10-core GPU), 16 GB RAM, 512 GB SSD | 1759 euros |
| 15-inch MacBook Air with M3 processor (10-core GPU), 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD | 1599 euros |
| 15-inch MacBook Air with M3 processor (10-core GPU), 8GB RAM, 512GB SSD | 1829 euros |
| 15-inch MacBook Air with M3 processor (10-core GPU), 16 GB RAM, 512 GB SSD | 2059 euros |
The release of this device marks the departure of the M1 chip-powered MacBook Air, which has remained a cheaper alternative in recent years. In its place is the MacBook Air with the M2 chip, which in the 13-inch version now costs 1,199 euros.
Source: Hiper Textual
I’m Ben Stock, a highly experienced and passionate journalist with a career in the news industry spanning more than 10 years. I specialize in writing content for websites, including researching and interviewing sources to produce engaging articles. My current role is as an author at Gadget Onus, where I mainly cover the mobile section.
