Comparison of MacBook Air with M3 chip and MacBook Air with M2 chip: all the differences and improvements

Discover the differences in this comparison between the 2024 MacBook Air and its predecessor

Comparison between MacBook Air M2 (left) and MacBook Air M3 (right)

Apple has launched the new 2024 MacBook Air powered by the Apple Silicon M3 chip. We are faced with the new generation of laptops, the MacBook Air with M2 chip, which will be released in 2023. How powerful is the M3 series processor? Are the differences as bad as they seem?

consumers They now face the dilemma between buying a MacBook Air with an M3 chip or opting for the previous generation MacBook Air with an M2 chip.. That’s why we decided to make a comparison between these two MacBook Air models, highlighting all the features. differences, changes and improvements.

  • Main differences
  • Specifications: MacBook Air M2 and MacBook Air M3
  • Comparison: MacBook Air M2 vs MacBook Air M3
    • M2 chip and M3 chip
    • Other differences
    • Price
  • MacBook Air with M2 chip or MacBook Air with M3 chip; Which one to buy?

Main differences

Differences between 2023 MacBook Air and 2024 MacBook Air are minimal both at the design level and at the technical specifications level. But the integration of the M3 chip completely changes the rules of the game.

  • M3 chip.
  • WiFi 6E connection.
  • Support for two external displays.
  • Hardware accelerated ray tracing (ray tracing).
  • Price.

Specifications: MacBook Air M2 and MacBook Air M3

You can know in the following table we added below All the differences in hardware specifications between MacBook Air with M2 chip and MacBook Air with M3 chip.

On this occasion, we compared the differences between the models. 13 inchSince Apple discontinued the 2023 15-inch MacBook Air, it is still available on some retail platforms and authorized stores.

Features MacBook Air M2 MacBook Air M3
Dimensions 12″ x 8.5″ x 0.75″ 12″ x 8.5″ x 0.75″
Weight 1.24kg 1.24kg
Screen 13.6 inch Liquid Retina
2,560 x 1,664 pixels
500 nits
Wide color gamut (P3)
true tone
60Hz
13.6 inch Liquid Retina
2,560 x 1,664 pixels
500 nits
Wide color gamut (P3)
true tone
60Hz
Processor M2 M3
Processor 8 cores 8 cores
GPU 8 and 10 cores 8 and 10 cores
unified memory 8GB, 16GB, 24GB 8GB, 16GB, 24GB
to store 256GB, 512GB, 1TB, 2TB 256GB, 512GB, 1TB, 2TB
FaceTime Camera FaceTime HD at 1080p FaceTime HD at 1080p
speakers Four-speaker system with Dolby Atmos
Wide stereo sound
Four-speaker system with Dolby Atmos
microphones Three microphones with beamforming technology Three microphones with beamforming technology
MagSafe Yes Yes
Connection Wi-Fi 6
Bluetooth 5.3
Wi-Fi 6E
Bluetooth 5.3
USB-C ports 2 Lightning/USB 4 2 Lightning/USB 4
Battery Up to 15 hours of wireless web browsing

Up to 18 hours of video playback in the Apple TV app

Up to 15 hours of wireless web browsing

Up to 18 hours of video playback in the Apple TV app

Colors Midnight
White Star
space gray
Silver
Midnight
White Star
space gray
Silver
Price 1,199 euros 1,299 euros

Comparison: MacBook Air M2 vs MacBook Air M3

MacBook Air

Comparison with differences between MacBook Air models

As you may have seen in the specifications table, the two MacBook Air models are almost identical. Except for some differences such as Wi-Fi 6E support and next-generation hardware-accelerated ray tracing. However No difference in screen, battery or design level.

The main difference between the 2023 MacBook Air and the 2024 MacBook Air lies in its processor. M3 chip numerous advances over M2 chip.

M2 chip and M3 chip

Apple M3 chip

Apple’s M3 chip is ready for artificial intelligence

Early benchmark tests show that the M3 chip in the MacBook Air has 20% higher performance than the previous generation. Specifically, it is 18% more powerful on single-core tasks and approximately 21% more efficient on multi-core tasks.

M2 chip M3 chip
Basis Based on A15 Bionic chip Based on A17 Pro chip
Producing 5 nanometer technique (N5P) 3 nanometer technique (N3B)
Transistors 20 billion transistors 25 billion transistors
processor speed 3.49GHz 4.05GHz
Others AV1 decoding support
New GPU architecture
Dynamic Capture
Hardware accelerated ray tracing

The M3 chip’s GPU is also much more powerful. Not only does it provide support with ray tracing functionality (ray tracing) for hardware acceleration for video games, but also Offers around 15% improvement over the GPU in the M2 chip.

TSMC’s 3-nanometer manufacturing process helped the M3 chip feature: perform more complex AI tasks and we also offer a quote more energy efficiency Compared to M2 chip. So you get higher performance without compromising your power consumption.

Other differences

MacBook Air

MacBook Air M3 can work with two external monitors

One of the biggest innovations of the MacBook Air M3 is its connectivity. Apple implemented its technology Wi-Fi 6E To offer a faster network connection.

Also available are MacBook Air models with M3 chips Support for two external displays with resolutions up to 5K at 60 Hz. The previous generation, as well as the MacBook Pro series, only offer support for external displays, and of course the MacBook Air only works with the lid closed.

Price

MacBook Air

Apple introduced the new MacBook Air in March 2024

MacBook Air model with M2 chip currently available: 1,199 eurosHowever, you can also find other, more affordable alternatives. The base price of the new MacBook Air with M3 chip is as follows: 1,299 euros At Apple Store.

  • Macbook Air M2: 1,199 euros.
  • Macbook Air M3: 1,299 euros.

MacBook Air M2 (256GB)

MacBook Air with M2 chip or MacBook Air with M3 chip; Which one to buy?

This is not an easy decision. Both models have tremendous power and are very new. Let’s remember this MacBook Air with M2 chip (15″) released in June 2023Just a few months ago during Apple’s WWDC main event.

The new MacBook Air with M3 chip is mainly focused on all users who have an old Mac. If you already have a MacBook Air with an M2 chip, we don’t recommend upgrading your laptop.There aren’t many differences in the new series, and not many improvements have been implemented to make the change truly worth it.

But, If you are considering buying an M2 or M3 MacBook Air, we strongly recommend that you choose the model with an M3 chip.. In this case it’s worth it. It’s much more powerful, has highly relevant features like Wi-Fi 6E connectivity, and is only 100 euros more.

These All the differences between the new 2024 MacBook Air and the 2023 MacBook Air. The M3 chip is far superior to the M2 chip; Now you’ll have to decide whether it’s really worth buying the MacBook Air M3 for a little more money to get that performance and a year’s worth of updates. If you want to learn more on the subject, we invite you to check out this comparison between Apple’s M1, M2 and M3 chips.

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Source: i Padizate

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