Apple's 2024 M3 MacBook Air Refresh: What to Expect

[MacRumors]

Apple updated the MacBook Pro line with M3 chips late last year, but the MacBook Air has yet to be refreshed with the new hardware. That could change as soon as late March, with rumors suggesting an iPad and Mac-centric event is in the works.

We're expecting new versions of the MacBook Air, and this guide highlights everything we know about the upcoming machines.

Size and Design

As of last year, the MacBook Air is available in two sizes instead of one. Apple makes a 13.6-inch MacBook Air and a 15.3-inch MacBook Air, so consumers can choose between favoring portability or screen size.

Apple is going to refresh both versions of the MacBook Air. The look of the MacBook Air was last updated in June of 2022, and there are no rumors of design changes this time around. Apple will continue to use the same flat MacBook Pro-style body that was introduced in 2022, with full-size black Magic Keyboard, large Force Touch trackpad, dual USB-C ports, Touch ID, Thunderbolt charging, slim bezeled display, and aluminum chassis.

The only difference between the two models in terms of design will be the display size.

Right now, the MacBook Air is available in silver, space gray, starlight, and midnight, which is a new dark blue color. We could see the three standard colors and another special color, or a whole new color lineup.

Updated M3 Chip

With no design changes planned, chip updates will be the main focus of the refresh. The current MacBook Air models use the prior-generation M2 chip, with Apple planning to upgrade the machines with the M3 chip that was first introduced in the MacBook Pro.

The M3 chip is built on Apple's next-generation 3-nanometer process, which basically means that it offers better performance and power efficiency than the 5-nanometer M2. For context, there are 25 billion transistors in the M3 chip, up from 20 billion in the M2.

CPU benchmarks indicate that the M3 is approximately 17 percent faster than the M2 when it comes to single-core tasks, and 21 percent faster at multi-core tasks. GPU performance is up approximately 15 percent, but there are other GPU improvements that give the M3 chip a notable boost.

The M3 chip has a new GPU architecture that uses Dynamic Caching, which basically means that tasks use the exact amount of memory that they need and adapt in real-time for maximum utilization. The result is improved performance for GPU-intensive apps and games.

For games and 3D software, the M3 chip supports hardware-accelerated ray tracing and mesh shading. Hardware-based ray tracing is faster than software-based ray tracing, so any game or app that uses ray tracing will perform better. Complex lighting effects won't take up as many system resources, speeding up rendering times.

It is worth noting that almost all Mac games do not support ray tracing, so for gaming, this is a feature that will be useful in the future rather than immediately. For 3D tasks in apps like Blender, there will be speed improvements.

There's a new media engine in the M3 chip that supports AV1 decode. AV1 is a video codec that streaming platforms are using for higher-quality video content at a low bitrate. AV1 is becoming increasingly popular for 4K and 8K videos, and AV1 decoding is another good future proofing feature to have even for those that don't need it immediately.

Other Upgrades

The next MacBook Air models are likely to get Wi-Fi 6E support, allowing them to connect to the 6GHz Wi-Fi band offered by compatible 6GHz routers. There's a good chance battery life will be improved thanks to the upgrade to M3 chip technology.

Worth Updating?

If you have an M2 MacBook Air, it's not going to be worth updating to the M3 version because the improvements aren't notable enough. You won't see design changes, and while the M3 is better, it's not that much better.

Most people who have an M1 chip may not want to update either, but there's more to gain with the M1 to M3 upgrade both in terms of performance and in design. The M1 machines used the prior MacBook Air design, so updating to M3 gets you the sleek new look.

For those coming from an older Intel-based MacBook Air or another Intel-based machine, the M3 will be a radical improvement.

Launch Date

We're expecting to see new M3 MacBook Air models introduced sometime in March or April, and signs right now point toward a launch at the end of March. We don't yet have details on a potential Apple event, but we should be hearing more in the next few weeks.

Article Link: Apple's 2024 M3 MacBook Air Refresh: What to Expect

 

[Gloor]

Yesterday!

New MacBook Air Models Launching This March: 5 Features to Expect

The existing 15-inch MacBook Air arrived in June 2023, which is not that long ago in terms of Mac update cycles. However, Apple released the current...

www.macrumors.com

 

[257Loner]

Everything is the same. There. 4 words. Was all that other verbiage necessary?

 

[Howard2k]

Everything is the same. There. 4 words. Was all that other verbiage necessary?

You just proved that the other verbiage is necessary, since obviously not everything is the same.

 

[M1 Max]

The M3 Pro chip would be a very suitable for the Air as it is the most balanced chip Apple ever created.

 

[DHagan4755]

Anodization seal on the midnight finish?

 

[SW3029]

Hope the 15-inch comes in black now.

And FFS lower the RAm prices.

 

[kp98077]

Keep Your Existing Air (KYEA)

 

[Chuckeee]

The M3 Pro chip would be a very suitable for the Air as it is the most balanced chip Apple ever created.

Except it runs too hot for passive cooling, and would require the addition of a fan. And it’s not clear if the heat sink for an M3pro ship would even fit onto the logic board on a stick approached used within the MacBook air.

 

[Reason077]

Let's hope they finally bump the base storage up to 512GB, like they've done with the MacBook Pros. The difference in cost is almost measured in pennies at this point, and continuing to ship 256GB laptops is just sad and mean-spirited.

 

[Chuckeee]

I wonder what’s going to happen with the entry-level MacBook Air. Will they keep the existing M1, will they keep an M2 MBA as an entry-level or the entry-level just be some gimped M3? My guess is, it would be an M2, but that’s purely a guess

 

[MysticCow]

The only difference between the two models in terms of design will be the display size.

The larger base would also act as a larger heat dissipation system, would it not? I’ve been thinking of one as a “poor man’s pro” precisely because of the thought of a larger heat dissipation, which would allow for somewhat heavier workflows.

 

[Chuckeee]

Let's hope they finally bump the base storage up to 512GB, like they've done with the MacBook Pros. The difference in cost is almost measured in pennies at this point, and continuing to ship 256GB laptops is just sad and mean-spirited.

It would be nice but the MBA logic board is a “computer on a stick” and more closely resembles the iMac logic board than an MBP logic board and unfortunately M3 iMac still use a 256GB SSD at the entry level. So a new M3 MBA might still be stuck at 256GB at the entry level. 😪

 

[k1121j]

I do so want a MBP 14” is to small and 16” is to big :-/

 

[elliotmoore91]

The M3 Pro chip would be a very suitable for the Air as it is the most balanced chip Apple ever created.

That would be great but man, I bet it would get pretty toasty with no fans around to cool it down.

 

[elliotmoore91]

On paper the 15 sounds like it would be perfect for me but when I went to see it instore, it just felt really weird. Maybe the absence of the speaker grills threw me off. Anyone else?

 

[Reason077]

I wonder what’s going to happen with the entry-level MacBook Air. Will they keep the existing M1, will they keep an M2 MBA as an entry-level or the entry-level just be some gimped M3? My guess is, it would be an M2, but that’s purely a guess

Can't see them keeping the M2 around, except on the refurbished store. The M1 works as an entry-level product because it's a different form factor, giving clear differentiation, but the M2 would look exactly the same and would be confusing.

Either the M1 stays on as the entry-level MacBook, or it disappears and there's a cheapo M3 at its $999 price point. Reportedly the M2 MacBook Airs sold poorly compared to the M1, so Apple could be looking to do something to make the M3 Airs more attractive.

 

[InfoTime]

Upsetting that you can't run two displays off of an Air without a software add on.

 

[Populus]

If Apple doesn’t release a 12” MacBook (Air/Pro) this year, I’ll probably lose all hope for a small and light Mac…

 

[Lakersfan74]

I need 120hz on an Air model since they have priced me out with the Pro.

 

[HobeSoundDarryl]

Let's hope they finally bump the base storage up to 512GB, like they've done with the MacBook Pros. The difference in cost is almost measured in pennies at this point, and continuing to ship 256GB laptops is just sad and mean-spirited.

For me (24 year Apple (about) everything guy), I need to see much better value on both RAM and SSD upgrades than the current norm. I was ready to buy M2air on launch day until I upped those 2 things to my wants... and the price overran "deals" on M2 MBpros.

This one is going to be up against deals on M3 MBpros and I hope it will be different this time.

I have towards zero expectations of improved relative RAM and SSD upgrade pricing, so I won't hold my breath. But I will be holding my wallet ready to buy or not buy depending on a better value being offered or not. I'd definitely like one of these but not at current RAM & SSD upgrade pricing. So hopefully, Apple will be moved to throw customers a bone this time instead of "more, more, more" for shareholders. Else, my aging MBpro will keep being used until the wheels fall off.

Serious consideration that the next laptop may be a PC is growing... and that would not have even been a thought as recently as 5 years ago.

 

[TigerWoodsIV]

Maybe I missed it, but presumably only support for 1 external display like the cheaper MBP since it’s the same chip? If so, pass.

 

[autistic-savant]

Upsetting that you can't run two displays off of an Air without a software add on.

I disagree. Needing a total of three displays is the most obvious demonstration of a Pro use case known to humanity 🙂

 

[Chuckeee]

Maybe I missed it, but presumably only support for 1 external display like the cheaper MBP since it’s the same chip? If so, pass.

I would guess so too. Also the same as the M3 iMac that uses the same M3 chip

 

[Flex77]

I would guess so too. Also the same as the M3 iMac that uses the same M3 chip

You can use an iPad as a third display via the sidecar feature apparently, but I don’t know if that’s useful in reality. The architecture being limited to one external display is really the single most disappointing thing about the M3 SOC.