Definitely throwing my M2 away to get this M3 after this hands on review!
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Hands-On With the 2024 M3 MacBook Air
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It is starting to kinda smash through some of the "OMG AMAZING!" narratives about Apple Silicon
Yeah I mean, I knew my Intel 2018 MBP throttles like crazy. And it never shows in Geekbench, the test is too quick. I knew comparing GB score to an M3 would actually be a whole magnitude more in real performance since the M3 wouldn’t throttle… or so I believed.
But with the active cooling if the Mini, I will increase performance by about x3 by comparing GB score, but in reality about x6 since the Mini never throttles, and the Intel cuts down to half it’s performance in a real scenario. Going to be great. The M3 Pro is way above what I need, I realized.
If you have powerful computers in your office and home, what do you need a laptop for?
I keep my Pro in my house and have no need to travel with it. But if I need to once in a while, nbd.
Did I say it’s impossible to include more ports? There is an obvious connection between thinness and ports: the thinner it is, the more compromises you have to make in order to include more ports.
While USB is probably a better choice for most people, one good use of the SD Slot is as a backup disk. I have a flush mount SD Card micro SD adapter that CCC auto backs up my files as well as the location fo Amy QRecall archive. That way, I have backups when I am away from my office.
Of course, I'd love an M6 at a 1 Series price but it isn't happening.
Value is relative; as long as people find value and buy products at current price points there is no reason to change. That's no price gouging but simple economics.
Maybe beacasue most people don't tax it enough to throttle with normal work beyond just email and notes. If you get throttled regularly than a different Mac is more suited to your needs; but that doesn't mean an M3 Air won't be fine for its target market.
MacBook Pro screens are overrated.
- If a screen is 120Hz, then the pixel response needs to be 8.3 ms or lower—but the MacBook Pros have pixel responses about 70-80 ms, which is 8-10x too slow for proper 120 frames per second
- In other words, ProMotion promises clarity during motion but instead its more blurry than a MacBook Air (which has a pixel refresh of 33 ms). This is an iPad Pro, but an excellent example of what I'm talking about.
- The point of mini LED is that it promises that when your indoor lighting is low, you can see black levels in your videos that are as good as OLED
- Except the blooming around light and white objects means its totally distracting, especially if you're viewing the display off-axis which accentuates blooming. See results here and here. Notice the ghosting as people move—that is totally distracting. Why would I pay for that?
Because I like to have my Air at my desk at work for personal things. And I use it while mobile, I will always have a 13" in laptop with me.
We don’t live in that world either.
Apple just brought out the M3 MBP for those who want a better screen, more ports and active cooling. They won’t be ditching it a year later.
That video actually makes the Air sound better to me, as even he seemed impressed. Running stress tests is not a normal usage scenario, but the Air actually did quite well.
The M3 Max Studio will likely be a great machine, but it seems a strange Mac to compare... its screen and battery life are much worse than the Air. Edit: I guess I shouldn't say that, as perhaps the new Studios will come with those features.
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Actually, I think he likes Frans, since heat is a problem without Frans! You should never going shopping for a Mac without Frans.Does Frans know that you dont like him?
Yes, if you just intend to run throttling tests all day, you definitely want a Mac with a fan. In the real world, though, you likely won't notice much difference. I have an M1 mini and an M1 Air and the mini will finish a long Handbrake conversion a bit faster, but I usually don't bother switching computers if I am on the Air already, because I would spend more time changing computers than the render difference. They are both much faster than my Intel Macs.
If you, in the real world, use your computer for actual work like video exports and compiling code, yes, of course you’ll see a difference. And if you don’t, why even have a laptop? You can surf and email from the phone.
I have a M1 MBA. Are the newer M3 MBA displays still the same or there has been some sort of improvement?
I have no use of the Macbook Pro but was tempted by all the reviews online saying the screens are so so much better.
I guess for SDR content it is not really that much better?
-Because it's easier to carry around a MacBook Air then a Studio, espeacially outdoors.
-It's easier to lie in bed and type on a MacBook Air with inbuilt keyboard, instead of having to go up and sit at my studio and desk.
It's plenty of other reasons, that is probably all 1st world reasons. I'm happy that I'm allowed to solve thise reasons with having 2 Mac’s and some other Apple gears.
-I save in on other things such as medical bills/issues, I am a healthty sporty vegan, I don't drink anything expensive - ah well, my espresso interest is not cheap either.
-I live central, no need for a car. So I can afford 2 Mac’s 😊
Just like SJ’s two sizes of iBooks and two or three sizes of PowerBooks.
Isn’t it awful when people are offered choices.
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I don't even think it is just that. At least in my bubble, almost nobody buys Apple's dongles. I think a lot of it is just arrogance. Apple went all in on USB-C, and adding an USB-A port would be seen as admitting a mistake, even though almost everything I buy is still USB-C on one end of the charger and USB-A on the other. It's for the same reason that e.g. the "time remaining" prediction in the battery indicator is not coming back. Things have to get much worse before Apple backtracks just one step.
They only throttle when you try to use them like the MacBook Pro you should have purchased instead. Purchase according to your needs, or accept the compromises which come with purchasing according to your wants.
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My workload is constantly changing through the day so Time Remaining is as useless to me as a driving ETA calculated without accounting for hitting traffic and construction delays randomly throughout the trip.
I was responding to someone else who used that same slogan.
I have a feeling that Apple has not removed the indicator out of careful consideration for your workflow, but because the last Intel MacBooks (2016+) were disappointing laptops. Getting HDMI back on the Pros was already a surprise to me.
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Not really. This has nothing to do with the excellent AS chips; this is all about taking responsibility for the choices you make.
If you prioritized the benefits of the Airs — thinner/lighter than the equivalent MBP (13” Air to 14” Pro and 15” Air to 16” Pro), fanless, and excellent battery life — then you don't get to complain that they can’t handle the workflows which the Pros are better suited to. Similarly if you prioritized the benefits of the Pros — more powerful, more ports, active cooling, better screen, and better speakers — then you dont get to complain that they aren’t as thin and light as the equivalent Air.
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