M3 MacBook Air Models Now Arriving to Customers in New Zealand and Australia

[MacRumors]

It is Friday, March 8 in New Zealand and Australia, which means customers who pre-ordered one of the new machines in those two countries are receiving their MacBook Air models.

Introduced on Monday of this week, the updated 13.6-inch and 15.3-inch MacBook Air models are equipped with the same M3 chip that was introduced in the MacBook Pro late last year.

• M2 vs. M3 MacBook Air Buyer's Guide: All Differences Compared

There are no external changes to the MacBook Air, with Apple instead focusing on internal updates. The M3 chip is up to 30 percent faster than the M2 chip in terms of CPU performance, and there are notable GPU improvements with Apple adding support for Dynamic Caching, hardware-accelerated ray tracing, hardware-accelerated mesh shading, and support for AV1 decode.

Other improvements to the MacBook Air include support for two external displays when the machine is used in clamshell mode, support for Wi-Fi 6E, enhanced voice clarity for audio and video calls, and a new anodization seal to reduce fingerprints on the Midnight finish.

Apple retail stores in Australia are selling the new MacBook Air machines, and there is plenty of stock for walk-in customers. Apple does not operate stores in New Zealand, so customers in that country need to order online.

Following New Zealand and Australia, sales and deliveries of the new ‌MacBook Air models will launch in Asia, the Middle East, Europe, and finally, North America.

We'll be sharing a hands-on review of the new M3 MacBook Air in the morning after picking up one of the new devices.

Article Link: M3 MacBook Air Models Now Arriving to Customers in New Zealand and Australia

 

[vertsix]

I still can't believe they start off with 8GB RAM.

 

[krspkbl]

I still can't believe they start off with 8GB RAM.

It sucks but for a lot of people 8GB is more than enough so of course Apple will still sell it. It’s silly spending that much money and only getting 8GB though. 16GB should be minimum.

I had 8GB in my MacBook in 2011.

 

[Candlelight]

I didn't get mine, and I've been waiting by the mailbox all day.

Didn't order one, but still.

 

[minik]

I still can't believe they start off with 8GB RAM.

Imagine if 16GB is the baseline but at US$1,299 (vs 8GB at US$1,099), many will be disappointed as well.

 

[Boardiesboi]

Just had my 15" M3 MBA 512GB delivered in Sydney, upgraded from 13" M2 MBA.

The midnight finish is definitely shows less fingerprints, but it's not 100% smudge resistant.

Still getting used to the bigger screen - Should've got the 15" as soon as it became available last time!

 

[HobeSoundDarryl]

Congrats friends "down under." Enjoy first crack at the new goodies.

 

[erikkfi]

I'm happy for those getting one, but this was such a nothing launch to me. Bring on the new iPads!

 

[HobeSoundDarryl]

Imagine if 16GB is the baseline but at US$1,299 (vs 8GB at US$1,099), many will be disappointed as well.

Yes, because the "starting spec" is not really the gripe: it's the outrageous relative cost to pay for that 16GB upgrade hop. Pretending like $200 is the RIGHT price is only applying Apple's outrageous pricing to the situation vs. say, 64GB RAM at a retail quantity ONE (unit) purchase with a nice profit for Amazon too (still costing substantially less than 8GB of Apple RAM)...

Else if 16GB is "enough" for someone, instead of only paying for 8 MORE GB in that upgrade for $200, one could buy the entire 16GB for considerably less than that $200...

Neither example is "cheapest"- shopping around would likely find even better pricing- but just representative of what fast RAM can cost... when there are competitors vs. a lone "company store" able to basically charge anything and if someone wants/needs "the rest", they have to just pay up.

So yes, if Apple just upped the RAM and charged $200 more, many people would likely react negatively. Looking at retail pricing of 16GB for $45, we can assume half of that (the upgrade) might be $22.50 at retail. Given Apple's near 50% margin, shall we assume in that it costs them about HALF of that: $11.25? Maybe fold that extra 8GB into Macs and keep the price the same? It never hurts to throw customers a value added bone from time to time and that one seems easy and inexpensive... especially if we further worked the numbers at Apple purchase volumes instead of pretending like Apple would be dealing with retail pricing all the way down to cost per unit. I'm confident that such a move would be very well received by Apple customers.

I'm an Apple "everything" guy for about 24 years now and this just erodes the halo for me... so much so that I find myself seriously considering a PC laptop to replace my aging MB, something that would not even had a moment of consideration as recently as 5 years ago. But hoorayyyy for them shareholders! 💰💰💰

 

[Mac Fly (film)]

$10B spent on an unreleased car and they can’t give their thin and light a real-world-functional complement of ports. They artificially make people upgrade to a heavy, chunky computer that most people don’t prefer in terms of form factor.

Apple should further differentiate the “pro” laptops from the Air by the power they have, by discontinuing the one with a non-Pro chip for starters… not by gimping the form factor regular people like more. SD Card and HDMI are not “Pro” features, they are common ports and all Mac laptops should have them for maximum compatibility and interoperability across a range of interactions and settings. No teacher, amateur photographer, conference attendee or anyone else should have to suffer dongles for either of these basic functions even if not used a lot.

We can live without a glove box in a car, as it’s not often used by most people, but it’s included because it’s a good idea, just like a MacBook Air with a full set of common ports. It’s a good idea and it needs to be added back.

 

[steve09090]

Yes, because the "starting spec" is not really the gripe: it's the outrageous relative cost to pay for that 16GB upgrade hop. Pretending like $200 is the RIGHT price is only applying Apple's outrageous pricing to the situation vs. say, 64GB RAM at a retail quantity ONE (unit) purchase with a nice profit for Amazon too (still costing substantially less than 8GB of Apple RAM)...

View attachment 2356717

Else if 16GB is "enough" for someone, instead of only paying for 8 MORE GB in that upgrade for $200, one could buy the entire 16GB for considerably less than that $200...

View attachment 2356718

Neither example is "cheapest" pricing- shopping around would likely find even better pricing- but just representative of what fast RAM can cost... when there are competitors vs. a lone "company store" able to basically charge anything and if someone wants/needs "the rest", they have to just pay up.

I'm an Apple "everything" guy for about 24 years now and this just erodes the halo for me... so much so that I find myself seriously considering a PC laptop to replace my aging MB, something that would not even had a moment of consideration as recently as 5 years ago. But hoorayyyy for them shareholders! 💰💰💰

Can you show us the price of the RAM that’s physically integrated into the SoC please? Ta.

 

[azentropy]

Can you show us the price of the RAM that’s physically integrated into the SoC please? Ta.

It is probably even less, that is one of the reasons Apple has moved to the SoC model.

 

[Johnny907]

I still can't believe they start off with 8GB RAM.

It’s not the 8GB starting point that bothers me, rather the 200 dollar upcharge to move that to 16GB. I’m sorry but that is the most BS of BS Apple taxes. We all know it, but we still hand over the money regardless.

 

[Johnny907]

Can you show us the price of the RAM that’s physically integrated into the SoC please? Ta.

I guarantee it doesn’t cost Apple 200, 100 or even 50 dollars to add that additional RAM to the SoC. You do too, if you’re being honest with yourself, you just chose to dig in and defend corporate fleecing.
Bizarre.

 

[steve09090]

I guarantee it doesn’t cost Apple 200, 100 or even 50 dollars to add that additional RAM to the SoC. You do too, if you’re being honest with yourself, you just chose to dig in and defend corporate fleecing.
Bizarre.

I did not defend them. My point was that choosing a brick of RAM as an example doesn’t make sense.

Nobody can defend Apples RAM prices. But I don’t make up shyte to demonstrate it.

 

[Alicia1]

I wanted to grab a top spec 15" today but none available in store

 

[steve09090]

It is probably even less, that is one of the reasons Apple has moved to the SoC model.

Maybe. Dunno. It’s all just guesswork and opinion not based on facts. I don’t play games in Guessing the price of parts. It’s too expensive, but I can’t control apples pricing, so…

 

[klasma]

Can you show us the price of the RAM that’s physically integrated into the SoC please? Ta.

Should be even cheaper because less manufacturing steps and parts. Win-win.

 

[turbineseaplane]

I'm an Apple "everything" guy for about 24 years now and this just erodes the halo for me... so much so that I find myself seriously considering a PC laptop to replace my aging MB, something that would not even had a moment of consideration as recently as 5 years ago. But hoorayyyy for them shareholders! 💰💰💰

We used to pay a bit more but feel like the value was justified

Now it feels like they hold back on included specs just to rip us off on the upgrade pricing.

If they want to skimp on base specs then make the upgrade prices somewhat in line with market pricing + a small Apple tax.... But don't skimp and then screw (us)

 

[KPOM]

We get it MR, every product will get to those places first…

Except the Apple Vision Pro.

 

[turbineseaplane]

Can you show us the price of the RAM that’s physically integrated into the SoC please? Ta.

It would be less, not more, than separate sticks -- especially at Apple's scale

 

[steve09090]

It would be less, not more, than separate sticks -- especially at Apple's scale

Should be even cheaper because less manufacturing steps and parts. Win-win.

Yeah. Maybe. I've not seen how much it costs to miniaturise ram onto an SoC. Anyone can speculate I guess. Speculation is cheaper per unit when there are no facts involved.

 

[steve09090]

We used to pay a bit more but feel like the value was justified

Now it feels like they hold back on included specs just to rip us off on the upgrade pricing.

If they want to skimp on base specs then make the upgrade prices somewhat in line with market pricing + a small Apple tax.... But don't skimp and then screw (us)

I’m wondering why the majority of people think they need more than 8GB RAM. I got 16GB when I got the 2020 M1 MBA when it first came out because it was brand new tech. And whilst I’ve done heaps of video and photo processing since, I feel like I never needed it.

 

[KPOM]

It’s $1499 for the 16/512 model with the upgraded GPU. That’s a premium price for a premium thin-and-light notebook but not outrageous, particularly given the build quality of a Mac. Macs still have the best trackpads in the business. Apple tends to undersell the display quality. MagSafe sets the standard in the industry. Macs have genuinely useful included software. And at least in the US there is a network of hundreds of physical stores that not only offer technical support but also working sessions on how to use the products.

Yes, Apple’s profit margins are the highest in the industry. It’s been that way for decades. But Macs are much more competitively priced than they were in the Steve Jobs era. The second-gen MacBook Air I bought in November 2008 was $2499 with a paltry 2GB RAM and 128GB SSD. And those were 2008 dollars in the middle of the worst economic crisis since 1929.

 

[krakenrelease]

I still can't believe they start off with 8GB RAM.

I wonder how many people that are "omg, i cant believe they have 8GB RAM starting" even need the 16GB RAM that they want for cheaper. Apple Silicon with 8GB IS NOT the same as Intel chips with 8GB RAM. It's annoying to keep seeing the same rant over and over. Students for sure don't need it. Office workers don't need it. Even web development work, unless you are using vms, you don't need it. If you are doing photography, video, or anything else that you KNOW you need the RAM, don't crap on the millions of users that can do just fine with 8GB. And THAT is the reason Apple still sells it.

/rant