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MacBook Air With M3 Chip: Reviews and Unboxing Videos

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The new 13-inch and 15-inch MacBook Air models with the M3 chip launch this Friday. Ahead of time, the first reviews and unboxing videos for the laptops have been shared by some media outlets and YouTube channels.

macbook-air-new-blue.jpg

Key new features added to both MacBook Air models include Apple's M3 chip for faster performance, Wi-Fi 6E support, expanded external display support, an anodization seal that reduces fingerprints on the Midnight finish, and microphone improvements.

Reviews

M3 Chip

Both the 13-inch and 15-inch MacBook Air are now available with the M3 chip for faster performance and improved power efficiency.

As expected, an early benchmark result revealed that the M3 chip is up to 20% faster than the M2 chip in the previous MacBook Air models in terms of CPU performance. These results are consistent with the 14-inch MacBook Pro with the M3 chip.

Jason Snell shared benchmark results in his review on Six Colors:

Six-Colors-M3-MacBook-Air.jpg

With the M3 chip, the MacBook Air has also gained hardware-accelerated ray tracing for improved graphics rendering in games, along with AV1 video decoding.

Two External Displays

While previous MacBook Air models with Apple silicon officially support only one external display, the new models support two external displays. However, a second display can only be used when the MacBook Air's lid is closed.

When the lid is open, the new models support one external display with up to 6K resolution at 60Hz. When the lid is closed, a second display with up to 5K resolution at 60Hz can be connected, according to Apple's tech specs.

M3-MacBook-Air-Two-External-Displays.jpeg
Image Credit: CNET​
CNET's Joshua Goldman:
With the M3 MacBook Airs, you can connect two external displays directly to the Thunderbolt USB-C ports, which will also power the MacBook.

However, doing this comes at the cost of the MacBook Air's display; the lid must be closed in order to drive both external monitors. On the surface, this doesn't seem like much of an issue, unless you typically use your laptop's keyboard and trackpad while working on an external display. For me, the bigger hiccup is the loss of Touch ID on the Air's keyboard. You can just open and close the lid to use Touch ID, but I use mine so much during the day that that would get old really fast. The better option is to get Apple's Magic Keyboard with Touch ID, and while you're at it, pick up a Magic Trackpad or Mouse to complete the package.
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Even more displays can be connected to the MacBook Air with the use of DisplayLink adapters.

Fingerprint Seal for Midnight Color

Just like the Space Black MacBook Pro, the Midnight MacBook Air now features an "anodization seal to reduce fingerprints," according to Apple.

TheStreet's Jacob Krol:
Thus far, it's clear that the anodization blocks most fingerprint smudges, and the M3 looks better than an M2 in the Midnight color. However, Midnight is a harder color to block all of them, as I am still seeing some, specifically on the top and bottom cases of the 15-inch. That being said, on the inside around the keyboard and on or off the trackpad, it does a really good job of stopping them.
Click to expand...
Wi-Fi 6E

The new MacBook Airs support Wi-Fi 6E for "up to twice as fast" wireless download speeds compared to the previous models with Wi-Fi 6, according to Apple.

Wi-Fi 6E extends the capabilities of Wi-Fi 6 to the 6 GHz band, enabling faster wireless speeds and reduced signal interference with a compatible device and router. The entire current-generation Mac lineup now supports Wi-Fi 6E.

Microphone Upgrades

Apple says the microphones in the new MacBook Air models offer "enhanced voice clarity in audio and video calls" compared to the previous models. The microphones also gained support for "Voice Isolation" and "Wide Spectrum" modes.

Videos







Article Link: MacBook Air With M3 Chip: Reviews and Unboxing Videos
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/review/m3-macbook-air/
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I really miss actual reviews, like the ones Anandtech used to do, after using the device for more than 10 minutes, including deep down analysis of the silicon, etc.

These are not more than brief hands-on if not pure superficial bullet-list cheerleaders running against the embargo timer.
 
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Maybe it’s just me, but the era of “content creation” has just worn on me. These reviews are all stretching to find something positive to say about a simple spec bump that has already been discussed ad nauseam with the MacBook Pros.
 
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I see Karl's unit was shipped with Sonoma 14.4. Good bet that it is getting release today then, presumably (Thursday) with release of the new M3 MBA to the public tomorrow?
 
apparatchik said:
I really miss actual reviews, like the ones Anandtech used to do, after using the device for more than 10 minutes, including deep down analysis of the silicon, etc.

These are not more than brief hands-on if not pure superficial bullet-list cheerleaders running against the embargo timer.
Click to expand...
Me too! It’s near impossible to find an objective review these days - for a computer, mattress, stroller, etc. Consumer reports is still around, but doesn’t get the Apple “special deliveries” before the embargo period is lifted. Maybe that’s better, since these video “content creators” are really just a paid marketing front end for Apple.
 
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apparatchik said:
I really miss actual reviews, like the ones Anandtech used to do, after using the device for more than 10 minutes, including deep down analysis of the silicon, etc.

These are not more than brief hands-on if not pure superficial bullet-list cheerleaders running against the embargo timer.
Click to expand...
Yep. Feel the vomit in my mouth even seeing the YouTube video thumbnails. Honestly, you couldn’t pay me to click them.
 
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TravelsInBlue said:
The MBA is a perfect device for basically everything but intense workflows.


I use a 16” MBP mostly docked for work and development projects, but a 15” MBA for couch and dinner table browsing.
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My 15" M2 MBA handles everything I can throw at it and then some! I'm really impressed with the capabilities of the new Airs, despite some throttling (not that I've never noticed throttling). Except multiple external displays. It can't handle those.
 
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The M3 MacBook Air is everything to enterprise IT departments.

We have approximately 5000 Macs in our fleet. The fact that up to 70% of these Macs intended for non-developers and non-power users can now eventually be a $1200 M3 MacBook Air, instead of a $2000+ 14" MacBook Pro, is huge and keeps the Mac ecosystem more in line with our costs on our standard Dell Latitudes -- still more money upfront sure, but not "twice as much" money. And where the Dells last 3 years tops, we run the Macs for up to 5, lowering TCO below Windows.

Why did we go with Pros before? Dual displays is non-negotiable when there's 11,000 desks each with 2 displays to light up.

We ordered 400 of these already to refresh employees on rapidly aging Intel hardware.
 
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apparatchik said:
I really miss actual reviews, like the ones Anandtech used to do, after using the device for more than 10 minutes, including deep down analysis of the silicon, etc.

These are not more than brief hands-on if not pure superficial bullet-list cheerleaders running against the embargo timer.
Click to expand...
This was my first thought too. Where are the actual ****ing written reviews! :mad:
Oh. Right there aren't any. Ok. Fine... Where are the semi-serious video revi... oh FFS it's that blonde lady again:rolleyes:
 
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rishey said:
Is there something wrong with me if I already own a 14" MBP M2 Pro but I want to replace it with one of these? I think so.
Click to expand...
I downgraded from a 16 MBP (M series) to an 15 MBA (M2) last year. But it was due to the weight. I wanted something much lighter for my light workflow.
 
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apparatchik said:
I really miss actual reviews, like the ones Anandtech used to do, after using the device for more than 10 minutes, including deep down analysis of the silicon, etc.

These are not more than brief hands-on if not pure superficial bullet-list cheerleaders running against the embargo timer.
Click to expand...
Didn't Anand himself get poached by Apple? I think I remember that happening.
Tech "reviews" have been a joke since influencers found out it was a good way to make a living.
I still read TrustedReviews site.
 
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excited to get mine tomorrow. got the 15" with 16/512GB. this is a secondary machine for me. all my heavy stuff (gaming, workloads, etc) will be done on my 16c32t/64GB/RTX4080 pc.

my Air will compliment my PC for looking stuff up/watching YouTube when at my PC. yes my PC is more than powerful enough to handle the multi tasking but i HATE switching between stuff and I don't want to buy a second monitor plus I just don't have the space for another 27" monitor. it will also be used for around the house (mostly in bed when i can't be bothered using my OLED tv to watch something or using my iPhone). I had an iPad Pro a while back but i really can't deal with touch screens for doing more than simple basics and iPadOS doesn't make much use of the hardware. The 15" is a whole 4" bigger for movies...not a huge difference but it's something. Also, If I'm travelling I'd rather have a laptop than an iPad.

The last time I owned a Mac was in 2012. the late 2008 unibody MacBook was my only computer between 2008-2012 and i absolutely loved it. I did buy an Air after it died but returned it (won't get into why). Since then I've been on Windows and while I can't live without Windows I have been longing to return to Mac.

I was debating if I should've got 24GB but I realised MacOS seems to be more optimised and I am not going to be gaming on it. Even though I have 64GB in my PC i have never seen above 25GB RAM when gaming. For photo/video editing I think 16GB will be perfectly fine for me.
 
Ah, Geekbench. Useless numbers that don't really mean anything to anyone. As with the specs of most products they don't mean much until you get in the drivers' seat and get a feel for it. An export time of a 5 minute 4k clip from Final Cut or the time spent converting a 100k+ polygon mesh in Fusion into Brep would be more useful as a benchmark.
 
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apparatchik said:
I really miss actual reviews, like the ones Anandtech used to do, after using the device for more than 10 minutes, including deep down analysis of the silicon, etc.

These are not more than brief hands-on if not pure superficial bullet-list cheerleaders running against the embargo timer.
Click to expand...
Totally agree with you. Really can’t stand video reviews either.
 
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