MacBook Air With M3 Chip: Reviews and Unboxing Videos
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The Phazer
macrumors 68040
The issues around the lid needing to be closed, disabling the camera and touch ID, to use a second monitor are really, really clumsy and stupid.
It feels like the product leads for Mac hardware are asleep at the wheel and don't give a **** about the usability of the product at this point.
It feels like the product leads for Mac hardware are asleep at the wheel and don't give a **** about the usability of the product at this point.
ghstzch
macrumors newbie
What do you all use to manage and deploy your Macs?
it is useless in real world scenarios but it is a benchmark. the idea is that it runs exactly the same across different hardware. you me and everyone else are not going to use their devices in the same way so yeah it's meaningless but it's still good to get an idea of performance improvements.
people need to be informed of how much better something is and get a baseline. it will help inform buying decisions but ultimately you need to use the product the way you want to and decide for yourself.
right now i think 16GB will be enough for me but maybe once i start using it then i'll think yeah i need more RAM. i doubt it but it's possible.
Blackstick
macrumors 65816
We use Jamf Pro for management, JamfConnect for identity/SSO, and also deploy Tanium (since our Windows side uses it for patching) for up to the second realtime info.
If you don't like (or hate) the 'reviews'/plugs don't watch them. Just a suggestion LOL
I kinda respect working people. The problem is credibility. Almost all are not reviews but advertisements, where the company is paid indirectly. I tend to mute these, and ya know they're getting much more prevalent, everywhere.
I kinda respect working people. The problem is credibility. Almost all are not reviews but advertisements, where the company is paid indirectly. I tend to mute these, and ya know they're getting much more prevalent, everywhere.
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ghstzch
macrumors newbie
Good to know, thanks for your insight here! We are expecting many more MacBooks in our environment by the end of this year so I'll definitely look into getting Jamf for our enterprise.
And never anything negative to say because if they give the product a negative review they'll be off the reservation.
SmugMaverick
macrumors 6502a
The utter disgusting faces of Apple shills in those videos, so scared to question the great Apple on anything for fear of being black listed.
This is very wrong, Apple continue to control the narrative on their latest boring upgrade and this sellouts continue to tell you its the best thing since sex.
by the time non shills get their hands on one, people are over it.
This gives you a insight into their attitude and how they handle criticism.
This is very wrong, Apple continue to control the narrative on their latest boring upgrade and this sellouts continue to tell you its the best thing since sex.
by the time non shills get their hands on one, people are over it.
This gives you a insight into their attitude and how they handle criticism.
thejadedmonkey
macrumors G3
Even consumer reports can be iffy though.
My Ford Fiesta (with a dual clutch transmission) that cost Ford something like 4 billion with a "B" dollars, initially got a green check for reliability, and my Bolt EV gets a red down-check for reliability because 100% of the cars had a battery recall, which is part of the drivetrain, and they treat it the same as if every car needs a new engine.
Sowelu
macrumors 6502a
So this quote is interesting:
It has been mentioned (a few times) on this forum that Apple is only using this new anodization process on the lid, not the bottom or the keyboard deck (where it needs it most, IMO). I believe it was said that this was 'confirmed' when the M3 MacBook Pros were released. This quote, however, suggests that Apple is indeed using this anodization seal on all parts of the chassis, as they should.
Can someone with a Space Black MacBook Pro weigh in here? Hopefully M3 Midnight Airs will be reaching MacRumors Forum members soon for some real world feedback on this topic, too.
It has been mentioned (a few times) on this forum that Apple is only using this new anodization process on the lid, not the bottom or the keyboard deck (where it needs it most, IMO). I believe it was said that this was 'confirmed' when the M3 MacBook Pros were released. This quote, however, suggests that Apple is indeed using this anodization seal on all parts of the chassis, as they should.
Can someone with a Space Black MacBook Pro weigh in here? Hopefully M3 Midnight Airs will be reaching MacRumors Forum members soon for some real world feedback on this topic, too.
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if price is the same then it really depends.
14 vs 15" display - not a huge difference but if you want the biggest screen and good value get the 15" Air.
standard LED display vs Mini LED - MiniLED is technically better but still has issues. I'd rather deal with a "glowing" screen than deal with blooming.
512GB vs 1TB storage - 512GB is more than enough for me. I'd probably do fine with 256GB but I want the faster SSD speeds. Would you prefer more storage?
SD and HDMI ports - if you have devices with SD cards or connect to HDMI displays get the MBP. if you go with the Air you gotta live the dongle life.
Active cooling - good for heavier workloads or light gaming. if you're just doing basic stuff with the odd photo/video editing or whatever then get Air.
I haven't watched a lot of Mac related videos over the last decade but holy bananas the last few days of watching Mac youtube videos has been awful. So much clickbait ("MAKE SURE YOU DON'T MAKE THIS MISTAKE", "I RETURNED MY MAC HERE IS WHY!", "THE TRUTH ABOUT MACBOOKS - YOU'LL BE SHOCKED!", "DON'T WASTE YOUR MONEY ON THIS", etc).
I've been trying to find useful information but it's like wading through **** trying to find any useful information.
Just wait until all of these people are replaced with ChatGPT.
They're giving a really good endorsement and validation for why these are useless.
(very different from deep reviews from mid-1990s, when we [me included] spent days to weeks reviewing hardware like actual reviewers - making sure to uncover things that separated us from glorified fanboy "influencers")
Sowelu
macrumors 6502a
Apple wants you do use their Studio Display with built in Camera (the worst I've ever used) and external Magic Keyboard with TouchID to solve these two limitations.
Agreed. I'm guessing Apple got a lot of feedback that dual monitor support in clamshell mode was important.
In any case, the $1499 model (likely readily available for $1350-$1400 with discounts) with 16/512 is my standard "recommended Mac" for most.
Get the Pro. The Air gets overly expensive in 'usable' configurations, since they're all custom (Z-model/spec) builds, which is nonsense circa 2024.
If my emergency Dell XPS 13 includes 16/1TB for $1299, so should Apple with the Air.
I wish you were joking but I wouldn't be surprised if this is why Apple imposed this software limitation.
They could just turn the display off to free up the bandwidth but there is no reason why the lid shouldn't stay open. It's easier for them to force you to close it than code in the ability to turn the screen off.
GraXXoR
macrumors 6502
It's in order to make the excellent Touch ID sensor and trackpad inaccessible which in turn boosts sales of overpriced apple keyboards and trackpads. I mean, why pay for one Touch ID sensor when you can pay for two?
What are you using for MDM? One solution across Mac and Dell, or dual solutions?
The 2019-spec MBP and MBA are sadly not practical (fast/battery life) in business, and we had to replace our i3 MBA (don't ask who recommended those) a couple years ago.
FrankySavvy
macrumors 68000
In Apples defense, most people who use two displays will be docking their MacBook Air and have a keyboard and mouse anyway. If you need more support then you should be buying a Macbook Pro.
stefanovago
macrumors member
Why did you show benchmarks for the 10-core GPU version? Since this isn’t a pro model I guess most people will go for the entry-level configuration
Blackstick
macrumors 65816
The Macs are on Jamf. The Windows machines are on InTune. Both run Tanium.
There's an effort to get Macs over to InTune since Microsoft has been improving their product, but without an SSO/identity component to replace Jamf Connect, which remains missing from Microsoft, we can't switch over. If they can get their act together, it might be a 2025 project.