Review: Two Weeks With the M3 MacBook Air

[bzgnyc2]

If hard constrained by price, I'd get the M2. The storage can upgraded with a portable drive easily enough later, while the M3 has 8GB forever... though it would have to be the 10-core GPU option, since the store doesn't let you order the lower-end one anymore, and even if it did, if it's like the M3, adding 16GB automatically bumps the GPU, so the suggested option might not even exist.

Your M3 option weird, with the bumped GPU, but without the bumped RAM. It's an option I can't see many people choosing, but I guess you've got your hard limit.

Why not the M1? The M1 was a 2020 machine. Apple typically supports machines for 7 years, meaning the M1, while having enough CPU power for most tasks, would lose support in just 3 years. I'm not dropping much on a machine at the tail end of support. The M2 still has a fair number of years left. The M1 will have you wanting a replacement sooner, not due to lack of performance, but for OS support, and end up costing you more in the end.

Without the price constraint being as hard, my daughter picked up the education store M3 Air 16/512 for CAD$150 more than the education store has the M2 Air 16/512. I'd say CAD$150 for is worthwhile for an extra 2 years of support, a bump in CPU performance, and a much improved GPU, so in the real world, I'd actually recommend that.

I was trying to get everything centered around a single, minimal price. One can always (well usually) get more for more and then the value of money differs among people. However, fixing the price then forces us to make the hard choices across different dimensions.

In this case the M2 configuration above priced out at $1200 in the US store. The M3 configuration would have priced at $1100 without the GPU bump but 16GB of RAM (which also now seems to include 2 GPU) would have taken it to $1300 so I "spent" the extra $100 on just 2 GPU. The choice also doubles-down on the theme of a processor-intense configuration.

Note the question was truly hypothetical. I have a MacBook Air 2020 w/i3 and 16GB of RAM and no plans to replace. It works great for my needs. A family member has a MacBook Air w/M1 and 16GB of RAM. More than fine for her studies. Well she runs short with the 256GB SSD but that's because of all the Sims mods she loads not what she actually needs to do...

 

[turbineseaplane]

@David1964 and @VogonPoetry

Thanks for stopping by and doing the obligatory "downvote" and then "laugh troll" emoji reactions...
..and not saying or contributing anything at all to the thread topic

How about saying why you disagree and why you're "laughing" at my post on page 1?

 

[Antoniosmalakia]

I find MKBHD to be a joke. He has NO credibility.

MKBHD is obviously respected by the big wigs at Apple, and frequently rubs shoulders with Tim Cook. He has plenty of credibility (and influence). All of that may, in time, lead to better Apple products.

If there is no criticism, there is little or no change.

What is MKBHD's agenda for his conclusions in this video?
I can't see any particular upside on either side of the opinions on this topic

Those people that dislike MKBHD, do so because he isn't afraid to say when he is unsure or dislikes something.

Being unsure or disliking something Apple makes is sure to get people treating you like you've committed a criminal offence around these parts.

 

[Harry Haller]

MKBHD is obviously respected by the big wigs at Apple, and frequently rubs shoulders with Tim Cook. He has plenty of credibility (and influence). All of that may, in time, lead to better Apple products.

If there is no criticism, there is little or no change.


Those people that dislike MKBHD, do so because he isn't afraid to say when he is unsure or dislikes something.

Being unsure or disliking something Apple makes is sure to get people treating you like you've committed a criminal offence around these parts.

Yep.
To a rational mind criticism is healthy and necessary for improvement.
To an irrational mind criticism is hating and whining.

 

[turbineseaplane]

Yeah, I get why a smaller time YTer might have to tread lightly around Apple stuff, but not MKBHD

He's got 18.6M subs -- he's MASSIVE

He can say whatever he wants and Apple isn't going to cut him out

 

[ignatius345]

I’d say Tim Cook’s Apple is far more tiresome.

So go buy a Dell, man. Don't let the door hit you on the way out.

 

[Sileny_Jizda]

I'm using a mid 2012 MBP that is about on it's last leg. I would like to ask if the
Air is a reasonable choice for running AutoCad and Photoshop Elements.

 

[Jim Lahey]

Not sure I get why buying Apple products is such hard work. A huge number of consumers are simply looking for a good reliable computer for everyday use (i.e. college, office, and home use). The MBA offerings seem to fit the bill in a portable package with incredible battery life. You can get a new M3 MBA with education discount for $999, or wait for better sales at big retailers.

These computers will easily last you 5 years, after that you can trade it in for $150 or sell it for more. That's $850 for 5 years of productive use. That's $3.25 per week or one cup of drip coffee per week at Starbucks. All for a device that is central to your education and/or work. Why is this so difficult?

My story is long and complicated, but the short version is that Apple no longer sells anything I want. Every potential purchase involves countless hours of weighing up compromises and bumping up against other choices that then prove to be riddled with more compromise. They sell a million versions of everything and yet, inexplicably, not one option suits my design/features/specs/color/price ratio.

 

[Mainsail]

My story is long and complicated, but the short version is that Apple no longer sells anything I want. Every potential purchase involves countless hours of weighing up compromises and bumping up against other choices that then prove to be riddled with more compromise. They sell a million versions of everything and yet, inexplicably, not one option suits my design/features/specs/color/price ratio.

Sounds like you might be a unique case. As a opposed to the typical MBA consumers who buy millions of these laptops and report a high degree of customer satisfaction.

Maybe your post, "Literally. Buying Apple products now is just plain hard work", was a tad hyperbolic.....or perhaps a gross generalization.

 

[cogzero]

[...] That's $3.25 per week or one cup of drip coffee per week at Starbucks. [...]

1 per week? Are you a monk or jedi or something ??

If I cut Starbucks out of my budget, I'm getting a fresh macbook air monthly.

 

[ric22]

I'm really confused about MKBHD's argument. Is it "don't upgrade from the M1 or especially M2"? Because, well, duh. Is it "if getting a new laptop, the M3 is great but don't get it because the M1 and M2 are also fine"? Like, the BTO option pricing is the same for the M2. So yeah, you could configure the M3 with 16 GiB RAM and 512 GB SSD, and spend 1.5k. Or you could do the same with M2 and save… $100. That's it. At that point, does the difference even really matter? Might as well flip a coin and either spend 7% more, or spend less and get a 7% worse computer whose support will end a little sooner.

I think I'd understand better if the M3 were $250 more at the same configurations. But it isn't.

"At discount" were the key words. When at discount from Apple's pricing the difference can be more than $100. Honestly, the M1 Macs at $650/700 remain the best buy. Incremental processor upgrades aren't much to shout about when other specs remain so lackluster.

 

[chucker23n1]

"At discount" were the key words. When at discount from Apple's pricing the difference can be more than $100. Honestly, the M1 Macs at $650/700 remain the best buy. Incremental processor upgrades aren't much to shout about when other specs remain so lackluster.

So his argument is “if you can get one thing at a discount and the other thing not, consider getting the first thing”? I’ve seen more insightful takes from him.

 

[ric22]

So his argument is “if you can get one thing at a discount and the other thing not, consider getting the first thing”? I’ve seen more insightful takes from him.

Yeah, that's his take I think, yeah 🤷🏼‍♂️

 

[Jim Lahey]

Sounds like you might be a unique case. As a opposed to the typical MBA consumers who buy millions of these laptops and report a high degree of customer satisfaction.

Maybe your post, "Literally. Buying Apple products now is just plain hard work", was a tad hyperbolic.....or perhaps a gross generalization.

Well sure thing. I can get behind that. But I speak only for myself, not millions of others. That literally is my experience 👍

 

[ShivneelSingh]

Needs SD Card slot like MBA used have. Death to Dongletown. MBP is overkill for most people and non-Pro-chip M3 MBP should not exist, to further power-differentiate both lines. Every MBP should have four Thunderbolt 4 ports (currently some had two and some have three). MBP should be sold in two sizes: 14.4" and 16.2".

MBA is the best form factor for most in terms of thickness and heft, has better battery life, and should be sold in small and medium sizes: 13" and 14.4". SD Card is a handy port to have for many users. And I believe they should do what it takes design wise to include HDMI, to make MBA a more real-world-practical machine for everyone—the office worker; the teacher; the amateur photographer; the event coordinator; the conference attendee; the student, and so on. The weight, chonk, power, fans, upgradability, and professional display of MBP most people do not need. A basic useable compliment of ports in 2024 all Macs need, to make all Macs fully interoperable in the real world.

I am a hobby photographer with a 2021 16" M1 Max MacBook Pro.
Never have I used the SD reader.

My Sony A7SIII uses those Expresscards, and it's much faster to transfer plugging the camera into the computer using a Thunderbolt cable.

A USB-C or Thunderbolt cable is always nearby.
Also, it's nice because you can use the same cable to charge your camera, phone, and MacBook.

 

[Christopher Kim]

So his argument is “if you can get one thing at a discount and the other thing not, consider getting the first thing”? I’ve seen more insightful takes from him.

While true, MKBHD's take isn't ground-breaking, I think it's still helpful to many of his "non-MR attending" followers. And for us who understand the value prop very closely, it's still nice to see a big YTer touting what many of us say on these forums.

For a MBA "spec update", which these Apple content creators would admit is pretty lackluster, it's not bad content. Most of the other YTers are doing more of the typical stuff.

I think the new iPad Pro line-up will be interesting. The Vision Pro announcement was a nice shake-up (regardless of if you think about the product itself), gives a lot to talk about!

 

[ApplesAreSweet&Sour]

They've actually made it easier for me personally
Apple keep locking everything down and trying to gouge your eyes out on component upgrade pricing...

..so I buy nothing!

Problem solved!

That's the thing I've noticed in myself and a lot of others in here.

-When you consider how much you have to spend on SSD and RAM upgrades to get a Mac where the latest Apple Silicon actually shines you end up having to spec out a Mac with a Max or Ultra variant.

And no way I'm spending a single dollar on something that I'll have to double check on to make sure I'm using the new version of that I just bought and not the older one from a few years ago.

Not even Apple can get itself to do presentations or ads for this generation of MBAs. Barely worth talking about is what they are.

Vision Pro was very interesting, both good and bad.

But MBA M3 is just deja vu with an exclamation mark.

 

[lazyrighteye]

I've been using Macs exclusively since the 90s. From towers (initially) to (eventually) laptops the last 15 years, I have always used the Proest version available. This past summer, I needed to upgrade my personal Mac Book Pro and I, surprising even myself, opted for the 15" M2 MBA. One of the driving forces was that I simply was not in position to drop $5k on a MBP. Another factor - those things are ridiculously heavy chunks. Anyway, as I have written before, this 15" M2 MBA has been my favorite Mac I have ever used. It's a glorious culmination of 30+ years of R&D. It’s so refined. It's is hilariously light and shockingly capable. The bang for buck falls way onto the bang side. Are there more powerful Macs? Sure. Better res'd screens? Uh hu. More ports? Duh. And somehow, my M2 MBA is more fun to use. It's lone irritation - which has now been remedied (damnit) with the M3 iteration - is its lack of dual external display support - which is a legit bummer. Which leads me to believe, even having not used it, the 15" M3 MBA has to be the best Mac Apple's ever built.

 

[diamornte]

Where can I find the screensaver at 4:55 in the video? It's not in the Screensavers section of preferences...the Apple Store splash page for Macs also shows this as a moving screensaver design, but is it for MacBook Air or only found on the MacBook Pros?

 

[montuori]

Not sure I get why buying Apple products is such hard work. A huge number of consumers are simply looking for a good reliable computer for everyday use (i.e. college, office, and home use).

I dunno. I picked up an M3/8 to play around with and while I don't like to guess what other people might get up to, it must be more exciting than my workload.

To wit: I spent the afternoon testing a three node Erlang application, pumping about 100GB of data through RabbitMQ into a Postgres DB doing a not insubstantial amount of (integer) computation along the way. I don't doubt the "memory pressure" was purple going on exploding but the performance (especially considering the sheer number of DB writes) was surprisingly excellent. In fairness, my generation capacity was limited by laziness (generating load on the same system you're consuming the load is a Saturday afternoon kind of test) but a sustained 1000 tx/s was, uh, not shoddy.

On battery power in the back garden.

I don't know a lot about consumer grade computers or applications but I do know that this cheap as dirt MBA didn't disappoint. At some point, modulo specific types of applications, it's so much (mostly unused) horsepower for so little money that "specs" like we use to consider in the old days just don't matter much.

 

[maccidents]

I want to upgrade my M1 Pro to M3 Macbook Air. Is it healthy decision for me?

 

[Velli]

MacBook Air should be upgraded to 120hz. Would’ve been an instant buy for me. The spec bump from M1 to M3 is negligible for most people buying the entry-level Mac.

Macbook Air should be upgraded to a Macbook Pro.

 

[Velli]

For photo editing, video editing, and tasks that require a little more power, even the base model M3 MacBook Air with 8GB Unified Memory is more than enough for many people.

But… But… The experts in the forum told me that I can’t do ANYTHING with 8GB of RAM. You’re telling me that you know better just because you… actually TRIED IT?

 

[Velli]

I am curious what people's choices would be if hard constrained by price:
-M3 w/10-core GPU, 8GB RAM, 256 GB SSD
-M2 w/8-core GPU, 16GB RAM, 256 GB SSD
-M1 w/8-core GPU, 16GB RAM, 512 GB SSD (which may only be available refurbished and so you get $100 back)

While I am guessing most people on Macrumors are not quite hard constrained on money and would just spend a few extra bucks to get what they want, I think recommendations are more interesting when trading-off specifications rather than money (especially when it's your company's money...).

If I was “hard constrained” on price, I’d get an M1 8/256, and spend the rest on more important things.

 

[ric22]

I want to upgrade my M1 Pro to M3 Macbook Air. Is it healthy decision for me?

Is this a serious question, or a joke? Overall you're describing a scenario that would be a downgrade rather than upgrade.