M3 MacBook Air review: Apple, it’s time

Apple has soft-launched the MacBook Air with the M3 chip. The new model supposedly boasts better performance with the same battery life.

I’ll be putting it under the microscope to see how much it’s improved compared to the previous model. I’m also keen to see the difference between the base model and a version with more RAM and a larger SSD. The reason? The smallest configuration of the MacBook Air still only has 8 gigabytes (GB) of RAM and a 256 GB SSD. Though expected, this is still disappointing. Here are the two configurations I’ll be putting through their paces:

• The 13″ M3 with an 8-core CPU, an 8-core GPU, 8 GB of RAM and a 256 GB SSD
• The 15″ M3 with an 8-core CPU, a 10-core GPU, 16 GB of RAM and a 512 GB SSD

Design: RIP the wedge

The MacBook Air now looks like a flat version of the MacBook Pro. Although it’s a coherent, efficient, aesthetically pleasing design, it’s slightly emotionless compared to the iconic wedge shape of previous devices. The launch of the M3 sounded the death knell for the old design, with the M1 MacBook Air (the last remaining model to have the wedge) now to be discontinued.

I find myself mourning the iconic wedge. When Steve Jobs pulled the first MacBook Air out of a manilla envelope at Macworld 2008, it was a revolution. My first ever Mac was the second-generation version, and it proved to be a faithful companion during my student days. Over the years, the edges around the display got smaller, but the shape stayed the same. I’ll miss the wedge.

There’s nothing new to say about the display, keyboard or trackpad. They’re all as good as ever. If you’re keen to know more, you’ll find detailed benchmarks in my review of the M2 MacBook. There are still only four ports: MagSafe for the charger and two USB-C ports with support for Thunderbolt 3 on the left side. On the right, there’s a headphone jack. This scant offering is in keeping with Apple’s minimalist philosophy for non-Pro devices. Even so, I’d prefer to have at least one USB port on the right-hand side.

For the first time, I’ve been given a test device in midnight blue. Thanks to a new coating, it’s supposed to be more resistant to fingerprints than the device I reviewed last year. Personally, I don’t see the difference. After just a few minutes, the laptop looks grubby. I’d strongly recommend you go for a lighter colour, such as silver or «starlight». They’re much less susceptible to smudges.

Performance: a question of configuration

The new model supposedly boasts better performance despite not requiring more power than the M2. When it comes to fanless laptops like the MacBook Air, efficiency’s always welcome. The RAM levels on offer, however, haven’t changed. While the Pro chip at least has 2 GB more at the lowest level, the base model of the regular M3 still has to struggle along with 8 GB of RAM.

Apple often argues that for a lot of people, this is more than enough. It also says macOS uses RAM twice as efficiently as Windows. A highly contested statement. The main thing I’m wondering is whether the improvements to the CPU and GPU make any difference whatsoever in a laptop with only 8 GB of RAM.

CPU and GPU: a moderate performance increase

Like its predecessor, the M3 has an 8-core CPU. Depending on which configuration you buy, the graphics processor has either 8 or 10. The individual cores are slightly faster, which is supposed to give the M3 better performance than the M2. It also has a better neural engine for AI applications and masters graphics tricks such as ray tracing and dynamic caching. You’ll find more details on that here.

The CPU of the M3 in the MacBook Air is about 14 per cent faster in multi-core mode. In single-core mode, it’s 18 per cent faster. A modest performance increase. The 15-inch model seems to dissipate heat better, achieving higher scores in the long Cinebench R24. This is because the processor doesn’t have to throttle as much.

The GPU is only 11 per cent faster. There’s a 17-per-cent difference between the 8-core and 10-core versions, which is a plus if you want to edit videos or play games. In office use, it rarely makes an impact. The thing all versions of the M3 MacBook Air have in common is that they now support two external monitors. However, this is only the case when the laptop is closed. The maximum resolution is 5K at 60 hertz with two monitors or 6K at 60 hertz with one.

SSD: problem with the 256 GB version only half resolved

And the SSD? When the M2 generation came out, this was a sore point. Apple had halved the number of memory modules in the base model with 256 GB, halving the speed in the process. The move generated criticism – especially since in a model with 8 GB of RAM, the SSD often needs to serve as a buffer. Consequently, it’s got to pack enough performance.

This time, Apple has at least kitted the M3 MacBook Air out with two SSD modules at 128 GB each. Since the M3 iMac never received the luxury of this improvement (at least when I tested it last autumn), the move came as a surprise to me.

In my benchmarks, the new MacBook Air’s 256 GB SSD is more than twice as fast as that of the previous model. Mind you, that’s only the case when it comes to sequential read speed. Write speed and random access are still significantly slower than when using the 512 GB model. My colleague and SSD expert Kevin Hofer reckons its controller is worse.

Productivity: RAM as a bottleneck

Nevertheless, the M3 MacBook Air is an outstanding work laptop when placed under lighter loads. In those situations, it feels lightning fast, even when I have several programs open. If you mainly use your laptop to write and surf the net, the version with 8 GB of RAM and a 256 GB SSD will do the job. In the Speedometer 3.0 browser benchmark (third slide in the chart below), my M3 models are both 17 per cent faster than their predecessors.

The base model, however, soon reaches its limit when running extra-demanding programs. When I open a video project in DaVinci Resolve, the MacBook starts to stutter. Exporting the video takes 78 per cent longer than with the 10-core GPU and 16 GB of RAM. In Lightroom, I take 72 per cent longer to export 100 RAW photos. Image processing doesn’t feel as smooth either. YouTube channel MaxTech has done even more tests to assess the device’s performance with less and more RAM:

Using the M1 over three years ago, I didn’t think the cheapest version’s small RAM was that bad. Although the chip was fast, it was never intended for really demanding applications. However, now that we’re two generations on, the M3 is almost as powerful as the M1 generation’s Pro chip. And this has turned the 8 GB of RAM into a brutal bottleneck.

Battery: not better, but still good

Apple says the M3 MacBook Air’s battery life totals 18 hours – the same as the previous model. When I tested the M3 Pro MacBook Pro, it lasted 25 per cent longer than stated. With this in mind, I’m hoping for another unexpected improvement before testing the Air.

To no avail. The battery life is actually roughly the same as the previous model. Holding out for almost 17 hours in my YouTube endurance test, the battery’s still great for a laptop of this size. The 15-inch model doesn’t last much longer than the 13-incher; probably because the larger battery is cancelled out by the display’s increased power requirements.

As soon as performance needs to be ramped up, however, things change. The large MacBook requires 60 per cent less battery than its smaller counterpart to do five video exports. This might also be down to my test device having more RAM, meaning it can get exports done faster. Even so, the 15-inch model is likely to last longer in everyday use.