Apple recently unveiled two new MacBook Air models equipped with the M3 chip. These laptops, available in 13- and 15-inch sizes, claim to be "up to 60 percent faster" than the previous M1 MacBook Air. With a promising battery life of up to 18 hours, both models are open for preorders starting today, and shipping begins on Friday, March 8th.
The 13-inch MacBook Air is priced at $1,099, while the 15-inch model comes in at $1,299. Featuring a Liquid Retina display with up to 500 nits of brightness, the laptops support up to two external displays when closed. They also boast an upgrade to Wi-Fi 6E for faster download speeds and include MagSafe charging and two Thunderbolt ports.
The 13-inch M2 version of the laptop remains available at a lower price of $999.
Powered by the M3 chip, these laptops offer a boosted 16-core Neural Engine for optimized AI models and a built-in GPU for mesh shading and ray tracing. Notably, they feature a 1080p FaceTime camera, three microphones, and support spatial audio and Dolby Atmos. Despite their advanced features, both devices maintain a sleek design, being less than half an inch thick.
Apple
The base 13-inch MacBooks come with a 30W USB-C power adapter, while upgraded versions offer either a 35W dual-port charger or a 70W adapter. For an additional $20, the 256GB storage version can be upgraded to include a 35W dual-port adapter or a 70W adapter. (Choosing a more powerful adapter was found to be worthwhile in our experience, compared to the 2022 13-inch model with a 67W charger option.)
Both models start with 8GB of RAM, and additional RAM upgrades are available at $200 for 16GB and $400 for 24GB. Storage can also be increased, with options like upgrading the base 256GB SSD to 512GB for $200, 1TB for $400, and 2TB for $800.
Similar to the M2 MacBook Air released in 2022, the M3 models feature a Magic Keyboard with a full-height function row and Touch ID. These new MacBook Airs are available in four colors: starlight, space gray, silver, and midnight. The midnight color boasts an anodization seal to reduce fingerprints, addressing a common issue with the previous midnight option.