Apple has recently announced its latest generation of MacBook Air laptops, powered by the new M3 system-on-chip (SoC). The M3 is the third iteration of Apple’s own silicon, which debuted in 2020 with the M1 chip. The new MacBook Airs come in two sizes, 13.6 inches and 15.3 inches, and offer significant improvements in speed, battery life, and features over the previous models.
What’s New in the M3 Chip?
The M3 chip is the result of Apple’s continuous innovation in chip design and fabrication. The M3 is based on a 3-nanometer (nm) process, which is the most advanced in the industry. This allows the chip to pack more transistors and deliver higher performance while consuming less power.
The M3 chip features four high-performance cores and four energy-efficient cores, which can dynamically adjust to different workloads. The high-performance cores can run at up to 4.05 GHz, which is 35% faster than the M1 chip. The energy-efficient cores can handle background tasks and extend the battery life of the MacBook Airs.
The M3 chip also has a 10-core GPU, which is based on Apple’s latest graphics architecture. The GPU supports features such as dynamic caching, hardware-accelerated ray tracing, and hardware-accelerated mesh shading. These features enable the GPU to render realistic and immersive graphics for games, videos, and creative applications. The GPU is 60% faster than the M1 chip, and 13 times faster than the fastest Intel-based MacBook Air.
Another improvement in the M3 chip is the new media engine, which supports hardware-accelerated decoding of AV1 videos. AV1 is a new video codec that offers better compression and quality than the widely used H.264 codec. With the M3 chip, the MacBook Airs can play AV1 videos smoothly and efficiently, saving bandwidth and battery.
What’s New in the MacBook Airs?
The new MacBook Airs are designed to take full advantage of the M3 chip’s capabilities. The laptops have the same sleek and lightweight design as the previous models, but with some notable enhancements.
The new MacBook Airs have a higher-resolution display, with 2560×1664 pixels for the 13.6-inch model and 2880×1864 pixels for the 15.3-inch model. The display also has rounded corners at the top, which match the shape of the laptop. The display supports the P3 color gamut and True Tone technology, which adjust the color and brightness according to the ambient light.
The new MacBook Airs have a new MagSafe 3 connector, which allows for faster and safer charging. The MagSafe 3 connector attaches magnetically to the laptop, and can detach easily if the cable is pulled or tripped over. The MagSafe 3 connector also supports data transfer and video output, making it a versatile port.
The new MacBook Airs have a longer battery life, thanks to the M3 chip’s efficiency and the larger battery capacity. The 13.6-inch model has a 52.6 Wh battery, while the 15.3-inch model has a 66.5 Wh battery. The laptops can last up to 18 hours of wireless web browsing, or up to 15 hours of video playback. The laptops also support fast charging, which can provide up to 50% charge in 30 minutes.
The new MacBook Airs have the same keyboard, trackpad, Touch ID, speakers, microphone, and webcam as the previous models. The laptops also have the same I/O ports, which include two USB4 Type-C ports with Thunderbolt 3 support, a 3.5 mm audio jack, and a wireless antenna. The laptops support Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.0, and AirDrop.
How Much Do the New MacBook Airs Cost?
The new MacBook Airs are available in three colors: silver, space gray, and midnight. The laptops have a starting price of $1,099 for the 13.6-inch model and $1,299 for the 15.3-inch model. The base configuration includes the M3 chip with 8-core CPU and 8-core GPU, 8 GB of LPDDR5 memory, and 256 GB of SSD storage. The laptops can be customized with up to 24 GB of memory and up to 2 TB of storage. The 15.3-inch model also has an option for a 10-core GPU.
The new MacBook Airs are available to order from Apple’s website and authorized resellers. The laptops will start shipping in late March 2024.
