Review: Two Weeks With the M3 MacBook Air

[Tuck_]

Does it fix the issue with temporal dithering that's causing eye strain and headaches?

Look up Still color and see if that helps. Seems to work decently well on the air (but not the pro) albeit with a slight degradation in visual quality.

Apple really should do an official fix however. It's an accessibility issue.

 

[bigpoppamac31]

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

What makes you think he has no credibility? 🤔

 

[CarAnalogy]

As the vast-vast majority of users of MBA will use wireless internet, Ethernet makes less sense, especially when Ethernet is in a fixed location and that adapter can be left permanently attached to that cable.

At least let me get that power adapter with the Ethernet port in it.

 

[G5isAlive]

This. I was getting ready to order an 15" MBA to replace my 13" M1 but with the news yesterday of the Apple Silicon encryption key leak disaster it seems like just throwing money away at this point. Might as well just hang onto the 13" since neither offers a secure computing environment.

An m2 15 MBA? Because apparently this is easier to correct in the M3 versus the M2 and M1. So yeah, the M3 will be more secure.

 

[Legend of Ive]

I'm still using M1 Air with 8GB ram, I do a ton of development on visual studio, Xcode, hundred of chrome tabs, music, and bunch of other apps. It still flies through, never have noticed a slowdown or heat except when doing very intensive Xcode, that maybe due to Xcode.

I know for a fact, when using Intel chip with 8GB this would cause a huge slowdown, With M1, rams matter less and less.

 

[profdraper]

Unpatchable vulnerability in Apple chip leaks secret encryption keys

Unpatchable vulnerability in Apple chip leaks secret encryption keys

Fixing newly discovered side channel will likely take a major toll on performance.

arstechnica.com

​

 

[Tagbert]

Any issues with heat or overheating? Lots of discussion on the forums about this model overheating. Surprised no mention of it here.

Not overheating as in something went wrong when I tried to do typical work on it. These are thin and light laptops with no fans. That is considered a benefit by most users. They can do any task that you are likely to ask of them. If that task is to do a long rendering of some 3D animation to a 4K video, then they will eventually reach thermal limits where they slow down by 10-20% and then continue to do the job. That's fine. If that is the kind of work you do every day, then you probably want a pro Mac instead. If that is something you do once a month, then it doesn't really have an impact.

 

[macmyworld]

Any issues with heat or overheating? Lots of discussion on the forums about this model overheating. Surprised no mention of it here.

It runs too hot for my liking. Just watching videos makes it pretty warm for the lap.

 

[saggyhaggis]

Got a 13" M3 Air with 16GB/512 for my son studying ArchiCAD. He just got the software. Hopefully will be a solid computer until he becomes proficient on the software and then later upgrade to a MBP for more complex work. He has two weeks to test it and if is not good enough, we'll return it.

I have a 16GB M1 Air and and can attest that it runs the latest version of Archicad like a champ, the screen is a little on the small size but is perfectly usable. Plug it into a decent sized 4K monitor and it's fantastic.

 

[PantherKang]

How do you survive here? You could instead be accumulating a ton of forum cred taking a swing at Apple/Cook/[and every device Apple has made] every day.

Epic(ally) true. You da best.

 

[Imperial926]

I looked back at a pile of Macs I have gathered to return for recycling. An invoice for my 2011 Pro reads £1,736. Of course the GPU failed as did my wife's and everybody else's! Next my 2016 with the lousy keyboard and a dead battery which would take £200 and 2 weeks to repair - no thanks. The oldest machine in the pile still works without fault - an iBook G4 from around 2005!

As my 2016 Pro has just started to exhibit the Flexgate backlight issue I took a deep breath and went for the base model M3 13". I have put together a strategy to work within the limits of 256Gb and I refuse to spend the kind of money I did before only to encounter design faults.

I love the new M3 and I'm really hoping it will do better than those old models.

 

[ralph_sws]

im waiting for 3 weeks reviews

 

[citysnaps]

Any issues with heat or overheating? Lots of discussion on the forums about this model overheating. Surprised no mention of it here.

I've used my M1 MBA for everyday computing tasks, and also for editing photos in Lightroom. No noticeable overheating. Ditto for watching videos.

I suspect it would get warm if I were into editing long videos. But really an MBA wouldn't be the right choice if you were doing that often or especially professionally.

If you're still concerned... Apple offers a 14 day full refund return period. You could give an MBA a try with what you typically do with a laptop and judge for yourself.

 

[CausticSoda]

I love my M1 MBA 16Gb/1Tb. I chose it over the M2 simply because I prefer the design. I hope and think it will do the job fine for me until the MBA loses the notch.

 

[Warped9]

Recently I got to spend some time with a 15in. M2 Macbook Air in base spec. I’m not a laptop person, but I was still quite impressed.

For a 15in. it feels incredibly light. The screen is very nice. The performance was impressive.

If I were to go for a laptop this would be it, but with a 16/512 configuration.

 

[timemaker27]

Is there any difference in the speakers between M2 macbook air 15" and M3 macbook air 15", please?
I know they both have 6 speakers but does M3 use exactly the same as M2?

 

[Mainsail]

Jeebus ... just about ANYTHING is an upgrade from a 2016 Air! 😂

True. But, I am surprised by how many people I see still sporting that iconic 2010-2017 MBA wedge shaped model. I had a 2014 MBA, and I loved that thing. So durable and reliable. It was a classic. The 2010 redesign really changed the "ultrabook" into an everyday computer. The 2008 was a bit too niche and overpriced.

 

[DownUnderDan]

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.

Why did you write this like you were Moses coming down from the mountain? You are expressing an opinion, not making a statement. A little humility like "I think" or "my thoughts on this centre around" or "I would prefer" wouldn't kill you.

 

[Tuck_]

Why did you write this like you were Moses coming down from the mountain? You are expressing an opinion, not making a statement. A little humility like "I think" or "I would prefer" wouldn't kill you.

Its a discussion forum. Obviously they are expressing their opinion. "I think" and "I would prefer" are a given.

 

[DownUnderDan]

I found it funny because I saw the same video earlier and shrugged. Let's start with it's just 1 person's thoughts. And not original, it was said about the M2 as well. And it was about a particular group of users, those with minimal requirements. Which when DOESN'T that group fit last year's model at a discounted price? I remember when the M1 came out and people said, oh, get an intel now they are cheap. And 'I see your MKBHD and raise you one Luke Miani' who starts with saying the same thing as MKBHD but concludes the best feature of the MBA M3 is that it meant the M1 and M2 would get deep price cuts. But if you need the power of the M3, get the M3. No one, but no one is saying if you have to pay the original price of the M2, or M1, get it instead of the M3. They are saying, take advantage of price cuts if you want. Like is said every single time a new model is introduced.

So I laughed that this apple to oranges flag was waved as an argument the M3 means Tim Cook failed.

I am not going to get all negative about the M3 because it's only incrementally better than the M2. I am not a person that feels the need to constantly put things down. That's what I find to be funny.

And finally I chuckles because I bring to the table actual user experience, not just always referencing some YouTuber. You can find anything you want to make your point by referencing a YouTuber.

There is a noticeable and appreciated snappier feel to my MBA M3 versus my M1. I like that I can have two external monitors. The built in ray tracing is something I am looking forward to exploring.

That's my hands on use. I dont need a YouTube to point out the obvious price cuts on older models. The question people could be asking if that $200 saved is worth that year lost of updates. For many it will be. For some it won't be.

I used the laugh emoji because while I don't agree MKBHD is the end of the conversation, it wasn't worth wasting a thumbs down on.

Your points are fine as an opinion, but you werent so much finding it funny as smirking at the other user. Perhaps just be more politie and leave the emoji stuff alone. You should have outgrown it at high school.

 

[DownUnderDan]

Its a discussion forum. Obviously they are expressing their opinion. "I think" and "I would prefer" are a given.

My point stands, as tone is important.

 

[pugxiwawa]

Just wish the screen on MBA is better, it's much dimmer than the one on MBP, not to mention the lack of promotion.

 

[Mainsail]

I'm still using M1 Air with 8GB ram, I do a ton of development on visual studio, Xcode, hundred of chrome tabs, music, and bunch of other apps. It still flies through, never have noticed a slowdown or heat except when doing very intensive Xcode, that maybe due to Xcode.

I know for a fact, when using Intel chip with 8GB this would cause a huge slowdown, With M1, rams matter less and less.

I must say I am impressed. Based on other MR posts, I would have thought your 8GB M1 MBA would have ground to a halt or exploded into a million pieces from that work load.

 

[victorvictoria]

Sure I'd love to have a shiny new M3 MacBook Air to replace my M1 model. But I'd rather have a BMW M3 to replace my aging 340i! Oh well, both are still in perfect condition, and both fulfill my need for speed at this point.

 

[SantaFeNM]

No regrets on getting a 13" M3 MBA. Coming from a (base) M1, I find the speedier processor, brighter screen, camera/mics (WFH days), speakers, full-sized function keys, and larger Touch ID sensor are good quality of life improvements for me. And I love the M1 MBA, such a great device. I'm glad I skipped the M2, after being tempted for almost two years. It makes the upgrade feel even more significant.

Oh, and my wife likes not having to share her M1 anymore.

Ditto!