Apple’s latest M3 MacBook Air computers support two external displays with the lid closed (so-called clamshell laptop mode).
The refreshed notebooks were via a press release published in the Apple Newsroom on March 4, 2204. Both the 13-inch and 15-inch modes are powered by the 3-nanometer M3 chip, and can be ordered now before arriving on Friday, March 8.
Apple also discontinued the M1-powered MacBook Air while slashing the 13-inch M2 MacBook Air price by $100, making it available for $999 for the first time. The M2-powered 15-inch model launched ahead of the WDC23 is no longer offered.
What’s new for Apple’s M3 MacBook Air?
Like its predecessor, the M2, the new M3 chip features eight CPU cores, ten GPU cores and sixteen Neural Engine cores, making it 60 percent faster than the M1 MacBook Air and 13x faster than the fastest Intel-based MacBook Air.
Apple offers six different configurations, with the entry-level 4-inch configuration starts at $1,099. You’ll probably want to opt for the baseline 15-inch model for $1,299, and pay an extra $200 to double the RAM to sixteen gigabytes.
“With the next-generation GPU of M3, the new MacBook Air supports hardware-accelerated mesh shading and ray tracing, offering more accurate lighting, reflections and shadows for extremely realistic gaming experiences,” Apple notes.
“It also includes the latest media engine with support for AV1 decode, providing more efficient and higher-quality video experiences from streaming services.”
Apple pitches the updated machine as the world’s best consumer laptop for artificial intelligence thanks to the updated Neural Engine coprocessor in the M3 chip. Battery life is up to eighteen hours, the same as before, and Wi-Fi is 2x faster than the previous generation thanks to Wi-Fi 6E support.
To compare the key technical specifications of the new and previous MacBook Air models, visit the Compare Mac page on Apple’s website.
Two external displays in clamshell mode
The M2 models supported a single external display. With the new 13 and 15-inch M3 MacBook Air models, you can connect a single external display with up to 6K resolution at 60Hz or two external displays with up to 5K resolution at 60Hz with the lid closed. In other words, the new M3 MacBook Air now has better external display support than the base M3 MacBook Pro.
Build-to-order upgrades
Build-to-order upgrades include RAM (8GB, 16GB or 24GB), storage (256GB, 512GB, 1TB or 2TB SSD) and faster-charging power adapters (Apple’s 35W dual USB-C compact charger or its more powerful 70W USB-C charger). You can’t choose a more powerful M3 Pro or M3 Max like with the M3 MacBook Pro.
You’ll probably want to add a RAM upgrade to your M3 MacBook Air because only the flagship $1500 13-inch and $1700 15-inch models have 16GB of RAM.
All the other configurations ship with eight gigabytes of RAM, which is criminally low for a consumer laptop. Although Apple silicon uses the RAM more efficiently than Intel chips, the RAM is soldered on the chip and cannot be upgraded after the fact.
Pricing and availability
The new M3 MacBook Air is available in the same Midnight, Starlight, Space Gray and Silver as the previous generation. You can pre-order your M3 MacBook Air from apple.com or through the Apple Store app in 28 countries and regions, including the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany, France and Italy.
The latest machines will start shipping to customers and become available via Apple’s retail stores and authorized resellers beginning Friday, March 8.