Apple’s M3 MacBook Air update isn’t much of a change compared to the M2 version, but it is for the M1. Here’s what a two-generation difference makes for the MacBook Air.
Apple’s M3 MacBook Air update isn’t much of a change compared to the M2 version, but it is for the M1. Here’s what a two-generation difference makes for the MacBook Air.
Monday’s introduction of the M3 MacBook Air family is an improvement for the lineup, but it is chiefly a spec-bump upgrade rather than an overhaul from the previous M2 versions.
The M2 generation was a much bigger change for the lineup from the M1, as Apple used the opportunity to make major changes to the overall MacBook Air design. That means that, unlike comparing the M3 MacBook Air to the M2 MacBook Air, there will be a much larger collection of differences between the latest models and the 2020 iteration.
The sheer number of changes may even be enough to convince some M1 MacBook Air users to upgrade.
M3 MacBook Air vs M1 MacBook Air – SpecificationsM3 MacBook Air vs M1 MacBook Air – Dimensions and design
The 2020 MacBook Air is best known for being a slim and light notebook while also giving users the essentials of Mac usability. The first Apple Silicon model, it was also the last that did so by having a tapered appearance.
The M2 MacBook Air, which the M3 copies, opts for a much more uniform thickness and a MacBook Pro slab aesthetic. This results in quite a few differences.
The M1 MacBook Air has a footprint of 11.97 inches by 8.36 inches. The wedge-like aluminum body tapers from 0.63 inches at its thickest down to 0.16 inches at its thinnest, at the edge where the lid separates from the main body.
The 13-inch MacBook Air with M3 measures 11.97 inches by 8.46 inches, with a uniform thickness of 0.44 inches, making it thicker at one end and thinner at the other. However it’s still a fairly thin notebook overall.
The M3 model is also available in a 15-inch version, measuring 13.40 by 9.35 inches, and 0.45 inches thick. There is no comparable 15-inch M1 MacBook Air, only the 13-inch variety.
Weight-wise, Apple actually managed to reduce the weight of the 13-inch M3 MacBook Pro versus the M1, at 2.7 pounds to 2.8 pounds. The 15-inch M3 is 3.3 pounds in weight.
M3 MacBook Air 13-inchM3 MacBook Air versus M1 MacBook Air – Display
Apple’s Liquid Retina displays for the 13-inch MacBook Air M3 and 15-inch MacBook Air M3 measure 13.6 inches and 15.3 inches respectively. The M1 model uses a 13.3-inch IPS LED-backlit screen, which is just as wide as the M3 version, if not as tall.
One thing about the M3 versions is that Apple uses a notch in the display. The extra height means that the menu bar is divided by the notch, but thanks to strategic black bars, the display is effectively the same size as the M1 version when viewing video in full-screen mode.
This is also evident by the resolutions, which are 2,560 by 1,664 for the 13-inch M3, 2,560 by 1,600 for the M1. The 15-inch is 2,880 by 1,864.
Support for Wide Color (P3) and True Tone is identical across the board, but the M3 pair do benefit from 500 nits of brightness to the M1’s 400 nits.
M3 MacBook Air versus M1 MacBook Air – Performance
Aside from the vastly different externals, the M1 and M3 chips are probably the most important differences of all here.
The M1 is the first Apple Silicon chip, using an 8-core CPU with four high-performance and four efficiency cores. Equipped with 66.67GB/s of memory bandwidth, it also had a 16-core Neural Engine, as well as introducing the use of a unified memory architecture.
