M3 MacBook Air review: Apple's AI computer for the masses has arrived

Apple M3 MacBook Air

4 / 5

Very good

pros and cons

Pros

• "Pro" enough for lots of professional users
• Form factor sets a high bar in style and substance
• Supports two external monitors with the lid closed
• Upgraded neural engine for faster AI tasks

Cons

• LCD display lags behind OLED competitors
• 8GB of RAM on base model limits its uses
• Limited to two expansion ports, both on one side
• Built-in audio could be much stronger

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ZDNET's buying advice 

The redesigned (13-inch) M2 MacBook Air was so impressive from a design and performance standpoint that ZDNET named it our Product of the Year for 2022. The M3 MacBook Air is a worthy successor, now offered in two sizes, 13-inch and 15-inch. ZDNET has tested both over the past week and has been impressed enough with their three big upgrades that it makes these new machines an easy buy recommendation for pros and enthusiasts who need more AI power and multiple external monitors. But, there are also some important buying considerations. 

First, the best thing about the arrival of the M3 MacBook Air models might be that the 13-inch M2 MacBook Air now starts at $999 ($899 with an educational discount). The now-discontinued M1 MacBook Air -- still a solid machine that's better than a Chromebook and many comparable Windows machines -- will likely be on clearance for even less. That's a good one to buy for kids or family members who just need the basics. 

One more thing to keep in mind if you're considering buying the 15-inch M3 MacBook Air: if you configure it with 16GB of RAM and 512GB of storage, then you'll be at $1,699 and quickly getting into 14-inch M3 MacBook Pro territory in terms of cost. If you're going to go there, I'd recommend opting for the 14-inch M3 MacBook Pro instead, because of its much better display and sound, and the fact that you can hook it up to two external monitors and still use the laptop's monitor as a third display.

Also: MacBook Pro (M3 Max) review: A desktop-class laptop for an AI-powered age

Specifications

How I tested the M3 MacBook Air

In terms of qualitative testing, I wrote this article on the M3 MacBook Air and used my daily work applications -- Slack, Microsoft Outlook, Google Drive, and ZDNET's CMS. I also used Adobe Lightroom for processing photos, including AI features. I fired up YouTube in Safari to play the song Eclipse from the Dune 2 soundtrack as a way to test the audio quality of the built-in speakers. I also played the 2021 Dune movie in 4K from my library in the Apple TV Plus app to test the display quality of the M3 MacBook Air. I expect there will be a lot more AI testing to do after WWDC 2024 in June when Apple is likely to unveil its generative AI tools.

For quantitive testing, I followed the same routine I used in my review of the MacBook Pro with M3 Max. I used Cinebench to benchmark the M3 MacBook Air against other popular Macs I've tested over the past couple years. I also used Adobe Lightroom's AI-powered "Denoise" feature as a real-world test because it's a feature I use constantly when processing product photos and so any time savings there can result in tangible productivity gains. As you can see in the charts below, the M3 MacBook Air performed very well in the Cinebench benchmarks, compared to it M2 predecessor. But, it only scored marginally better than the M2 model in my real-world Lightroom test. I'd like to do more tests with other AI workflows and update this review over time, especially after WWDC 2024.

AI test: Adobe Lightroom Denoise (lower is better)

Cinebench CPU/GPU benchmark (higher is better)

What are the best features of M3 MacBook Air? 

Features and form factor make it a light "pro" laptop: The thin, light, and compact design of the M3 MacBook Air makes it a great ultraportable laptop that is easy to carry and slip into virtually any bag or backpack. And with the fact that the M3 chip now packs more power than ever makes this a machine that is as powerful as the fastest pro laptops from just a couple of years ago. Case in point, take a look at the benchmark scores above of the M3 MacBook Air compared to the MacBook Pro with M1 Pro. It essentially matches or exceeds most of the numbers of that MacBook Pro, which was an absolute performance beast in recent years.

Also: 3 AI features iOS 18 needs to catch up with Android

Now supports two external monitors: Another thing that ups the "pro" factor of this laptop is that you can now connect two external monitors with the lid closed, attach a mouse and keyboard, and use it like a desktop. I tried this with a pair of Apple Studio Displays connected directly to the M3 MacBook Air via Thunderbolt -- along with a Magic Keyboard and a Magic Trackpad -- and it worked like a champ. Performance was strong enough that it felt like I was running a desktop machine.

Neural engine to power through AI tasks: According to Apple's internal tests, the neural engine in the M3 MacBook Air offers a 60% improvement in performance over the previous generation M2 MacBook Air. As you can see in my real-world AI test above using the Denoise feature in Adobe Lightroom, I didn't see that kind of lift. Nevertheless, it's possible the Adobe software isn't optimized for M3 yet. And the overall benchmark improvements provide encouragement that this machine could be ready for more. A big test will be when Apple releases its own generative AI features later this year. It feels like this product is anticipating that, and could already be optimized for it.

What I'd like to see in the next model 

A USB-C port on the right side: With the M3 MacBook Air becoming more and more of a pro-capable laptop, the biggest thing that it needs is more expansion ports. The two USB-C 4 / Thunderbolt 3 ports limit the amount of pro-level things you can do with the machine without using cumbersome expansion docks and hubs. The fact that both of the USB-C ports are on the left side can also be awkward and inconvenient at times. Apple could solve both problems by simply adding one more USB-C port to the right side of the M3 MacBook Air. 

16GB of RAM and 512GB of storage in the base model: The biggest challenge with this laptop is the default configuration. With 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage, the M3 MacBook Air can scrape by well enough to do most of today's tasks, but it's not very future-proofed. Since most people prefer to hang on to a laptop for at least 3-4 years before replacing it, I would not recommend the default configuration because it will limit the longevity of the machine, which should easily have the durability and performance to make 4-5 years if it is loaded with enough memory and storage. 

Also: M3 MacBook Air vs. M2 MacBook Air: Which Apple laptop should you buy?

And since Apple doesn't make this machine upgradeable in RAM or storage, it's even more important to make the default configuration a solid option and not just a marketing tool to say it "starts" at a certain price.

Better built-in sound: One of the main things you give up by going with the M3 MacBook Air versus the MacBook Pro models is that you get a much inferior set of built-in speakers. The strong base and excellent sound clarity of the MacBook Pro models are made possible by the speakers on either side of the keyboard, while sound comes from the hinge area on the M3 MacBook Air. The result is that you have much lower fidelity sound that is a bit mushy and thin. You can overcome this, of course, by simply listening through a pair of quality headphones like the AirPods Pro 2nd-gen or the Sony WF-1000XM5 earbuds. But there are always going to be times when you want and need to use the built-in speakers.

Final thought 

At first glance, it may seem odd that Apple is releasing the upgraded M3 MacBook Air lineup just nine months after the 15-inch M2 version was first unveiled at Apple WWDC in June 2023. But, this is a good thing. For the 13-inch and 15-inch MacBook Air models, this is an incremental upgrade that brings them up to date with the new M3 processors that Apple announced last fall and continues them on their trajectory to be more capable and more of the light professional-grade laptops that many people can use to handle all of their work. 

That keeps mainstream Mac laptops at a more approachable price and allows the MacBook Pro models to fully focus on high-end features that power users and the most demanding professionals need. As I've said before, the M3 lineup looks like it is purpose-built to handle AI workloads. And with Tim Cook openly hinting that the company is preparing to launch generative AI features later this year, it certainly appears that the full value of these machines may not be completely transparent to us yet.

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