The Independent's journalism is supported by our readers. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn commission. Why trust us?

Apple MacBook Air M3 review: Just as fast and powerful as a Pro-level laptop

It might look the same, but the new processor gives it a real power boost

David Phelan
Thursday 07 March 2024 14:48 GMT
The latest MacBook Air comes in 13in and 15in sizes
The latest MacBook Air comes in 13in and 15in sizes (The Independent )

The latest super-light laptop from Apple arrives in shops tomorrow, and it’s been updated with the much speedier M3 processor found in some of Apple’s premium MacBook Pro laptops released last year.

The Apple MacBook Air is an impossibly thin, featherlight laptop. It has caused a stir, and been highly popular since the then CEO Steve Jobs slid it out of a manila envelope in 2008. In the years that have followed, it’s had two big redesigns and a new model with a 15in display was added.

Now, the Air has been updated again, installing the newest Apple silicon to power it. It looks the same as before, apart from a gentle tweak to the finish on one colourway, but it is much faster.

There’s one other very notable difference: it’s dropped in price. Is this the Goldilocks laptop, matching usability, light weight and affordability? Read on.

How we tested the MacBook Air M3

(David Phelan/The Independent)

Apple’s products are usually sublimely simple to set up. We tested to make sure this one was, too. We looked at build quality and elegance of design – is it the premium product you’d expect from the company? We also tested the new processor with everyday and more advanced tasks to see if it’s powerful enough and, since this is a laptop, we checked just how long the battery lasts.

(David Phelan/The Independent)

Apple MacBook Air M3

Apple macbook air m3
  • Dimensions: 30.41cm x 21.5cm x 1.13cm (13in), 34.04cm x 23.76cm x 1.15cm (15in)
  • Display size: 13.6in and 15.3in
  • Display specs : LED-backlit, 500nits brightness
  • Display resolution : 2,560 x 1,664 (13in), 2,880 x 1,864 (15in)
  • Weight : 1.24kg (13in), 1.51kg (15in)
  • Storage: 256GB/512GB/1TB/2TB
  • Processor: Apple M3
  • RAM: 8GB, 16GB, 24GB
  • Colours: Midnight, starlight, silver and space grey
  • Why we love it
    • Amazingly light
    • Super-fast processor
    • Good value
    • Midnight finish resists fingerprints
  • Take note
    • Design hasn’t changed

Design

The MacBook Air comes in two screen sizes, 13.6in and 15.3in. They really are breathtakingly lightweight, weighing 1.24kg and 1.51kg respectively. Size, weight and price apart, the two models are identical to each other.

The Air was redesigned in 2022, replacing the tapered edge of earlier models with a flat lid, sharper edges and bigger screen (with a cut-out for the FaceTime camera to peep out of). It also saw the return of MagSafe, that clever magnetic power connection that means if someone trips on your cable, it detaches rather than sending the laptop flying – again, remember just how light it is. That said, battery life is now so good, you’re unlikely to be tethering it to the mains while you use it anyway. You can also charge the Air through either of the USB-C sockets on the left edge.

There are no changes to the design this time around, apart from one: there are four colours, silver, space grey, starlight and midnight. Midnight is a dark, almost-black shade that glints blue in the right light. Until now, it’s been a bit of a fingerprint magnet, but the new Air has an upgraded finish, not a coating but an anodised seal which reduces fingerprints showing up. This is similar to the seal introduced on the space black MacBook Pro last October, but it’s the first time it’s appeared on the Air.

Read more: iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max review

Personally, I still think Starlight is the best colour in the range. It’s essentially silver, but catch the right light on it and it gleams golden. It’s stunning.

Does it matter that there’s no visible difference between this Air and the last model? It really doesn’t. The Air remains the best-looking, best crafted super-thin laptop, perfectly balanced so you can open it with one hand. It continues to have the most inviting keyboard where the keys are sculpted so your fingers find them effortlessly and each has plenty of travel. There’s also a sumptuously big and responsive trackpad.

The display is also one of the best around, surrounded by thin bezels so the screen reaches right into the corners. Not everyone will like the cut-out at the top of the display for the camera, but it’s pretty unobtrusive: the menu bar on the Mac is deeper so it doesn’t cover anything important, and video playback, which also looks great, is letterboxed.

Performance

The new chip is the big news on this MacBook Air. A few years back, Apple switched from Intel processors in its Macs to homegrown Apple Silicon. And everything changed. From the first processor, the Apple M1, performance speeds took off. So efficient was it that the MacBook Air with M1 didn’t need a fan, running fast and completely silently (that’s still the case now with this model).

Then came the M2, which was faster still, though not the exponential step change between Intel and M1. And last October, Apple announced the M3, putting it in the MacBook Pro range initially.

The Apple M3 is extremely fast. Actually, the M2 was no slouch, handling every task I routinely throw at it with aplomb. But the M3 is faster, and means that unless you have rarefied and unusual programs that are particularly memory-intensive, this chip will cope.

Read more: Best laptops for all budgets, ranked by experts

Here’s how you know it’s fast: the M3 chip is in one model of Apple’s top-drawer laptop, the MacBook Pro. The lowest-priced 14-inch MacBook Pro uses the identical processor now found in the MacBook Air, with the same amount of active memory (8GB of RAM). And, by the way, that Pro laptop costs £600 more than the 13-inch Air, £400 more than the 15-incher. There are other differences that make the Pro better, as we’ll see.

But it makes clear just how powerful the new Air is. Everything happens fast, and moderately heavy-duty programs like video processing apps perform at speed and for extended periods.

You can also power two displays, which is a neat productivity extra. That’s either the MacBook Air screen and one external one, or two external displays when the Air’s clamshell is closed.

Battery life is quoted by Apple at 18 hours, the same as for the M2 model, and that felt about right in my testing of the 15in version.

Pricing

Apple has done something unusual here, it’s cut the prices of the new models significantly. Last week, a 13in MacBook Air with M2 processor cost £1,149, and a 15in model £1,399. This week, swapping the M2 processor for M3 will see you pay £1,099 and £1,299, savings of £50 and £100 respectively for a significantly better machine.

Also last week, you could buy a MacBook Air with an M1 chip inside. That was the model with the old-style design, with tapered lid. That cost £999. Now, the entry-level Air has the new, improved design and the M2 processor, but for the price of the old model, £999. It maintains the design of the M2 series, that is, it doesn’t have the new anodised seal on the midnight finish.

Read more: Best iPad deals March 2024

For many people, the M2 Air will be fast enough, though the faster performance of M3 may buy headroom which will see the laptop last even longer.

Then there’s the MacBook Pro. The 14-inch MacBook Pro costs £1,699 and has the identical processor in the new Air. But for the extra money you get a bigger display than the 13-inch Air. That display offers miniLED backlighting which looks spectacular and can go much, much brighter than the Air. It also has higher storage, 512GB instead of 256GB, better speakers, better microphone and a fan so that you can run the most demanding apps for even longer.

Back to top

The verdict: MacBook Air M3

The new MacBook Air M3 doesn’t look very different from its predecessor, though the midnight finish will at least not be a fingerprint magnet. The 15in model has a display that is especially immersive, but the 13in Air is easier to squirrel away in a smaller bag. Which model you opt for is down to personal taste, but for me the 15in model just edges it, proving even more enjoyable to use (and has just had a bigger price cut).

The Air’s speed and battery life are outstanding and more than enough for almost everyone. In fact, the Apple MacBook Air is the best general-use laptop you can buy, with gorgeous looks, weight and thickness that are the ultimate in portability, and deeply impressive performance.

Voucher codes

For the latest offers on technology, video games and more, try the links below:

Want to know which laptop to buy? Check out our list of the best laptops

Voucher Codes

TUI Discount Code
TUI Discount Code
£50 per booking off selected package holidays using your unique TUI voucher code
ASOS Discount Code
ASOS Discount Code
10% off first orders £20+ using this ASOS promo code
Travelodge Discount Code
Travelodge Discount Code
Save 5% on bookings - Travelodge voucher code
The Body Shop Discount Code
The Body Shop Discount Code
Save 20% on orders with The Body Shop discount code
The Perfume Shop Discount Code
The Perfume Shop Discount Code
Save 15% on everything with birthday orders at The Perfume Shop - Member exclusive
Cult Beauty Discount Code
Cult Beauty Discount Code
Get 15% off + Extra 5% on select products with this Cult Beauty voucher code

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in