The new MacBook Air M3 features a faster chip, impressive battery life, premium components, and a reduced price, enhancing an already outstanding product

Apple’s newest MacBook Air enhances an already powerful package with more power, maintaining its impressive battery life and arriving at a lower price compared to its predecessor.

The 2024 model is equipped with Apple’s latest M3 chip, which was first introduced in the MacBook Pro, providing a performance boost to the company’s thinnest and lightest machine. The laptop retains the same exterior design as the 2022 model.

Priced at £1,099 (€1,299/$1,099/A$1,799), the new MacBook Air is £150 cheaper in the UK, making it more accessible while still firmly in the premium category. It is positioned above the M2 MacBook Air, which is still available at a reduced price of £999.

Apple has chosen not to venture into the realm of fancy folding forms favored by some competitors, instead focusing on refining the standard laptop form. The MacBook Air’s slim aluminum frame, 13.6-inch LCD screen, excellent keyboard, and large trackpad are all top-notch. It outperforms most rivals with its four speakers hidden in the deck, while the 1080p webcam and high-quality microphones make video chats effortless.

Powered by the M3 chip, this laptop offers significantly more power and longer battery life than most compact laptops. The M3 chip is approximately 18% faster than the M2 and notably faster than Intel-based Macs or PC laptops from previous years.

It’s worth noting that the base model comes with only 8GB of memory. While it currently operates smoothly and macOS 14 effectively handles memory constraints, 8GB may prove insufficient in the future. Upgrading to 16GB costs an additional £200 (€230/$200/A$300).

The battery consistently lasts over 16 hours of work between charges, which includes several hours of photo editing in Affinity Photo, extensive browsing and web app usage in Chrome, along with Evernote and various other smaller tools.

Using the included 30W charger and MagSafe cable, it took slightly over two hours to fully charge the MacBook Air. It reached 50% charge in about an hour. However, if you have a 70W or higher-power adaptor, you can fast-charge it to 50% in approximately 30 minutes.

Specifications

Screen: 13.6-inch LCD (2560×1600; 224 ppi) with True Tone
Processor: Apple M3 with eight or 10-core GPU
RAM: 8GB, 16GB, or 24GB
Storage: 256GB, 512GB, 1TB, or 2TB SSD
Operating system: macOS 14 Sonoma
Camera: 1080p FaceTime HD
Connectivity: WiFi 6E, Bluetooth 5.3, 2x USB 4, headphone jack
Dimensions: 215 x 304.1 x 11.3mm
Weight: 1.24kg

Sustainability

The MacBook Air incorporates 50% recycled materials, including aluminum, cobalt, copper, glass, gold, steel, tin, rare earth elements, and plastic. Apple details the computer’s environmental footprint in its report.

The computer is generally repairable, and its battery can be replaced by Apple for £159. Repair specialists iFixit rated the machine five out of 10 for repairability. Apple provides trade-in and free recycling programs, including for non-Apple products.

Price

The 13-inch Apple MacBook Air starts at £1,099 (€1,299/$1,099/A$1,799) with an 8-core GPU, 8GB of RAM, and 256GB of storage. The 15-inch versions start at £1,299 (€1,599/$1,299/A$2,199).

Comparatively, the M2 13-inch MacBook Air costs £999, the M3 MacBook Pro starts at £1,699, the Framework Laptop 13 starts at £1,049, the Microsoft Surface Laptop 5 starts at £999, and the Dell XPS starts at £1,198.99.

Verdict

The MacBook Air remains the benchmark for slim and lightweight laptops, now enhanced by the M3 chip for added power.

Its keyboard, trackpad, and build quality continue to lead the industry, complemented by a superb screen, impressive speakers, and a reliable webcam, making the Air feel exceptionally high-end in daily use.

The laptop effortlessly handles everyday tasks and tackles more demanding workloads with ease, although upgrading from the base 8GB of memory is worth considering.

What truly sets the Air apart is its exceptional battery life, which effectively doubles the usable working time compared to most competitors, eliminating the need to carry a charger with you.

For those seeking a premium laptop for daily use and don’t require Windows, the MacBook Air in either the 13-inch or 15-inch configuration should be a top choice.