Apple switched up the design of the world’s most popular consumer laptop, the MacBook Air, with the M2 generation back in 2022, ditching the iconic, albeit a bit dated, wedge-shaped design for a dramatic remodel inspired by the MacBook Pro lineup. At least for now, it appears that the Air may have reached its current peak in design, retaining its sleek chassis and updated MagSafe charging and camera, instead choosing to focus on what’s under the hood for the M3-powered Air lineup.
The design still holds up rather well, and there’s a new coating on only the Midnight colour variant that is supposed to reduce fingerprint smudges. Everything else, including the port selection, is identical, though the M3 Air does add support for dual external displays with the lid closed (the M2 only supported one), a feature that will undoubtedly appeal to enterprises where the Air is docked and used with multiple monitors.
Bear in mind that with the lid closed, you cannot use TouchID or the webcam, so I’m hoping Apple will devise a solution that will keep the lid open but power off the screen if two external monitors are connected. This feature inclusion also highlights the lack of one additional USB-C/Thunderbolt port — connect two external monitors, and you’re left with none for connecting a hub for storage expansion or peripherals. There’s Wi-Fi 6E support for a massive network performance boost for those with the latest routers.
Clearly, the big upgrade comes in the form of the M3 chip, which, while it may offer modest upgrades over the M2 Airs, is a significant 25 to 30 percent jump in single-core performance over the M1 chip (and a more significant graphics jump). Juggling dozens of tabs on Safari while streaming music on Apple Music and editing photos in Pixelmator Pro, the M3 Air chugged along just fine, continuing to amaze at how much performance one can eke out of a fanless design.
It’s no pushover for gaming either, and the Air even managed to play Shadow of Tomb Raider and the recently released Baldur’s Gate 3 at medium graphics settings. Battery life remains virtually identical to the M2 Air, so you’re left with an interesting choice – if your workload is light, everyday tasks, you can save a bit and pick up the M2 Air at the reduced INR 99,900 starting point or pick up the M3 if you’re coming from an Intel MacBook Air – in fact, the quality-of-life improvements should have even M1 Air owners eyeing the M3 Air as a potential upgrade. I’d advocate picking up a 16 GB memory model if you’re looking to max out the longevity of the Air.
Beyond the regular, the Air also capitalises on the current zeitgeist in consumer technology (AI), by leaning heavily on the on-device machine learning benefits reaped from the neural engine that has been core to Apple Silicon on the Mac all these years. For now, these boosts are visible in capabilities like real-time speech-to-text, faster denoising and filters in image and video editing apps, and even running large language models (LLMs) locally on the Air.
But this is the space to watch over this year as new macOS generative AI features are hopefully just around the corner (at June’s WWDC event). Apple's AI computer for the masses has arrived, just in time. Until then, and as it stands, the MacBook Pro 13-inch M3 impresses thanks to its classy ultraportable design, gorgeous display, stellar battery life, and class-leading performance.
Rating: 9/10
Price: INR 1,14,900 onwards
