by Apple’s (AAPL) MacBook Air is one of the best laptops on the market. From its stylish design to its powerful performance and long-lasting battery, it’s hard to top what Apple has to offer. Well, unless you’re looking for a Windows laptop.
But if you’re an Apple fan, or if you’re curious about switching to the other side, the MacBook Air is, in general, the way to go. And that’s no different with the company’s newest 15-inch variety. After spending a few days with the 2024 MacBook Air 15-inch, I can say that it is better than ever. But it still has one drawback: the lack of a connectivity port on the right side.
Available on March 8, the latest Air line gets a processor bump from Apple’s M2 processor to the newer M3. The smaller 13-inch model starts at $1,099, and the 15-inch starts at $1,299.
Both are available in a midnight color that features the same anodized seal that helps cut down on fingerprint smudges, something I wish my 2023 midnight 15-inch MacBook Air had. I know it doesn’t sound like much, but when you’re spending north of $1,000 on something you touch every day, you want to keep it looking as clean as the day you bought it.
My review unit came equipped with Apple’s 8-core CPU, 10-core M3 GPU chip, 16GB of memory, and 512GB of storage for $1,699. And if you’re in the market for the 15-inch Air, that’s the exact configuration I’d recommend you buy. It’ll get you enough performance to last a long time thanks to its 16GB of memory, and 512GB of storage should be plenty for a game here and there, as well as your photos and videos.
If you want to go all out, though, you can increase the memory to 24GB and the storage to 2TB for $2,499. That said, for the same price, you could get a 16-inch MacBook Pro with a more powerful M3 Pro chip, 18GB of memory, and 512GB of storage.
If you want to do some basic photo and video editing and light gaming, stick with the Air. But if you’re interested in heavy-duty photo and video work, gaming, and working on 3D modeling software, the Pro is the way to go.
As far as overall performance goes, Apple says the latest Air surpasses last year’s model with 20% faster CPU performance than the M2 Air and 35% better performance than the M1-equipped model. Graphics also get a boost, with the M3 Air beating out the M2 and M1 models with 20% and 65% better performance, respectively.
I’m writing this review with the M3-Air drive, and I haven’t seen any slowdowns or hiccups. It opens apps quickly, comes to life when I lift the lid, and manages to run the game “Baldur’s Gate 3” quite well on low to medium graphics settings. It doesn’t look as good as it would on, say, a desktop or a dedicated gaming console, but if you’re trying to throw fireballs at goblins on the way, the Air will do the job.
The latest MacBook Airs also support two external displays when you close their lids. So if you want to use your Air more or less as a computer box and work from those separate screens and a bluetooth keyboard and bluetooth mouse, you can do that. Disconnect your Air from the setup and you can proceed with ease.
Battery life is as great as you’d expect from an Air running on one of Apple’s chips. The company says it managed to squeeze 18 hours of battery life from the Air while playing 1080p video through iTunes. I used this review unit to write, browse the web, check out some video games, and more, and the battery never touched the red line.
Of course, I kept recharging every time I sat down at my makeshift workstation in the kitchen/living/dining room area of my apartment, but when I took it to another room for a spin, I never felt that need to bring a charger. with me.
One of the things that stands out about the M3-powered MacBook Air is the way Apple is positioning it as an AI machine. The company refers to the Air as “the world’s best consumer laptop for AI,” thanks to the M3’s built-in neural engine. It’s important to note that Apple has included neural engines in its chips for quite some time already, so the neural engine in the M3 isn’t exactly a new development.
What’s more, by highlighting it, Apple is telling the world that it’s been building AI-capable laptops, desktops and smartphones for years, even though Windows laptops are just getting started. adoption of AI through Microsoft ( MSFT ) Copilot and AI-enabled chips from Intel ( INTC ), AMD ( AMD ), and Qualcomm ( QCOM ) on the market or coming to market this year.
My only criticism of the MacBook Air is that it only has two Thunderbolt 4 ports on the left side. It seems like a minor complaint, but having the ports, which are compatible with USB-C secure connectors, on one side can make cable management difficult, especially if you’re used to having a connector on the right side of your systems. I had to rearrange my home setup to be comfortable with my review unit, for example.
Overall, Apple’s latest MacBook Air builds on the success of its previous offerings and continues to carry the torch as one of the best laptops you can buy. If you already have an M1 or M2 powered Air, you have the right to wait on your unit for a while longer. If you’re still working with an Intel-based Air, though, it’s time to ditch that dinosaur for an Air with one of Apple’s chips.
It’s worth noting that Apple is continuing to offer last year’s 13-inch MacBook Air with an M2 chip at a starting price of $999. You don’t get the slick paint job that reduces fingerprints or the ability to use two external monitors, but it’s still a great laptop.
If you’d rather get an M3-powered MacBook Air, though, you won’t be disappointed.
Daniel Hawley He is the technology editor at Yahoo Finance. He has been covering the tech industry since 2011. You can follow him on Twitter @Daniel Howley.
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