The MacBook Air has long been a symbol of Apple’s commitment to sleek design, portability, and performance. After spending time with the 2024 MacBook Air M3, I can confidently say that Apple has once again refined an already excellent formula. While not a groundbreaking redesign, the M3 model builds on the strengths of its predecessor, delivering subtle yet impactful upgrades that make it one of the most compelling laptops of the year.
At the heart of the new MacBook Air is Apple’s latest M3 chip, which I found to be noticeably snappier, especially in graphics performance and AI-driven tasks. Whether I was multitasking between multiple apps, editing high-resolution images, or streaming in 4K, the M3 handled it all effortlessly.
This upgrade ensures that the MacBook Air M3 isn’t just a lightweight machine for casual users but a genuinely capable device for those with more demanding workloads. Combined with its ultraportable design, stunning Retina display, and industry-leading battery life, the MacBook Air M3 remains a top choice for users who prioritize both form and function.
However, no laptop is perfect, and the Air M3 does present some challenges. As Apple’s lineup becomes more crowded, deciding between the 13-inch and 15-inch Air models—or even the base 14-inch MacBook Pro—can be overwhelming. After testing, I found the Air M3 to strike a near-perfect balance of performance, portability, and value, making it an ideal option for students, professionals, and everyday users alike.
In this blog, I’ll break down what makes the MacBook Air M3 stand out in 2024, from its design and performance to how it stacks up against the competition. Whether you’re upgrading from an older MacBook or looking to buy your first Apple laptop, the MacBook Air M3 is a device that deserves serious consideration.
Apple MacBook Air M3 Review (13-Inch):
MacBook Air M3 Review After One Week (13-Inch), I can confidently say it strikes the perfect balance between power and portability. Whether I was working from a café, attending virtual meetings, or editing photos on the go, this laptop handled everything effortlessly.
Weighing just 1.24 kg and measuring a sleek 11.3mm in thickness, it’s incredibly lightweight—perfect for students, professionals, and anyone who needs a reliable laptop for everyday use. Whether carrying it in your backpack for college or taking it to business meetings, the MacBook Air M3 feels incredibly compact and easy to handle.
Powered by Apple’s M3 chip, this laptop delivers a noticeable speed boost compared to its predecessors. Multitasking is smooth, and I had no issues switching between 20+ Chrome tabs, editing high-resolution images, and even light video editing. The 10-core GPU ensures better graphics performance, making it a solid option for designers and content creators.
The 13.6-inch Liquid Retina display is bright, crisp, and vibrant—perfect for streaming movies, working on presentations, or even casual photo editing. While it doesn’t have the deep blacks of OLED, the IPS panel is still one of the best in this price range, with excellent color accuracy and clarity.
Who Should Buy It?
- ✅ Students & Professionals needing portability.
- ✅ Writers & Researchers who want a great keyboard.
- ✅ Casual Creators need a balance of power and efficiency.
Who Should Skip It?
- ❌ High-end Creators – Get a MacBook Pro.
- ❌ Gamers – Look at gaming laptops.
MacBook Air M3 Review (13-Inch): Design and Build
The Apple MacBook Air 13-inch (M3) is a laptop that feels like an old friend—familiar, reliable, and always a pleasure to be around. Having spent time with it, I can confidently say that while it doesn’t reinvent the wheel, it refines what was already a winning design. If you’ve used the M2 MacBook Air, you’ll feel right at home here, and that’s not a bad thing at all.
One of the first things I noticed when unboxing the MacBook Air M3 is how incredibly thin and light it is. It’s almost comical how easy it is to carry around—I’ve slipped it into my bag and forgotten it was there more than once. The aluminum unibody chassis feels sturdy and premium, and the smooth hinge lets you open the lid with one hand effortlessly. Even when I was walking around with the laptop open, the lid stayed perfectly steady, which is a small but appreciated detail.
The design comes in four colors: Starlight, Silver, Space Gray, and Midnight. I’m personally drawn to Midnight—it’s sleek, and sophisticated, and hides fingerprints better than the other options thanks to the fingerprint-resistant coating. It’s a subtle upgrade, but one that makes a difference if you’re someone who likes to keep your gadgets looking pristine. The aluminum finish is cool to the touch and gives the laptop a timeless, professional look that works just as well in a coffee shop as it does in a boardroom.
The 13.6-inch Liquid Retina display is another highlight. It’s the same as the M2 model, but that’s not a complaint. The 2,560 x 1,664 resolution makes everything look crisp and vibrant, whether I’m scrolling through websites, editing photos, or binge-watching my favorite shows. Yes, there’s still a notch at the top of the screen for the 1080p FaceTime camera, but honestly, I stopped noticing it after a while. The display is bright, colorful, and a joy to use, even if it’s not OLED.
Typing on the MacBook Air M3 is a delight. The keyboard is spacious and comfortable, even for my larger hands, and I’ve spent hours typing without any discomfort. The trackpad is equally impressive—it’s smooth, and responsive, and makes navigating the system feel effortless. It’s these little touches that make the MacBook Air such a pleasure to use every day.
What I appreciate most about the MacBook Air M3’s design is how thoughtfully it balances form and function. It’s thin, light, and portable, yet it doesn’t sacrifice durability or usability. The fanless design keeps things quiet, and the recycled aluminum construction adds a nice eco-friendly touch. It’s a laptop that feels like it was designed with real people in mind—people who want a device that looks great, feels great, and just works.
In short, the MacBook Air M3’s design might not be groundbreaking, but it doesn’t need to be. It’s a polished, practical, and beautiful laptop that continues to set the standard for ultraportables. If you’re looking for a device that’s as stylish as it is functional, the MacBook Air M3 is hard to beat.
MacBook Air M3 Review (13-Inch): Benchmark
| Benchmark | MacBook Air M3 (13-inch) | M3 (15-inch) | M2 (15-inch) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Geekbench 6 (Single-Core) | 3,082 | 3,124 | 2,613 |
| Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core) | 12,087 | 12,056 | 9,993 |
| Cinebench R23 (Multi-Core) | 9,051 | 9,447 | 8,189 |
| Photoshop Performance | 8,583 / 12.4 mins | 8,550 / 12.5 mins | 7,465 / 13.9 mins |
| Premiere Pro | 3,621 / 7.8 mins | 4,117 / 7.6 mins | 3,170 / 8.7 mins |
Benchmark Analysis & Key Takeaways
- The M3 chip outperforms the M2 in almost every category, especially in multi-core processing and GPU-related tasks.
- 4K video editing and photo editing are noticeably faster on the M3, making it a solid choice for casual creators, though Pro users will still need M3 Pro or M3 Max.
- Battery life remains excellent, surpassing most Windows ultrabooks and lasting well over 15 hours in real-world web browsing.
- AI performance is decent but not class-leading—Apple’s Neural Engine optimizes native macOS apps well, but Windows AI-powered laptops are generally faster in AI-specific tasks.
Overall, the MacBook Air 13-inch (M3) is a solid upgrade over the M2, especially for graphics-heavy tasks and multitasking. While not a must-have upgrade for M2 users, it’s a game-changer for Intel Mac users or those coming from an M1 Air.
MacBook Air M3 Review (13-Inch): Performance
The Apple MacBook Air 13-inch (M3) is a testament to how far Apple’s silicon has come. After spending a week with this laptop, I can confidently say that its performance is nothing short of impressive, especially for an ultraportable device. Powered by Apple’s latest M3 chip, this MacBook Air delivers a seamless experience that caters to everyday users and even handles more demanding tasks with ease.
At its core, the M3 chip is a significant upgrade over its predecessors, offering improved performance and efficiency. The MacBook Air 13-inch comes with two variants of the M3 chip: a base model with an 8-core GPU and a more powerful version with a 10-core GPU.
Both configurations feature an 8-core CPU, split between four high-performance cores and four efficiency cores. This design allows the laptop to intelligently switch between cores depending on the task, ensuring a balance between power and battery life. In my testing, this setup worked flawlessly, whether I was browsing the web, editing photos, or streaming videos.
The review unit I tested was equipped with a 10-core GPU, 16GB of unified memory, and 512GB of SSD storage. While the base model with 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage might suffice for light users, I’d recommend opting for more memory and storage if your budget allows.
In 2024, 8GB of RAM feels limiting, and the 256GB SSD can fill up quickly, especially with macOS and pre-installed apps already occupying around 30GB of space. For power users or those who multitask heavily, upgrading to 16GB of RAM and at least 512GB of storage is a wise choice.
In day-to-day use, the MacBook Air M3 feels snappy and responsive. macOS Sonoma runs smoothly, and the growing library of apps optimized for Apple’s M-series chips ensures that you’re getting the most out of the hardware.
I tested a variety of applications, from Safari and Apple TV to more demanding software like Adobe Photoshop, and the MacBook Air handled everything without breaking a sweat. Even with multiple apps open simultaneously, the laptop maintained its composure, showcasing the efficiency of the M3 chip.
One of the standout features of the M3 MacBook Air is its fanless design. Thanks to the efficiency of Apple’s silicon, the laptop generates minimal heat, eliminating the need for noisy cooling fans. This not only makes the MacBook Air incredibly quiet but also enhances its usability in environments where silence is key, such as recording audio or working in a library. Compared to many Windows laptops that often sound like jet engines under load, the MacBook Air’s silent operation is a breath of fresh air.
Performance benchmarks further highlight the M3’s capabilities. In Geekbench 6, the MacBook Air scored 3,082 in single-core and 12,087 in multi-core tests, outperforming its M2 predecessor and even some Windows competitors like the Dell XPS 14.
It also excelled in real-world tasks, compressing a 4K video in Handbrake in just 7 minutes and 19 seconds and completing Photoshop and Premiere Pro tasks faster than the M2 model. While it may not match the raw power of the M3 Pro or Max chips found in the MacBook Pro lineup, the M3 is more than sufficient for the MacBook Air’s target audience.
The M3 chip also brings AI capabilities to the table, thanks to its 16-core Neural Engine. While AI-driven tasks are still in their early stages, the MacBook Air handles them competently. For instance, it generated an AI image in DiffusionBee in 28.5 seconds and responded to text-based prompts in FreeChat faster than the M2 model. These features may not be game-changers yet, but they position the MacBook Air as a future-proof device ready to leverage AI advancements.
In conclusion, the MacBook Air 13-inch (M3) delivers exceptional performance in a sleek, portable package. It’s a laptop that excels at everyday tasks, handles creative workloads with ease, and does so quietly and efficiently. For most users, the M3 chip provides more than enough power, making this MacBook Air a compelling choice for anyone seeking a reliable and high-performing ultraportable laptop.
MacBook Air M3 Review (13-Inch): Battery Life That Goes the Distance
One of the biggest strengths of Apple’s MacBook Air 13-inch (M3) is its exceptional battery life, continuing the legacy of the M-series MacBooks. Apple claims the laptop can last up to 18 hours of Apple TV playback and 15 hours of wireless web browsing, and while real-world usage doesn’t always match these numbers, the M3 Air still delivers impressive endurance.
Real-World Battery Performance
In continuous web browsing tests at 150 nits brightness, the MacBook Air 13-inch (M3) lasted 15 hours and 13 minutes, outperforming its predecessor, the M2 Air (14 hours 33 minutes). Compared to Windows laptops like the Acer Swift Go 14 (9:50) and Dell XPS 14 (6:26), the Air M3 dominates in battery efficiency—it’s simply in a different league.
For everyday use, this means you can comfortably go an entire workday or more without needing to charge. Even with a mix of web browsing, streaming, and productivity tasks, I found myself charging the laptop only two to three times per week. When I took it out for a full day of work at a café, I didn’t even bother bringing the charger—it just wasn’t necessary.
Video Streaming & Gaming Battery Test
On a looped 1080p video test, the MacBook Air M3 lasted 14 hours and 19 minutes, slightly less than the M2 Air’s 16-hour result. This minor drop suggests that the M3’s performance boost may come at a small cost to efficiency, but it’s still a fantastic result. Impressively, even when gaming, the Air M3 held up for hours—something that usually drains battery rapidly on most laptops.
Charging & Battery Conservation
The fast-charging capabilities are another highlight. Using the included adapter, I was able to charge the MacBook Air to over 50% in under an hour. Another feature I love is how well macOS preserves battery life when the laptop is idle—even after leaving it unplugged for days, it retained a solid charge.
The MacBook Air 13-inch (M3) doesn’t just have great battery life—it has some of the best in the industry. Whether you’re working, streaming, or even gaming, it delivers all-day power with minimal charging interruptions. For those who value portability and endurance, this laptop is an absolute winner.
MacBook Air M3 Review: Audio & Webcam Quality, Keyboard and Trackpad, Heat Management
Audio & Webcam Quality: Clear and Crisp:
The MacBook Air M3 continues Apple’s tradition of delivering solid audio and webcam performance, making it a reliable choice for video calls, content creation, and casual entertainment. The 1080p FaceTime HD camera ensures sharp, clear visuals, a welcome feature in a market where many competing laptops still come with lower-quality 720p webcams.
Apple claims that the M3 chip enhances video and audio quality, but in day-to-day use, I didn’t notice any major improvements over the M2 Air, which already had one of the best webcam and mic setups for an ultraportable laptop. That said, video calls looked sharp and detailed, even in less-than-ideal lighting conditions.
The built-in microphone array is equally impressive, capturing clear, background-noise-free audio. The fanless design plays a huge role here, ensuring that no annoying fan noise interferes with recordings or virtual meetings—something Windows laptops struggle with. Whether using Zoom, FaceTime, or recording a podcast, the MacBook Air M3 delivers crisp, professional-grade sound without needing an external mic.
Keyboard & Trackpad: A Comfortable Typing Experience
Apple nailed the keyboard and trackpad experience once again. The full-sized keyboard offers surprisingly good key travel for such a thin device, making long typing sessions comfortable and responsive. Even with larger hands, I found it spacious enough to type for hours without fatigue.
A Touch ID sensor is neatly integrated into the power button, making logins fast and secure. Meanwhile, the trackpad remains one of the best in the industry—it’s spacious, ultra-responsive, and incredibly smooth, making gestures and navigation effortless. Whether clicking, scrolling, or using macOS’s multi-touch gestures, everything feels precise and fluid.
Heat Management: Cool & Silent Efficiency
One of the biggest advantages of Apple’s M-series chips is their incredible power efficiency, and the M3 MacBook Air is no exception. Despite its fanless design, the laptop remains cool even under load, a rarity in the ultraportable laptop category.
Even with multiple apps running, video calls, and web browsing, the MacBook Air M3 never felt uncomfortably warm. Apple’s thermal design works seamlessly, and unlike most Windows laptops, there’s no sudden fan noise kicking in when performing basic tasks.
