Review | Apple Macbook Air M3 2024: lighter and more powerful than ever

When in November 2020, Apple presented the M1, the first chip designed by the brand, it did so with the promise of giving its equipment the best performance in the industry. Did you respect it? It’s difficult to say with certainty, but this decision definitely marks the beginning of a new era, both for the company and for its most loyal users.

In the case of the Macbook Air, the incorporation of the M1 meant saying goodbye to the old Intel processors, which had been an integral part of the model since its launch in 2008. With the new chip, the thinnest and lightest laptop available ‘Apple has gained in power and efficiency. energy. But the evolution did not stop there.

Two years later, Apple introduced the M2, an even more powerful and efficient version of the processor which, according to technology expert Alejandro Alaluf, who later reviewed the device in Practical —, has reduced the differences between the Macbook Air and its older sister, the Macbook Pro.

Last March, Apple kicked the table again and presented the third generation of its processors, the M3. For users of old copies of the model – in my case, I have had one since 2017 – this can only be good news, especially since there is the possibility of making one To exchange which allows you to deliver Apple products as partial payment for new brand equipment.

But before making a decision: what does the new Macbook Air and its M3 processor bring?

• Size : 1.13 x 30.4 x 21.5 cm.
• Weight : 1.24kg
• Screen : 13.6″ LED Liquid Retina (2560 x 1664) 500 nits True Tone
• Battery : 52.6 watt hours (up to 18 hours of video playback depending on the manufacturer)
• Processor : Apple M3 with 8 CPU cores, 10 GPU cores, 16 Neural Engine cores.
• Memory : 8 GB (configurable up to 24 GB)
• Storage : 512 GB SSD (configurable up to 2 TB)
• Connectivity : Wi-Fi 6E / Bluetooth 5.3
• Her : four speakers, Dolby Atmos and three directional microphones
• Camera : FaceTime HD 1080p
• Ports : 1 MagSafe 3 / 2 Thunderbolt-USB 4 / 1 3.5 mm jack
• Operating system : macOS Sonoma

Opening the packaging of a Macbook Air gives a strange Christmas Eve feeling. Inside the box, along with an envelope containing some legal product documents and the classic Apple stickers, are the laptop and the charging cable with its power adapter. Let us pause for a moment on this last point.

The charging cable attracts attention in two aspects: the first is its length. From end to end – that is, from its Magsafe 3 head to the USB-C output – it measures around 2 meters, or 150 centimeters shorter than its predecessors. However, this poses no practical problem. On the contrary, it might even encourage greater caution when using it.

Second big difference, the new charging cable is protected by a textile fiber covering which, to the touch, seems quite resistant but nevertheless flexible. This is a very good safety measure that will protect both the accessory, which tends to deteriorate and open over the years, and the user from possible electrical accidents.

Now, entirely on the laptop. The Macbook Air M3 2024 is available in 13- and 15-inch versions and in four colors: silver, space gray, star white and midnight. Its sophisticated design stands out, with refined finishes, less pronounced than in older models, and with a certain retro air, very in line with current aesthetic trends, but they are interspersed with the countless modern features that this equipment has.

Its manufacturing also meets current sustainability requirements: its case is entirely made of recycled materials, as are its magnets and motherboard. The MacBook Air 2024 is also the first Apple product made with 50% reused components.

On the left side of the device is the MagSafe 3 charging port and next to it two Thunderbolt-USB C inputs, meanwhile, there is an auxiliary input for connecting headphones or a wired speaker.

Turning on this Macbook Air is incredibly fast. According to Apple, the M3 processor makes this computer 1.6 times faster than the M1, 1.4 times faster than the M2, and up to 13 times more agile than the latest model with an Intel processor (2020). Simply put, this equipment flies as soon as it is powered on, during use and also when it is turned off.

It also features an LED-powered Liquid Retina display that virtually eliminates margins to use the largest possible surface area. True Tone technology (2560 x 1664 pixels) makes colors shine (up to 500 nits), delivering spectacular image quality, with sharpness that holds up to different viewing angles.

Watching movies, series or just YouTube content becomes extremely enjoyable with this level of image, even if a 13 or 15 inch screen can be considered small for these purposes.

The key, in this sense, is the inclusion of a multimedia engine compatible with AV1 decoding, which allows you to enjoy high quality videos with greater efficiency from streaming services.

The Macbook Air 2024 also has four and six integrated speakers, depending on whether it measures 13 or 15 inches, compatible with Dolby Atmos, the advanced audio technology that allows spatial and immersive experiences. While not entirely noticeable when listening directly from the laptop, the improvement in audio quality is evident compared to older models.

To enjoy Dolby Atmos sound from your Macbook, it will be necessary to have a connection to headphones or an audio system that also has it, as well as a platform for playing music, films and series that has the technology. .

These video and audio-related features available on the Macbook Air open up a whole world of entertainment possibilities, in which video games cannot be left out. These run with the smoothness that any console fan can demand, without unwanted latency or interruptions.

A notable aspect is that the M3 allows you to do a Split View with up to two additional monitors – with the M2 it is possible with a single device – which gives the possibility of projecting the video game on a larger screen while by organizing it on others. the use of other applications. And it works wonderfully.

The processing speed the MacBook 2024 has doesn’t just benefit entertainment. It is also very useful as an ally in production tasks: whether in the preparation of texts – it has, among other things, an artificial intelligence assistant which takes notes – or in the editing and generation of images and videos, where the team responds extremely efficiently. , in an agile and adaptive manner.

At this point, it is worth noting that the M3 is a chip that, like its previous version, has an eight-core CPU and a 10-core GPU. Additionally, it includes a 16-core Neural Engine, a fabricated machine learning processor. by Apple which improves and accelerates the adaptability of the MacBook Air during use, especially when using AI tools.

The fact that the device has 8 GB of RAM seems sufficient for a good number of users, although if this is not your case, it is possible to expand it up to 24 GB.

The integration of the iPhone as a tool compatible with the MacBook is not a particular novelty of the 2024 version, but it undoubtedly represents an achievement for Apple, given the utilities that it can offer. Opening applications – like the browser itself – and sharing documents, and even scanning them from the smartphone and then viewing them on the laptop, is extremely simple and comfortable from this device.

There are other aspects that mark interesting differences between the new Macbook and older Intel processor models. One of them is the incorporation of a Touch ID key, replacing the old on/off button. Although this is also seen in the M1, its permanence seems more than sufficient in terms of effectiveness.

Touch ID lets you unlock the device quickly and easily, start sessions in apps, and even set up Apple Pay to make payments with one touch. To this functionality is added a keyboard or magic keyboard Very good sensitivity and extremely quiet, especially compared to the keys of yesteryear which required deeper pressure to activate.

The trackpad also has some differences from older models, such as a “multi touch” functionality compatible with force contact —a little deeper—, configurable to adapt to different needs.

More striking are the improvements to the camera features, which allow you to enjoy high resolution (1080p), which works even in low ambient light conditions.

This excellent clarity is also evident when receiving audio. The MacBook Air 2024 features a three-microphone system with directional beamforming technology, which eliminates unwanted noise to focus on voices, facilitating clear, continuous communication during video calls.

In the MacBook Air 2024 we find an extremely superior version of one of Apple’s most popular and requested models. From its sophisticated design to its different functionalities, everything stands out to respond optimally, agile and efficiently to different needs, whether productive or entertainment.

The M3 chip injects the power that a device with these characteristics needs to be at the forefront of a world in which virtuality and artificial intelligence are increasingly integral, 24 hours a day. that the battery offers autonomy of up to 18 hours, 6 more than in models equipped with an Intel processor, is part of this discursive line which, as happened with the appearance of the M2 version , seems to blur the boundaries of power with the MacBook. Pro.

*Product prices in this article are current as of May 22, 2024. Values ​​and availability are subject to change.