MacBook Air 15” M3 Long Term Review
I would also recommend that you buy a USB-C hub for the MacBook Air like this Anker one I have as it gives you so many more ports -https://amzn.to/3CAgeMm.
After selling my trusty Intel-based MacBook Pro several years ago, I had been eyeing up getting a new MacBook for some time. I had switched over to using the iPad Pro 12.9” as my daily driver because I liked the idea of its portability. In reality, I found iPad iOS hard to replace; Mac OS and some of the apps didn’t work that well compared to the full website versions on the Mac.
I took the plunge in April this year and picked up the 15” M3 Mac Air in midnight colour. I nearly went for the base model Pro, but at the time I wasn’t doing anything video editing-wise and the occasional photo edits, etc., so I thought the Air would be fine. I chose the larger 15” model over the 13” because I like having a larger display to use on the go and around the house. I think the 13” model is actually the more popular seller, and a lot of people love the smaller form factor, but I just like having the extra screen real estate, but it’s all personal preference.
Beautiful design
When I first opened the box, I was surprised how thin the laptop is (which I know sounds strange), but it really is very thin for the amount inside it. The midnight colour is also really nice, and Apple has added an anti-fingerprint coating to it now, as they had a lot of complaints before. It still is quite a fingerprint magnet, but nothing a quick clean every now and then can’t handle. I nearly chose Starlight, as I think that is a great choice, but I heard good things about the darker colour, and I don’t regret my decision. The MacAir only has two Thunderbolt (USB-C) ports and a MagSafe port on the side, then nothing else. This is quite limiting compared to the Pro, as you get an HDMI and SD Card reader, but the device is a lot thicker. I actually picked up a USB-Anker hub that fits neatly on the side and will do a review on that as well, because it works really well.
When you open the screen, the device does feel a lot larger than the 13” model, but the keyboard is really nicely placed and it gives you a larger area to rest your hands on. The trackpad is also larger and this really helps in day-to-day use, I found. There is plenty of room to drag items around the screen and drop them where you need them.
Is the larger screen worth it?
This is a question that I get asked regularly and the larger size does suit me, but I get why it wouldn’t work for some other people. I think for portability, the 13” model is the one to go for, as it fits in a bag nicely, doesn’t weigh much, and has the same performance. If you spend more time using your computer at home, then you will appreciate the larger screen and form factor. So, basically, they are aimed at different markets and it totally depends on your use, but the larger one personally works better for me. I think it was clever of Apple to introduce a larger Air, as before you were forced to go for the Pro if you wanted that bigger screen, but you might not need the extra performance that goes with this.
The screen is a 2.5k Retina display and has around 500 nits of peak brightness, which I find to be plenty whatever I am doing with it. One of my family members has a MacBook Pro with the Retina XDR display and side by side you do notice a bit of difference without the pro-Motion 120Hz refresh rate, but ultimately I wouldn’t say it’s a huge deal. The 16” MacBook Pro also feels and looks huge compared to the 15” Air. It also weighs a lot more, so if you don’t need the power of the Pro, then I would choose the Air, it’s so much easier to use around the house and travel with. The colour profile on the screen is really good too, making photo/video editing look good.
Does the Air have enough power?
When I first picked up the Air, I was not doing anything with it at all that was demanding as such, apart from the occasional photo editing in Photoshop, etc. Since launching my YouTube channel and I started editing videos on it, I realised that the M3 chip in it, whilst not underpowered at all, suffers from thermal issues. To make the Air so thin, Apple has ditched the fan and used a passive cooling system, which has some disadvantages. If you don’t have a fan and you put the chip under a lot of pressure, like rendering video, if it reaches its thermal limits, the CPU will have to thermal throttle to keep it from damaging itself. This means essentially that the CPU will lower its power down to a level it can stop itself overheating at. The consequences of this are you lose performance and video render times will take longer. Playing games on the machine will also show this as the CPU will quickly reach maximum temperature and lower the speed to keep itself cool. If you choose a MacBook Pro with the base M3 chip in, you will in theory get better performance as the Pro comes with a fan to keep the CPU cooled and it can run under higher loads for much longer.
As render times became longer and longer on the Air, I was forced to pick up an M4 iMac to keep editing on, which is working well and I love the power of the M4. This isn’t a criticism of the Air, it was never designed to be used as a professional video editing machine, that is what the Pro models are marketed at. If I am travelling, the Air still works fine for the occasional quick edit and I can just load up the more complex timelines when I get home on the M4 machine. Just don’t expect to save money buying the Air and being able to use it for complex tasks like 3D rendering, etc. as it just won’t perform for long periods like the Pro would.
What about connectivity?
As mentioned above, the Air comes with 2 Thunderbolt 3 ports and a MagSafe connector (which I am pleased Apple brought back). This is fine for what the Air is intended to be used as, a lightweight travel laptop with a decent battery life. It’s a shame there isn’t an SD card reader, as for the price, in the Windows world, a lot of laptops come as standard with this and an HDMI output, but none are quite as thin. I picked up an Anker adapter for the Air, which plugs into the side of the laptop and takes over the two USB-C ports to give you an HDMI output and various other ports. For £30, it works well and enables me to have an SD reader as well (I will do another article later on about this as I love Anker products, but I am in no way sponsored or endorsed by them).
This is just something to be mindful of, that if you use the laptop at home connected to a desk set up, you will need to budget for a USB-C hub. The M3 chip can drive two external displays (with the built-in display closed), so this means it can be used as part of a multi-monitor set up, which would be fine for office-based work. Don’t expect to be able to connect two large monitors and edit video though, as this will really tax the fan-less chip. We also get the latest Wi-Fi standards up to 6E which is plenty fast enough, but again no Ethernet port, so you will need an adapter.
How is it standing up to everyday use?
One thing I usually like about Apple products is their durability and long service life. I had my last MacBook Pro for 10 years, and it was still working well when I sold it. So far, after 7 months of being chucked in bags and used around the house, it’s holding up very well. There are no scratches from what I can see, and around the USB-C ports, nothing has chipped (this is usually where on dark colours the first scratches start appearing). The build quality so far is holding up to the usual Apple standards. I did opt to have Apple Care on the device because of the cost of repairing the screen, etc. Also, I have two small children, so the chance of damage occurring is much higher!
Who should buy one?
If you are after a thin and light laptop with plenty of power for everyday tasks, then you can’t really do much better than the MacBook Air M3. If you do occasional photo or video editing, then it will also handle these tasks fine, just don’t expect to be able to use it as a main editing device. I paid £1699 for the model with 16GB of RAM and a 512GB hard drive. You can now get the Air with 16GB standard, which makes it even better value for money. If you look at the £1299 model, this now comes with 16GB of RAM and a 256GB hard drive, so for office tasks, it’s great value. This configuration, should be plenty for word processing, etc., and you can use cloud-based storage for photos.
If you do need more hard drive space, just buy an external SSD, which is much cheaper than paying for Apple’s upgrade prices. The £1699 model now comes with 24GB of RAM, which I don’t think you will need in the Air, as this is usually only needed if you do a lot of intensive tasks all at once, which the Air isn’t the best at. If you need that much RAM, go for the MacBook Pro M4 (£1999), as for £300 more, you get the same RAM, 1TB hard drive, and the new M4 chip.
As much as I love the Air, do think carefully about buying one compared to the Mac Pro line-up, as these now have the M4 chip and all come with fans and better screens, etc. The very cheapest Pro comes with the new M4 chip for £1599 and a 14” screen. I think this is better value compared to last year as you get the RAM upgrade and larger hard drive (512GB) which you don’t get on the Air, for only £100 more.
Maybe go into an Apple Store and try both out to see how much the thinness of the Air matters over the increased potential power of the Pro models.
I do hope this helps you think about whether the Air is right for you or not. It’s now a harder choice than ever, as the Pro and Air line-ups seem to be closer than before in terms of price and also value for money. If you aren’t bothered about portability, then do look at the Mac Pro M4 base model, as it represents better value for money than ever and the M4 chip is a big step up in performance, from what I’ve seen with my new iMac.
