We recently reported on rumors popping up about potential new Apple products, including new iPad Pros, iPad Airs, and M3 MacBook Air models. Previous leaks suggested that we wouldn’t be seeing any of these new releases until April - but new speculation suggests we could see the M3-powered version of Apple’s popular laptop arrive as soon as March.
Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman (whose sources are frequently spot-on regarding Apple leaks and rumors) has stated in his latest Power On newsletter that the M3 MacBook Air could debut sometime at the end of March. We previously covered his earlier report that suggested we’d only see the new MacBook at the end of April.
If Gurman is right and we will get refreshed 13-inch and 15-inch MacBook Air models fitted with the powerful M3 chip sooner than we think, then it’s great news for people who have been holding out for an updated Air.
This new update to the MacBook Air follows last year's release of new MacBook Pro and 24-inch iMac models, both equipped with the new M3 chip. Of course, with those two flagship products getting a much-needed update, the lack of an M3 MacBook Air at the time was a notable absence.
In other words, it’s about time Apple’s thin-and-light laptop got an upgrade!
M3 MacBook Air: the sooner the better
The MacBook Air is often regarded as Apple’s best MacBook for the average person, and I agree; I’m personally excited to see it finally get the M3 ‘power up’ it deserves. As someone who’s been holding off on buying a MacBook Air until it gets a refresh, this potential change in release schedule means I have to get my savings sorted.
Considering you can buy the 15-inch M2 MacBook Air for around $1,299/£1,399/ AU $ 1967 and the new 14-inch MacBook Pro for $1,599/£1,699/ AU $2421 I expect the new MacBook Air will sit somewhere in between. While the initial pricing for the M3 MacBook Air is still entirely up to speculation, we’re hoping to get more clues as we get closer to the launch date.
Despite the potential of a price increase, I still think the M3 MacBook Air will be worth it: you get the computing prowess of the highly impressive M3 chip, which combined with the MacBook Air's slim and trim chassis means you probably won’t have to buy another laptop for a very long time.
With the arrival of the M3 MacBook Air, we’re not likely to recommend the M2 Air after the fact. The M2 chip wasn’t as much of a performance jump when compared to the M1 chip as we would have liked to see, especially since the M1 MacBook Air is still a great device that still sits in our best MacBooks ranking.
The M3 chip, however, offers a larger generational performance leap from the M2, which makes the upcoming M3 Air potentially a much better choice than the M2 Air ever was. Unless the M2 model sees a big price cut (which is possible!), we'll still recommend the M1 MacBook Air for anyone looking for an affordable MacBook, and push the M3 MacBook Air for people looking for more power or a long-term investment. Unless Apple relents on pricing, the M2 MacBook Air might end up kind of… redundant.
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