Apple updates MacBook Air to M3, keeps M2 as more affordable option

As expected, Apple’s got new MacBook Air M3 models to sell you — or slightly older models if you fancy saving a dollar or two.

It was widely tipped that Apple would be announcing an M3-based update to the MacBook Air line in March, and that’s precisely what it did overnight.

How much do the new MacBook Air M3 models cost?

There are configuration options that can bounce the pricing upwards — with the reminder that as sealed systems, whatever internal storage and RAM they have when you get them is all they can ever have — but here’s the baseline pricing for the new MacBook Air M3 models:

Macbook Air M3 Model	Price
MacBook Air M3 13 Inch (8-Core CPU, 8 Core GPU, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD)	$1,799
MacBook Air M3 13 Inch (8-Core CPU, 10 Core GPU, 8GB RAM, 512GB SSD)	$2,099
MacBook Air M3 13 Inch (8-Core CPU, 10 Core GPU, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD)	$2,399
MacBook Air M3 15 Inch (8-Core CPU, 10 Core GPU, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD)	$2,199
MacBook Air M3 15 Inch (8-Core CPU, 10 Core GPU, 8GB RAM, 512GB SSD)	$2,499
MacBook Air M3 15 Inch (8-Core CPU, 10 Core GPU, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD)	$2,799

That baseline pricing is important if you’re not buying via Apple, because those are the models you can expect to see in other retailer stores, where they don’t offer any build-to-order options. That’s also often where you may see some discounts, though you shouldn’t expect to see those any time soon.

Speaking of discounts, Apple has kept the Apple MacBook Air M2 around, albeit only in its 13 inch sizing. It’s the lowest cost MacBook Apple sells right now, priced as follows:

Macbook Air M2 Model	Price
MacBook Air M2 13 Inch (8-Core CPU, 8 Core GPU, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD)	$1,599
MacBook Air M2 13 Inch (8-Core CPU, 10 Core GPU, 8GB RAM, 512GB SSD)	$1,899

As with the M3 models, you can bump that pricing up with more RAM or onboard storage. While Apple’s pricing on this is consistent across both M2 and M3 models, you would start hitting points where the M3 variants might make more sense in the long run.

When can I get a MacBook Air M3?

Apple’s taking pre-orders now, with Australian on-sale date set as Friday the 8th of March.

Alex’s Take

Look, in many ways this is an absolutely expected annual “speeds and feeds” type upgrade. I’m keen to see what kind of performance bump M3 will play in the Air’s smaller frame, especially as it’s a fanless design and I can expect it to kick down the processor cycles a little faster to avoid overheating than with the MacBook Pro M3.

Also Read:
Apple MacBook Pro M3 review

The one big change that the M3 apparently enables is support for dual monitors if that’s important to you; previously that had been a “Pro” feature only, though I always felt Apple’s justification for why this was so felt a little sketchy. Still, if the dual monitor life is all that’s kept you from owning a MacBook Air, that’s now feasible.

While keeping an older model around is hardly new territory for Apple, given it does so every year with new iPhones, there’s I think also an interesting story here to tell around the M2 MacBook Air now. Sucks if you wanted the 15 inch model, though there’d be a few in some retail partner stores I guess, albeit at the older, higher price.

However, at that lower 13 inch price, for a lot of users, I suspect the MacBook Air M2 might be more than “enough” for their needs. Before anyone says it, no, it’s not “cheap” — that doesn’t fit Apple’s brand aesthetic. However, if you can meet its asking price, It really is still a nicely powerful machine for everyday tasks. I’m chasing Apple for a review model of the MacBook Air M3, which should give me a more complete picture here — stay tuned.

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