Apple announces a new 13- and 15-inch MacBook Air with M3, offering an 8-core CPU and up to a 10-core GPU, starting at $1,099 or $1,299 and shipping on March 8

Apple today announced its next-generation M3 MacBook Air range, in 13-inch and 15-inch sizes. The new models are available to order today, and will start shipping March 8.

9to5Mac 2024-03-05 Benjamin Mayo

Context & Ripple Effects

The launch fulfills earlier reporting that Apple was preparing 13-inch and 15-inch Air models around an eight-core M3 design. It turns the Air into a two-size product family at distinct entry prices rather than a single-screen portable.

Related coverage later records successive M4 Air updates and an M5 Air refresh with more base storage, placing this release in a recurring silicon-and-specification update cycle for Apple’s mainstream laptop.

First-order effects

Apple adds M3-powered 13-inch and 15-inch Air options for buyers now, with starting prices of $1,099 and $1,299 and March 8 availability.
The new configurations make CPU and GPU core counts a clearer part of the purchase decision across the Air range.

Second-order effects

The two-size lineup gives Apple room to steer customers between screen size, graphics configuration, and entry price within the same product family.
A regular Air chip refresh raises the comparison bar for competing thin-and-light laptops on processor generation and integrated graphics at similar entry-price tiers.

Third-order effects

If this cadence continues, the MacBook Air becomes Apple’s repeatable channel for moving its latest in-house silicon into the volume laptop market, while differentiation shifts toward configuration, display size, and storage.
The later M4 and M5 coverage suggests that annualized chip refreshes can also become opportunities to revise entry pricing and base specifications, though the direction of either is not fixed by this launch alone.

The trend: Apple is standardizing the MacBook Air as a two-size platform for recurring in-house silicon upgrades and periodic value-tier adjustments.

Discussion

@tomwarrenuk Tom Warren on threads
quite the AI claim from Apple about its new MacBook Air ["World's Best Consumer Laptop for Al"]
@stroughtonsmith … Steve Troughton-Smith on mastodon
In other Apple news, it seems like they're actively adopting the term ‘AI’ this year, having ignored it previously. The seal now broken, I imagine ‘AI’ will be used heavily in iOS 18's marketing — https://www.apple.com/... [image]
@mspoonauer Mark Spoonauer on x
The biggest Apple news isn't the new MacBook Air M3s. It's that AI has gone from the “term that shall not be named” to marketing language for Apple https://www.tomsguide.com/...
@gartenberg Michael Gartenberg on x
Are we at a point where we are seeing the law of diminishing returns on Apple silicon? If not, why is Apple showing benchmarks against Intel Macscnot made in years? I mean it's a great comparison that make the M series look good but while you're at it, how about a benchmark...
@markgurman Mark Gurman on x
I've written that the special version of iOS 17.4 for the new iPad Pro isn't scheduled to be ready until the end of the month. That doesn't align with an announcement this week. Nor does Apple's in person MacBook Air briefings today (multiple sessions seems impossible).
@stevesi Steven Sinofsky on x
If you cheer on regulation today then it means either you will not reach a scale or impact attracting attention of regulators or it means you will come to truly dislike the frustrating and arbitrary nature of regulation, though by then you won't be able to say anything in...
@tailosivetech @tailosivetech on x
Pretty soon Apple gonna have to compare to older machines to make the new silicon look good 😂 [Benchmark image: Comparison of M3 MacBook and 1963 NASA Computer]
@aaronp613 Aaron on x
Can't wait for the WWDC supercuts where they count how many times AI is said, similar to M1 and 5G [image]
@thegalox_ Anthony on x
I don't get why Apple still compares their latest laptops to Intel powered models At this point they should make all comparisons to M1 models which were released in 2020, but a 5 generation old Intel processor? Please, anything is faster than those. [image]
@tailosivetech @tailosivetech on x
Love how Apple Demoed the new MacBook Air with $4,300 worth of accessories + teenage negasonic warhead [image]
@austen Austen Allred on x
I have an M1 MacBook Air and it's so fast I can't even imagine how the M3 MacBook Air could be 1.6x faster
@twostraws Paul Hudson on x
My M2 MacBook Air was my favorite Mac out of every one I've ever owned. I replaced it with an M3 Max MacBook Pro, but I really think I'll go back for M5 because the Air's battery life and lightness is just unbeatable. I could not recommend it more!
@vadimyuryev Vadim Yuryev on x
Woah. Apple just goes out there and leaks some new on-device Generative AI features, in advance lol. “Hey investors, pretty please buy our stock again.”
@ianzelbo Ian Zelbo on x
WWDC should be reaaally interesting [Screenshot of Apple's press release: “MacBook Air can also run optimized Al models, including large language models (LLMs) and diffusion models for image generation locally with great performance"]
@vadimyuryev Vadim Yuryev on x
What a huge surprise lol... I didn't expect this on Monday morning. Glad to see Apple giving the M2 Air away for only $999. Really great move since the new design is incredible compared to M1.
@rsgnl Joe Rossignol on x
I'm still curious if we'll get new colors for the iPhone 15 lineup tomorrow. Purely given Yellow for iPhone 14 + 14 Plus was announced on the first Tuesday of March last year. Probably a long shot, but (PRODUCT)RED for the Pro models would be amazing. Just hoping! Not a leak.
@ianzelbo Ian Zelbo on x
This might be the first time I've seen Apple market “AI” instead of “machine learning”... interesting [image]
@orexda @orexda on x
So what is a different 💀 [image]
@stevemoser Steve Moser on x
Ocean Blue, Sunshine, Pink, Light Blue, Soft Mint 2024 Spring iPhone cases and watch bands colors are live. Anyone spot Raspberry, Blue Celeste, and Jaune de Naples colors? Maybe they are coming later this week? [image]
@vnchocotaco @vnchocotaco on x
Oh god cringe tagline 💀 [image]
@ghost_motley Charlie on x
On Apple's UK website, the M3 15" MacBook Air is around £100 less for the same RAM/Storage config as the M2 MacBook Air.
@stevemoser Steve Moser on x
Also looks like the M3 MacBook Air gets Wifi 6E and “Voice Isolation and Wide Spectrum microphone modes Enhanced voice clarity in audio and video calls” which were limited to Pro models before. [image]
@stevemoser Steve Moser on x
Two thoughts on the new M3 MacBook Air PR: 1.) The promo image wallpaper still spells “AiR” (I was hoping for a new wallpaper design). 2) It has been 31 days since Apple launched the Apple Vison Pro and it still hasn't updated its “Apple revolutionized personal technology...” P…
@aaronp613 Aaron on x
Lean. Mean. M3 Machine 💪🏽💪🏽💪🏽 [image]
@deitaone @deitaone on x
$AAPL Apple Unveils New 13- and 15-Inch MacBook Air With M3 Chip
@vnchocotaco @vnchocotaco on x
Seems like they've began to promote about the AIs No Machine Learning anymore ? 🐧 [image]
@vnchocotaco @vnchocotaco on x
NEW MACBOOK AIR M3 https://www.apple.com/...
r/Tech_Philippines r on reddit
Apple unveils the new 13- and 15-inch MacBook Air with the powerful M3 chip - BUY THE M2!
r/macbook r on reddit
Apple unveils the new 13- and 15-inch MacBook Air with the powerful M3 chip
r/MacOS r on reddit
New MacBook Airs with M3
r/apple r on reddit
M3 MacBook Air Supports Up to Two External Displays With Lid Closed
r/apple r on reddit
Apple unveils the new 13- and 15-inch MacBook Air with the powerful M3 chip
r/mac r on reddit
Apple unveils the new 13- and 15-inch MacBook Air with the powerful M3 chip

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