M3 MacBook Air after a week | developer's machine
Summary
TLDRThe video script reviews the M3 MacBook Air, comparing it to its predecessors and assessing its performance for developers. It highlights the new anodization process and improved Geekbench scores, while emphasizing real-world performance in coding, build times, and execution. The M3 MacBook Air excels in handling multi-tasking with limited RAM and storage, making it an excellent choice for students, professionals, and audio creators. However, it falls short for heavy workloads like game development or machine learning. The script recommends the 16 GB RAM model with 1 TB storage for optimal usability and resale value.
Takeaways
- 💻 The M3 MacBook Air looks similar to the M2 MacBook Air, with the main external difference being a new anodization process.
- 🚀 The M3 chip shows improved Geekbench results and offers better performance for code build times, execution, and real-world developer tasks.
- 🧑💻 For developers, the M3 MacBook Air handles typical tools like terminal, Git, Xcode, and Android Studio efficiently, even with 8 GB of RAM.
- 🌐 Chrome is preferred for its developer tools, despite being slower than Safari.
- 📚 The M3 MacBook Air is suitable for students and professionals who need portability and long battery life.
- 🎨 It's a good choice for audio creators due to its silent operation, but video creators might prefer a MacBook Pro.
- 🔧 Developers can run medium to large NX mono repos and other typical development tools without issues on the M3 MacBook Air.
- 🌡️ The M3 MacBook Air can experience thermal throttling under prolonged heavy workloads, limiting its suitability for intense tasks like game development or machine learning.
- 📈 Single-core performance on the M3 chip is significantly faster than M1 and M2 chips, but multi-core performance is still better on machines with more cores like the M1 Pro MacBook Pro.
- 💾 For optimal performance and future-proofing, it's recommended to choose the 16 GB RAM model with at least 512 GB of storage.
Q & A
What is the main external difference between the M3 MacBook Air and the M2 MacBook Air?
-The main external difference is the new anodization process, which makes the M3 MacBook Air look slightly better.
What performance metric was mentioned in the script for comparing the M3 chip with the M2 chip?
-Geekbench results were mentioned as a performance metric for comparing the M3 chip with the M2 chip.
What kind of real-world developer scenarios were tested on the M3 MacBook Air?
-The script mentions testing the M3 MacBook Air with code build times, execution, and using real development tools such as Xcode, Python, and other typical development tasks.
What is the ideal model of the M3 MacBook Air recommended in the script for developers?
-The script recommends the 16 GB RAM model with 1 terabyte of storage for developers, as it provides a good balance between usability and resale value.
How does the M3 MacBook Air perform in terms of handling multiple tasks simultaneously?
-The M3 MacBook Air showed no signs of slowing down even with multiple tasks such as terminal instances, Xcode, iOS simulators, Chrome with multiple tabs, and other development tools open at the same time.
What are the limitations of the 8 GB RAM model of the M3 MacBook Air according to the script?
-The 8 GB RAM model has limitations when running heavy applications like Android Studio, Docker, and having multiple tasks open, which can lead to slowdowns and the need to close programs for a smooth experience.
What is the script's stance on the 256 GB storage model of the M3 MacBook Air?
-The script suggests that the 256 GB storage is not enough, especially for developers, and recommends at least 512 GB, with 1 TB being more future-proof.
Who is the M3 MacBook Air best suited for, according to the script?
-The M3 MacBook Air is best suited for software developers, students, everyday users, and professionals who prioritize portability, battery life, and lightweight design.
What is the script's opinion on the dual external monitor support for the M2 MacBook Air?
-The script mentions that the dual external monitor support seems to be a synthetic limitation placed by Apple on the M2 models and hopes that it will be enabled in future OS updates.
What advice does the script give for developers considering upgrading from an M1 or Intel MacBook Air?
-The script advises developers to consider upgrading to the M3 MacBook Air for better performance, portability, and battery life, especially if they are coming from an Intel MacBook Air.
Outlines
📚 M3 MacBook Air: Developer Experience and Performance Insights
The script discusses the M3 MacBook Air, highlighting its similarities and differences with the M2 model, particularly the new anodization process. It emphasizes the improved Geekbench scores of the M3 chip, which were expected due to its prior appearance in the MacBook Pro. The focus is on real-world performance, including code build times and execution using development tools. The author shares their experience using the M3 MacBook Air for a week, running various development tasks on the base model with 8 GB RAM and 256 GB storage. The script mentions the machine's ability to handle multiple applications simultaneously without slowing down, and it touches on the ideal model to purchase, considering Apple's penchant for options and lack of ports. It also discusses Apple's strategy in releasing the M3 MacBook Air to compete with upcoming Qualcomm chips in cheaper laptops.
🔧 M3 Chip Performance: Benchmarks and Practical Usage
This paragraph delves into the performance of the M3 chip, comparing it with the M1 Pro and M2 chips. It details the author's tests, including a Python multicore test and an extensive Xcode build test, revealing the M3's superior raw performance. The author also addresses real-world usage, running various applications such as terminal, Xcode, Android Studio, Chrome with multiple tabs, and Docker desktop. The script mentions a caveat about Android Studio and discusses the MacBook Air's capabilities for different user groups, including students, professionals, and media creators. It also provides insights into the MacBook Air's thermal throttling and its implications for heavy workloads, as well as the limitations of the 8 GB RAM model when running memory-intensive applications.
💡 Recommendations for MacBook Air Models and Usage Considerations
The final paragraph offers recommendations for potential MacBook Air buyers, particularly developers. It advises those with Intel or M1 MacBook Airs to consider upgrading for better performance, resale value, and longevity. The script provides thoughts on the M2 MacBook Air as a discounted alternative and contrasts it with the M3 model. It also recommends specific configurations for the M3 MacBook Air, suggesting the 16 GB RAM with 1 TB storage model for a balance of usability and resale value. The author discusses the limitations of the 8 GB RAM and 256 GB storage options, advocating for higher specifications for longevity. The paragraph concludes with advice on external storage options and a summary of the M3 MacBook Air's suitability for developers who value portability and battery life, while also cautioning against its use for heavy workloads like game development or machine learning.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡M3 MacBook Air
💡Anodization
💡Geekbench
💡Performance
💡M1 Pro
💡RAM
💡Storage
💡Thermal Throttling
💡Software Developers
💡Media Creation
💡Machine Learning
Highlights
The M3 MacBook Air has an external design not much different from the M2 model, with the only noticeable change being a new anodization process.
The M3 chip in the MacBook Air shows better Geekbench results, as expected from previous observations in the MacBook Pro.
Performance in code build times, execution, and real-world developer scenarios is a key focus, with the M3 MacBook Air showing promising results.
The base model with 8 GB RAM and 256 GB storage was tested for a week, running multiple development tools and applications without slowing down.
The M3 MacBook Air is capable of handling intense workloads for short durations without thermal throttling.
For software developers, the M3 MacBook Air is suitable for mobile and web development, but not for serious machine learning or game development.
The M3 chip outperforms the M1 Pro in single-core operations but falls slightly behind in multi-core due to fewer performance cores.
The M3 MacBook Air is recommended for students and everyday users due to its excellent battery life and portability.
Professionals seeking a lightweight and portable machine will find the M3 MacBook Air beneficial for work on the go.
Audio creators may prefer the M3 MacBook Air for its silent operation, although video creators might still opt for the MacBook Pro.
The 8 GB RAM model showed limitations when running Android Studio, Docker, and other applications simultaneously.
There's no need for M2 MacBook Air users to upgrade to the M3, but M1 or Intel MacBook Air users will see significant benefits from upgrading.
A comparison between the M3 MacBook Air and the M1 Pro MacBook Pro suggests the latter is better suited for intense, long-duration workloads.
The recommended model for most users is the 16 GB RAM with 1 TB storage configuration for optimal usability and resale value.
The base 256 GB storage option may not be sufficient for developers, with 512 GB or 1 TB being more appropriate for longevity.
External storage can be upgraded in the future, unlike the internal RAM and storage of the M3 MacBook Air.
The M3 MacBook Air offers impressive performance for most developer tasks, making it a strong contender for those valuing portability and battery life.
Transcripts
by now you've probably already seen some
unboxings of the M3 MacBook Air and it's
really not that different than the M2
MacBook Air the only thing externally
different is the new anodization
process yeah it seems a little bit
better also I promise this will be the
only time I mentioned geekbench in this
video and the M3 does have better
geekbench results this something we were
expecting because we already seen the M3
chip in the MacBook Pro from a couple
months ago but I care more about the
performance of this machine in code
build times execution and in real world
developer situations using real
development tools so after my experience
with all the Apple silicon MacBook airs
till now I have some results to share
about the M3 MacBook Air oh and I'll
also tell you which is the ideal model
to buy because let's face it Apple loves
giving us options almost as much as they
love taking away
ports everyone knew the M3 MacBook airs
were coming so Apple had to act fast in
a recent video I discussed how the M3
chips outperform the upcoming Qualcomm X
Elite chips but not the M2 chips since
the M3s were only in the pricier MacBook
Pro until now and Qualcomm chips were
about to land in newer cheaper laptop
models Apple needed to make the first
move so they surpris us with dropping
this on a Monday morning now while using
this for a week I've also ran some tests
including my typical mandal Brad python
test which is a multicore test building
my own projects and of course the
classic large xcode build called xcode
bench market and there's no question
that when it comes to Raw performance
the M3 version wins every
time I also compared it to the M1 Pro
stay tuned for that as for real world
usage here's what I've been running
quite comfortably for about a week now
on this base model with 8 GB of RAM and
256 GB of storage Yes you heard that
right but listen to this of course I've
been running a few instances of terminal
that's the command line on the Mac
running commands interacting with Git
CIS and so on xcode for iOS development
and also the iOS simulators I did
install Android Studio but a little
caveat about that I'll talk about that
shortly Chrome is my browser of choice
it's not the fastest browser it's not
the native browser of Mac OS that's
Safari but I prefer Chrome for his
developer tools with all of my
procrastination tabs open probably 20 to
30 tabs at a time but I do use separate
apps for todoist notion which is my not
taken app my text editor that's
primarily vs code but I've also started
using Zed recently for quick file edits
I made a video about that recently I'll
link it down below and postmen for
testing rest apis I also have Docker
desktop installed but that's not on all
the time only when I need it and a
developer will often switch between
these rapidly as you're working as
you're coding testing debugging doing
research and this machine showed no
signs of slowing down even with all that
stuff open at the same time on an 8 GB
machine don't underestimate the MacBook
Air starting from the m1's all the way
to m2s and the M3s it's a very capable
machine and even the base model will
handle a lot but of course no machine is
one size fits all there are certain
tasks that are going to be way too heavy
for the MacBook Air to handle more on
that later but for my week with this
machine I spent it strictly as a
developer not as a content creator and I
ran NX monor repo that's my main project
that I'm working on that has multiple
IOS and Android apps Huawei apps as well
as a typical load of tools that I
mentioned earlier and the M3 air handles
them
flawlessly so let's talk about who is
this good for and is it good enough for
software developers sure this machine is
great for students and everyday users
it'll slay those everyday tasks like
nothing but students can also buy a
Chromebook if the budget is tight and I
mean those $150 Chromebooks folks never
spend more than $150 on a Chromebook bro
when you can get a used MacBook Air for
example for $300 to $400 the one reason
why you'd want the newer MacBook Air as
a student or everyday user is for that
sweet sweet battery life this thing will
go all day you'll even forget your
charging brick at home sleep overnight
at a friend's house and then it'll still
last you the next day too the next group
is professionals that want lightweight
and portability these include uh non-
Gamers and folks that use their machines
for work especially when traveling or
moving between locations frequently it's
super light and super thin with a long
battery like I mentioned what else is
there to say now as for Med media
creation this machine is probably best
so far for audio creators because it's
completely silent there's no fan in it
and even though I've seen this machine
get prais for video workflows I'm a
stubborn Adobe suite user so I have to
carry the MacBook Pro for video but if
you're on Final Cut or Da Vinci this
might fit the bill for you still for
video though I'd suggest getting a
MacBook Pro for longevity but since I'm
a developer first let's break things
down for my fellow devs I do mobile and
web development with a little bit of the
machine learning touch that right now
cuz it's I don't know I heard it was
good I've ran medium to large NX mono
repos the monor repo is where you have
all your projects all in one repository
with a usually a shared code base and it
runs my projects without a hitch these
consisted of typescript Web projects and
IOS and Android native mobile app
targets now this machine is certainly
not for serious machine learning or game
development you'll be able to do a few
things here and there but certainly not
the base model you also run into some
issues with running larger virtual
machines like if you want to run Windows
for example on a Mac I've got lots of
videos showing how to do that you can
run them just make sure that they're
small give them only a little bit of
resources that are necessary and one at
a time not too many compilation times on
this little beast are quite fast and on
single core transpilation or JavaScript
execution it'll smoke anything else from
the M1 or M2 families including MacBook
Pros because a single M3 core is faster
than any of the M1 or M2 Cor course but
on multi-core compilations it'll still
be a bit faster on a machine that has
more cores cuz it's using all those
cores all at once for example I've
tested against the 14-in M1 Pro MacBook
Pro because that was a very popular
machine with developers this probably
shouldn't come as a surprise that it's a
single core operation and the M3 is
faster than the M1 Pro but by how much
faster it is is pretty crazy on the
MacBook Pro with the M1 Pro chip in it
this C C++ single core sorting operation
took 3 minutes 55 seconds and on the M3
MacBook Air 2 minutes 58 seconds almost
a minute shorter I'm running the
multicore one now let's see if that
makes a difference there is a little bit
of an imbalance in the number of cores
here on the M1 Pro we've got eight
performance cores on the MacBook Air we
only have four performance cores and
four efficiency cores kind of what we
expected but surprising thing is not by
much M3 MacBook Air got 3 minutes and 2
seconds M1 Pro MacBook Pro 2 minutes and
39 seconds while the M3 air beats it in
single core tests as it should those
cores are 3 nanometers instead of the 5
nanometer cores on the M1 Pro but since
the M1 pro has doubled the performance
core count than this M3 air the M1 Pro
MacBook Pro still finished the builds
faster now during my testing at one
point I did start hitting a bit of a
Slowdown more than that in a bit and I'm
going to get to specific recommendations
momentarily there just some issues that
have been coming up in other reviews
that I'd like to address here will it
throttle faster since it'll be running a
hotter chip yes of course it doesn't
have a fan like a MacBook Pro and has a
different thermal profile and tolerance
even though it's got the powerful M3
chip that can handle intense workloads
as long as these workloads are
relatively short in duration that's key
here based on my test I would keep the
CPU heavy code compilations down to
about 2 minutes max these are the kinds
of intense workflows that raise your
temperature up to 108° on the CPU and if
it stays there a little bit too long the
CPU is going to be slowed down by Mac OS
and sometimes significantly giving it
enough chance to cool down that's what
thermal throttling is so running these
intense processes longer than that may
negate some of the performance gains the
M3 chip will provide due to the form
factor here so this rules out any kind
of game developers and machine learning
Engineers that want to run local models
and the latter Point speaks more towards
the memory side of things because larger
models need more memory too which this
machine won't be able to handle but I
have separate videos on machine learning
stuff I'll link to some down below now
for the ram limitations specific to the
8 GB model I have here into the mix with
all the programs I have running here I
added Android Studio which was using
almost 3 gab of Ram plus another gig for
Java that coupled with docker's default
1 GB of RAM usage and then I noticed a
pretty major slowdown especially when
switching between tasks this 8 GB
machine does have its limits but those
limit limits are pretty hard to reach
during normal operation and even once
they're reached Mac OS cleverly masks
away any performance Problems by doing
some really smart
swapping if you have an M2 MacBook Air
there's really no need for you to
upgrade at all you might be tempted by
the two external monitor capabilities
but at the end of the day you still only
have a total of two displays available
to you also keep in mind the slight
performance hit you'll experience with
more monitors to drive as I've shown in
a recent video where I tested up to
eight displays on the new Macbook lineup
so here I've got the manual broad test I
reran it we got 44 seconds which is
slower than the original time I got with
just the onboard screen but it's still
faster than 47 seconds on the M2 as a
side note the Dual external monitor
support seems to be a synthetic
limitation that Apple placed on the M2
models and my hope is that with the next
major OS update they will enable dual
external support for the M3 MacBook Pro
and if we make a loud enough stink about
it maybe the M2 MacBooks now if you have
an M1 or an Intel MacBook Air forget it
if you have an Intel MacBook Air you
need to upgrade to Apple silicon right
away unless you have some very specific
cases where you need it I have an Intel
MacBook Air and believe me the
difference is insane but if you have the
M1 MacBook Air you may still want to
upgrade there is a large enough
difference in performance the M1 is
still a really good machine it's
approaching 4 years of age but it's
still very very good you can go for the
M3 magbook a which will give you the
benefit of lasting a bit longer and
having a higher resell value at this
point and I recently made a video
showing how trading values of the m1's
and the m2s are still pretty good but
also if you're going from an M1 or an
Intel MacBook Air you might want to
consider picking up the M2 MacBook as
well for a nice discount right now if I
find some deals I'll list them down
below but keep in mind that that machine
is approaching 2 years old at this point
versus a machine that's brand new so if
you're selling the M2 MacBook Air 2
years from now it's going to be 4 years
old if you're selling the M3 2 years
from now it's only going to be 2 years
old basic math I know I I didn't need to
tell you that but just think about it
that way from a perspective of a buyer
that's buying it from you 2 years from
now now if you're working on an
intel-based MacBook Pro the M3 MacBook
Air will be a huge upgrade to you in
terms of performance and portability and
battery life unless you know that you
need more than 24 GB of RAM however
giving my earlier example if you had a
choice between the M3 MacBook Air and
the M1 Pro MacBook Pro I would still
personally go for the M1 Pro MacBook Pro
and the reason for that it's a different
class machine it has fans it'll lasts
longer under intense pressure it has a
better screen it's got more IO and it
has more cores so getting back to the M3
MacBook Air what specific model would I
recommend I would go for the 16 GB model
with 1 terabytes I think that's a sweet
spot as far as usability and resell
value because I'll tell you what the a
ma machines will resell very well but
you might hit a wall with that amount of
ram in your upcoming years of use the 24
GB model will not have good resale value
because the amount that you'll spend on
that extra Ram up front I don't think
you'll get that money back in either the
amount you'll use the machine or the
amount of money you'll get back for the
machine when you sell it I have the 8 GB
model but I also bought the 24 GB model
and this was a mistake on my part
because now I don't know what to do with
it and that machine was not cheap so 16
gigs is the way to go I think but if you
had to save some money go with the 8 GB
model is decent enough for many
workflows but sooner or later probably
sooner you'll hit a limit and you'll end
up having to close programs in order to
have a smooth experience look I can jump
on the bandwagon and see things like 8
GB shouldn't even be an option in 2024
the reality is that all manufacturers
still have an 8 GB option if you need
more than 8 GB then get more than 8 GB
and stop complaining that other options
which are not suitable for you exist
Live and Let Live folks now what about
that 256 GB of storage that comes with a
base model it's simply not enough in my
opinion because after installing all the
things and all the developer tooling
that I have on there I only have 50 GB
left 512 is the minimum at this point
but keep in mind that if you plan to
store videos or image assets for your
projects that'll quickly eat up your
storage for a bit more longevity I'd
suggest 1 TB remember that while you
won't be able to upgrade your RAM or or
your internal storage once you purchase
the machine you can always upgrade your
external storage I use this super fast
Samsung 980 Pro SSD in a thunderbolt 4
enclosure and have another terabyte to
play with here but the drives can always
be swapped out for more in the future
the M3 MacBook Air is a fantastic
machine for software developers who
prioritize portability and battery life
it's got pretty impressive performance
for most developer tasks and it offers a
really nice experience however if you
know your work will invol olve heavy
workloads like game development or
machine learning you might be better
served with a MacBook Pro or a Mac
Studio let me know in the comments what
you think of the M3 MacBook Air and if
you want to see more extensive tests of
the M3 chip I made a video of the M3
MacBook Pro base model especially for
software developers in this video right
over here check that out next thanks for
watching and I'll see you
[Music]
soon
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5.0 / 5 (0 votes)