M3 MacBook Air - My Thoughts after 6 Months..

Summary

The video discusses whether the M3 MacBook Air is worth buying now or waiting for the M4 model, expected in spring 2025. The M3 model, available at a discounted price of $850, offers great value with its efficient 3nm chip and strong battery life, but lacks features like 120Hz display and additional ports. The upcoming M4 MacBook Air is expected to have significant upgrades, including improved efficiency, more RAM, and possibly a new design. Despite these future enhancements, the M3 remains a solid choice at its current price.

Takeaways

• 💻 The M3 MacBook Air has been available for about 6 months, and it's currently on sale for $850 on Amazon, making it a great value.
• 📅 The M4 MacBook Air is expected to be released in the spring of 2025, which could influence buying decisions for those considering waiting.
• 🔋 The M3 MacBook Air has improved efficiency and battery life compared to the M2 model, thanks to the new 3-nanometer technology.
• 💪 The M3 MacBook Air is praised for its snappy performance and overall reliability, continuing the success of the M1 and M2 models.
• 🖥️ Competing laptops with Qualcomm Snapdragon X and AMD Ryzen chips have entered the market, but the M3 MacBook Air remains strong in terms of battery life and value.
• 🔌 The M4 MacBook Air is rumored to have more Thunderbolt ports and support for additional external displays, which could be a significant upgrade.
• 🚀 The M4 chip is expected to bring a 20% boost in single-core performance and a 21% boost in multi-core performance, with minimal GPU improvements.
• ⏳ The M4 MacBook Air could offer better battery life due to a new CPU configuration with more efficiency cores.
• 🎨 There's speculation that the M4 MacBook Air might introduce a new design and potentially include features like Face ID.
• 💰 While the M4 MacBook Air might come with more RAM and other upgrades, its starting price is expected to be higher, making the current M3 MacBook Air a great value at its discounted price.

Q & A

What is the current price of the M3 MacBook Air on Amazon?

The current price of the M3 MacBook Air on Amazon is $850.

What are some of the key improvements in the M3 MacBook Air compared to the M2 version?

The M3 MacBook Air has improved efficiency with the new 3-nanometer technology, better battery life, and enhanced overall performance compared to the M2 version, which had issues with efficiency.

Why might someone consider waiting for the M4 MacBook Air instead of buying the M3 version now?

Someone might consider waiting for the M4 MacBook Air because it is expected to feature significant upgrades, such as a more efficient second-generation TSMC N3E chip, potential design changes, additional Thunderbolt controllers, better support for external displays, and possibly increased base RAM from 8GB to 12GB.

When is the M4 MacBook Air expected to be released?

The M4 MacBook Air is expected to be released in the spring of 2025.

What are some of the potential downsides of waiting for the M4 MacBook Air?

Potential downsides of waiting for the M4 MacBook Air include the higher expected price at launch (around $1,199) and the fact that buyers would need to wait until at least spring 2025 to purchase it.

What are the advantages of the M3 MacBook Air over new Windows laptops with Qualcomm Snapdragon X chips or AMD Ryzen 365 and HX 370 chips?

The M3 MacBook Air offers better battery life, a more reliable experience, and a more balanced package overall compared to new Windows laptops with Qualcomm Snapdragon X or AMD Ryzen 365 and HX 370 chips.

What is the biggest downside of the M3 MacBook Air compared to the newer MacBook Pros?

The biggest downside of the M3 MacBook Air compared to the newer MacBook Pros is the lack of a 120Hz ProMotion display, which provides a smoother visual experience.

How does the potential RAM upgrade in the M4 MacBook Air impact its performance?

The potential RAM upgrade from 8GB to 12GB in the M4 MacBook Air would result in a 50% increase in base RAM, significantly improving productivity, multitasking, and performance in applications like photo editing and web browsing.

What secret changes are expected in the M4 chip that might not have been widely discussed?

The M4 chip is expected to feature four Thunderbolt controllers, an upgraded display engine, and a new CPU architecture with fewer performance cores but more efficiency cores, which will lead to better battery life.

What makes the M3 MacBook Air a good purchase despite upcoming newer models?

The M3 MacBook Air is considered a good purchase due to its current discounted price of $850, solid performance, reliability, and overall balanced feature set, making it a strong value option compared to both older and newer laptops.

Outlines

00:00

💻 M3 MacBook Air: A Mid-Year Review

The M3 MacBook Air has been on the market for about six months. It's currently available for $850 on Amazon, making it a great deal. Despite the release of new laptops with Qualcomm Snapdragon X and AMD Ryzen 365 and HX 370 chips, the M3 MacBook Air remains a top choice due to its superior battery life and value. It features the efficient M3 chip, a significant improvement over the M2. However, the MacBook Air's design hasn't changed in years. The upcoming M4 MacBook Air, expected in spring 2025, promises notable upgrades, including a second-generation TSMC N3E node, more Thunderbolt controllers, and better external display support. While waiting for the M4 model may be tempting, the M3 MacBook Air is still a reliable, high-value option.

05:00

🔋 Anticipating the M4 MacBook Air Enhancements

The M4 MacBook Air is expected to bring significant improvements, especially in battery life, thanks to changes in the chip's core structure. The M4 chip will feature three performance cores and six efficiency cores, enhancing battery efficiency. Additionally, there may be design changes, potentially including Face ID. A major upgrade will be the increase in base RAM from 8GB to 12GB, significantly boosting productivity and multitasking capabilities. However, the new model will likely be more expensive, potentially priced at $1,199. Despite the future upgrades, the current M3 MacBook Air, available at $850, remains a great choice for its value, performance, and reliability.

Keywords

💡M3 MacBook Air

The M3 MacBook Air is the latest iteration of Apple's MacBook Air line, powered by the M3 chip. It represents a significant upgrade in performance and efficiency over previous models, with enhanced battery life and processing capabilities. The video discusses whether this model is still worth purchasing six months after its release or if it would be better to wait for the next generation, the M4 MacBook Air.

💡M4 MacBook Air

The M4 MacBook Air is the anticipated next version of the MacBook Air, expected to be released in the spring of 2025. It is projected to include significant upgrades such as improved efficiency with the second-generation TSMC N3E node, more Thunderbolt controllers, better external display support, and increased RAM. The video debates the pros and cons of waiting for this model versus buying the M3 MacBook Air now.

💡Apple Silicon

Apple Silicon refers to the custom processors developed by Apple, including the M1, M2, M3, and soon the M4 chips. These processors are known for their high performance and energy efficiency, which are key selling points in the MacBook Air lineup. The video highlights the M3 chip's advancements over previous generations and its value in the current market.

💡Battery Life

Battery life is a critical aspect of the MacBook Air, especially with the M3 chip, which is known for its efficiency and long battery duration. The video discusses how the M3 MacBook Air outperforms many competitors in this area and speculates on potential improvements in battery life with the upcoming M4 model.

💡Thunderbolt Controllers

Thunderbolt controllers manage the MacBook's Thunderbolt ports, which are used for connecting external displays, storage, and other peripherals. The M4 MacBook Air is expected to have four Thunderbolt controllers, compared to only two in the M1, M2, and M3 models. This upgrade could allow for more external displays and peripherals, making it a significant improvement for users needing expanded connectivity.

💡External Displays

External displays refer to monitors or screens that can be connected to the MacBook Air for additional workspace. The M3 MacBook Air supports up to two external displays, but requires the laptop to be in clamshell mode. The M4 MacBook Air is expected to support multiple external displays without needing to close the laptop, enhancing its utility for professionals and multitaskers.

💡Promotion Display

ProMotion is Apple's technology for adaptive refresh rates, offering smoother scrolling and more responsive performance on screens. The video mentions that the MacBook Air lacks this feature, which is present in the newer MacBook Pros. The absence of ProMotion in the MacBook Air is noted as a downside compared to some other laptops on the market.

💡RAM

RAM, or Random Access Memory, is crucial for multitasking and running applications smoothly. The M3 MacBook Air comes with 8 GB of RAM, but the video speculates that the base model of the upcoming M4 MacBook Air will come with 12 GB, providing a significant boost in performance for tasks like photo editing and managing multiple browser tabs.

💡Design Change

Design change refers to potential updates in the physical design of the MacBook Air. The video suggests that the M4 MacBook Air might introduce a significant design change, such as incorporating Face ID. This potential update would be a major shift in the MacBook Air’s design, adding new functionality and enhancing user experience.

💡Value

Value is a recurring theme in the video, discussing whether the current price of the M3 MacBook Air, especially with discounts, makes it a good purchase compared to waiting for the M4 model. The video argues that the M3 MacBook Air offers a great balance of performance, features, and price, especially at its discounted rate, making it a strong contender in the current market.

Highlights

Discussion on whether it's worth buying the M3 MacBook Air now or waiting for the M4 model, expected in Spring 2025.

Current Amazon deal offers the M3 MacBook Air for $850, which significantly influences the decision to purchase now.

Comparison between M3 MacBook Air and new laptops featuring Qualcomm Snapdragon X and AMD Ryzen chips.

M3 MacBook Air praised for its efficiency, battery life, and overall performance, with a focus on its 3-nanometer technology.

M3 MacBook Air's design remains unchanged from previous models, lacking some of the features found in the newer MacBook Pros.

The MacBook Pro's superior display, with 120 Hz ProMotion, is highlighted as a key differentiator.

Potential improvements in the upcoming M4 MacBook Air, including a more efficient M4 chip, support for more external displays, and a performance boost.

Anticipation of a significant battery life improvement in the M4 MacBook Air due to changes in the CPU core configuration.

Speculation on the possibility of design changes in the M4 MacBook Air, including the introduction of Face ID.

Expectation that the base M4 MacBook Air might come with 12GB of RAM, a 50% increase from the current 8GB in the M3 model.

The M4 MacBook Air is expected to offer better value overall, despite potentially higher pricing.

The M3 MacBook Air is considered a reliable, well-balanced laptop with a strong value proposition, especially at the current discounted price.

Discussion of the M3 MacBook Air's well-rounded features, including the keyboard, trackpad, display, webcam, microphone, and speakers.

Recommendation for purchasing the M3 MacBook Air now, given its current pricing and overall performance.

Final thoughts emphasizing the value of the M3 MacBook Air as a dependable choice for consumers.

Transcripts

this is the M3 MacBook Air and it's

going on about 6 months since its

release so in this video I'm going to

discuss if it's worth buying the M3

MacBook Air right now or waiting for the

m4 model because we know when that is

coming and by the way right now you can

get this for only

$850 on Amazon which is a killer deal

which definitely changes your decision

on if you want to buy it right now or

wait and we just had a huge report from

Mark Gman that said that new Macbook

Pros Mac Minis and the iMac are coming

at the end of this year but not the

MacBook Air because we are expecting

that in the spring of

2025 next year so let's talk about this

right here the MacBook GE has always

been a very reliable Mac to buy probably

one of the best value laptops especially

at such a low price because you're

getting the incredible Apple silicon now

with the M3 chip it's been going really

well with the M1 with the M2 and the M3

is quite a lot better than the M2 which

had a lot of issues with efficiency it

wasn't that good with the previous 5

nanometer Tech now we have 3 nanometer

it's more efficient the battery life has

improved compared to the last one and

overall it's just a killer laptop very

very Snappy it performs very well but

the main thing that's changed in 6

months is what else has popped up on the

market we we know that we now have the

new Qualcomm Snapdragon X chips on the

market with some very good laptops at

very good prices we also have the new

AMD chips that just launched the ryzen

365 and the HX 370 those are very good

but the battery life on those is not

great so this right here is still the

battery life King and with that sale on

Amazon it's still the value King so it's

a killer laptop to buy the only problem

is that it hasn't really changed for the

last couple of years we still have the

same design as we have on that M2

MacBook here of course we have the 15-in

model but honestly it's not that big of

a deal we do have the new Macbook Pros

which I personally like because of the

displays first of all the displays are

much better in terms of reflectivity we

have 120 HZ which is the biggest deal to

me I love promotion on my phone makes

everything super smooth we unfortunately

don't have that with the MacBook Air and

that's probably its biggest downside

compared to the new Qualcomm Snapdragon

X laptops that popped up they go down to

about $1,200

$1,300 very good price but we are not

seeing them on sale as good as this

laptop so it's still an incredible value

now in terms of what's coming with the

M4 that's what might get a lot of you

guys to wait because we are are

expecting a couple of really big

differences compared to this model first

of all that M4 Chip is going to be the

second generation tsmc

n3e node which means it's going to get

more efficient it's going to get better

overall and apple actually had a couple

of secret changes on the M4 chip that

they didn't reveal when they released

the iPad Pro first of all the new M4

chip has four Thunderbolt controllers

compared to only two on the M1 and M2

and the M3 that's actually a big deal

because that could allow Apple to

finally add more ports to the MacBook

Air which of course you guys know this

one is very limited only two Thunderbolt

ports with the Mac safe and the

headphone jack that's unfortunate

because it means you basically can only

support two external displays but you

actually have to close the lid down and

use it in clamshell mode to get the

other two displays to work which is kind

of fun

and thankfully with the M4 chip Apple

actually is upgrading the display engine

as well making it bigger which makes me

think it's going to support at least two

external displays without having to

close it down so you can have three at

the same time that's a pretty big deal

that we should be getting with the

MacBook Air of course we're going to get

a huge boost in performance about 20%

for single core 21% for multicore that's

going to help with snappiness web

browsing common General apps they're all

going to work very well but on the

graphics side it's only around up to 10%

faster because Apple clocked the GPU

course 10% faster so you're getting that

gain from there no changes in GPU cores

like we saw with the m4's actual e cores

where they added two more that's

actually a pretty big deal so Graphics

won't be that big of a difference at

least for the M4 MacBook Air but where I

do think it's going to make a huge

difference is actually in battery life I

believe that the new M4 MacBook year

coming next year in the spring is going

to have a nice boost to real world

battery life why well because as we saw

with the iPad Pro the M4 chip in the

base model only comes with a 9 core CPU

with only three performance cores

compared to the original four that's

built into every M1 M2 an M3 chip

they're now finally binning the peores

that's a big deal because if you take

one PE cor away it's going to be more

efficient you're not going to use as

much power and instead of that they

decided to add two more eor that is a

really big deal for battery life because

you're going from a ratio of 1 to one

peores and ecores now to one to two

instead of having four peor and four

ecores you now have three peores and six

ecores yes double the ecores compared to

peores which means the eor cluster can

handle more tasks by itself without

having to power on the performance cores

that's going to lead to a pretty big

battery life boost even if they don't

even touch the battery itself within the

MacBook Air they can keep it all the

same and there we go now another big

deal is that Mark Gman said that at

least one of the M4 Max is getting a

pretty significant design change while

the rest of them are not so what if that

design change is coming to the M4

MacBook Air what if we actually get

something like face ID finally built

into the MacBook gear that's going to

actually be very nice but the thing I'm

really excited for is actually the ram

because I believe we're going from 8

gigs of RAM on the base M3 MacBook Air

up to 12 because people looked at the M4

chip built into the iPad Pro and they

discovered that it actually has two 6 GB

RAM chips instead of two 4 GB RAM chips

like before but apple is secretly kind

of shutting it down or closing it from

12 to 8 and not really telling anybody

so I believe in the MacBooks they're

going to come with 12 gig standard and

that's a really big deal because that's

50% more RAM at the base price that's a

huge deal for productivity and chrome

tabs everything else that's going to

help a lot with let's say photo editing

and just general multitasking is going

to be a lot better so with that said

when the M4 MacBook Air comes out next

year it is definitely going to be a

better value than all of the other

Windows laptops coming out right now

with the new Chips because it's going to

get a significant upgrade all around but

what you do have to have in mind is that

first of all you have to wait until next

year and the price is going to be back

to MSRP at least

$1,99 who knows they might even jump it

up to

$1,199 basically 1,200 bucks because of

the extra Ram that is a lot more money

than 850 bucks that you can buy this M3

MacBook Air right now so with that said

I actually believe buying this right now

is a great chice chice it's an overall

great laptop killer price definitely a

lot cheaper than all those new laptops

coming out right now on the window side

it's reliable it holds its value you

can't go wrong with this M3 MacBook Air

they solved all the keyboard issues the

keyboard's great track pad's amazing

display still looks great even though it

doesn't have 120 HZ it's still a great

display webcam microphone speakers

everything all around is basically the

most most well-balanced package that you

can buy right now and for

$850 I would definitely recommend it to

anybody looking right now so with that

said hopefully you enjoyed this 6-month

review of the M3 MacBook Air and if you

did let me know your thoughts down below

definitely subscribe above and check out

one of those two videos right over there

thanks for watching and we'll see you in

the next one

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