M3 vs M2 vs M1 - Will M3 MacBook Air be Worth it?

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[MaxTechOfficial]

Get 30% off on annual licenses of CleanMyMac X for 1, 2, or 5 Macs exclusively with my discount code MAXTECH30 (offer expires on December 31).

[cadenchurchill]

I recently got to try the M3 Pro MacBook Pros next to the M1 Air and least for basic stuff like web browsing I literally could not tell the difference in speed. I believe most people just won't notice any speed improvements comparing the M1 Air to any of the newer machines. Furthermore I still have yet to do anything that slows down my M1 Air.

[Jimmyfly]

the M1 Macbook Air is one of the biggest game changers in the history of laptop/notebooks.

[sweealamak]

The only reason I've to upgrade my M1 MBA to an M3 MBA is the RAM. Living on 8GB RAM has been tough.

[oscarcastro]

Been using the base M1 Air as my main work machine. Its really good, I can't say I've seen it stutter or slow down. I can tell its having trouble multi tasking or running intensive workloads, mine consisting of software and app development. If you're on a budget, go for the M1 it won't disappoint.

I personally will wait for a 15 inch Air either M3 or M4 with a minimum 16GB of RAM.

[dawgcanjumphigh]

I think the M1 MacBook Pro was the best one Apple made. Thing was sleek and compact. The lack of ports made me switch to the 14" M1 Pro machine unfortunately.

[tnt]

Please do this for the Pro versions - M1 Pro vs M2 Pro vs M3 Pro 16GB

[Cute_Maxi]

M3 Air lineup needs to start at 16gb RAM and 512gb SSD... it's going to be coming out in 2024 for god sake... apple needs to knock it the eff off.

[Benst]

Still using the M1 Air I got at launch, base model. Only reason I am considering an upgrade now is 8GB of RAM isn't enough for me now and the 256gb is nearly full. Do occasional heavy video editing on it and it handles it well. Obviously not all day everyday but as a mixed use machine it's our class. On around 380 battery cycles and still get 11 hours battery with standard day to day tasks.

[BrenR]

After M1 Air we got crazy diminishing returns. Just remember how the M1 Air in late 2020 was commonly described as the best laptop of all time and even worth upgrading from an early-mid 2020 MacBook Air. Way faster, no fan, crazy battery... I don't think I'll feel much of a happiness bump if I buy a newer one now (dropping hundreds of additional dollars even after selling M1). Sanity dictates to wait till M5 Air if you have an M1 Air.

[billherman]

The M1 Air is classic and all most people need. It would make a great budget Mac at $699

[ThePgR]

The M3 Air will thermal throttle a lot without a fan, they all will perform very close, people with M1 Air dont need to worry, unless you need more power and need to go for a M3 Pro or Max

[David-sbjt]

As a M1 Macbook Air user, no reason to upgrade considering the price and performance. I would upgrade if size (15 inch) and new design matters. Even the new color (midnight blue) is something that you should avoid (scratches and finger prints). I have been considering purchasing M2 Macbook air 15 but after watching this review I decide to wait for maybe 2-3 more years. Also considered M3 pros but Apple downgraded some features and Max? well I do not want to spend like $3, 000 on a heavy laptop. Too heavy for a laptop. Thanks for this great review! Always watching and you guys are really helpful :)

[flatcroc]

Just bought my second M1 Air. Got the 16GB version this time. Prefer the design and build quality to the M2 Air. The M2 Air feels and looks just a bit cheap to me and the M1 has all the performance I need.

[magalajoseph]

This obsession with performance numbers is kind of meaningless. Annual performance gains are so minimal that few will notice them unless one uses 3 Laptops at the same time.

[triniflyer]

To me the issue is less about performance, I have had both the M1 and M2 Macs, and the performance is hardly noticeable for casual use. I don’t code or edit. The biggest temptation for me is the screen and speakers of the 14 inch pro. It’s the perfect size laptop.

[jpdemer]

Unless you're editing video or doing heavy programming, an M1 Air has way more power than 90% of people actually need. (You'll never notice the extra few seconds it might take to do certain tasks.) For gaming, you can buy a PC with the money you save by sticking with the M1.

[PassiveSmoking]

I can't imagine anyone would be buying an Air with plans to do processor-intensive work on it. If you were planning on that you'd go for one of the higher-spec Pros. I'm thinking the typical Air user is generally going to be doing some browsing, office productivity, maybe some photo editing and the like, nothing that would require waiting for the M3. The M2 Air will more than meet their needs and is far cheaper just now.

[TommyLawless]

Who has M1 Mac, he does not have to change yet. Performance in daily task is still pretty good.

[AustinElwess]

Are y'all going to be comparing the new 14th gen Intel Core Ultra machines to the M series MacBooks?