M3 MacBook AIR or M3 MacBook PRO: Which Should You Buy?

With the refresh of the MacBook Air models in March, Apple now has M3 versions of the 13-inch ‌MacBook Air‌, 14-inch MacBook Pro, and 15-inch ‌MacBook Air‌, all with the same chip inside. For those trying to decide between the MacBook Pro and the ‌MacBook Air‌, we did a comparison video to highlight what you're getting with each machine.

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⏱️ CHAPTERS
00:00 Introduction
00:26 Sizes, Build, & Thermal Performance
01:19 IO Ports
02:08 MAJOR Display Differences
03:37 Speakers & Mic Test
05:03 Battery Life
05:30 External Display Support for MacBook Pro and MacBook Air
05:59 M3 Performance, Specs, & Configuration
06:51 Which Should YOU Buy?

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[macrumors]

Note: Apple has announced support for two external displays with lid closed for M3 14" MacBook Pro but that will be coming in a future software update.

[the_kengineer]

As a sound engineer, yes the mics on the Pro sound more full & well rounded, the ones on the Air sound thin.

[UralTutuncu-bgnj]

8 gb of ram for the base MacBook Pro in 2024 is so f ing diabolical

[lotzosushi]

I’ve been using the 14” M1 Max since launch and it still runs just as fast as the day I got it and never had any problems with running tons heavy workload editing. I wanted something lighter with a big screen to carry around though so I finally just got my M3 15” Air today and I love it so far! Definitely extremely portable and still powerful enough to do everything I want to on the go. It’ll be nice to have the option to choose between either laptop to take out depending on my needs that day.

[site.x]

I have Macbook M1 pro 16 32/1TB and it's a beast. But taking into account it's size and weight it's more like a desktop and not portable at all. So I plan to switch to Macbook Air 15 24/1TB when M4 come out.

[JBoya]

The Pro Display and sound quality (mic and speakers) are considerably better.

[trixrkids]

The MacBook Air’s microphone’s sound clearly better to me vs the Pro.

[jcintron]

I’ve been thinking about which one to buy for months now. I thought the MacBook Air should be the best but when I customize both the 15 inch MacBook Air and MacBook Pro (M3) with a 16gb ram and a 1tb ssd, there’s only a $100 difference in price. So I think the MacBook Pro should be a better choice. For $100 more I get more ports, better screen and more “power”. Does that make sense?

[sgoody]

Great summary. I think the mic sound was actually better on the Air, as the pro sounded a bit muffled.  
On the choice of which to buy, I think you make a strong case for the Pro (although I don't think you mentioned the weight difference, the Pro being a little heavier). But as you say, once you start speccing up, my feeling the the M3 Pro MacBook Pro (ridiculous naming protocol) is the one to go for, especially as you get the Space Black colour - and we all know that's really important!!

[SoNowWhat]

Thanks. This was helpful. I'm trying to convince my wife it's time for a new laptop - her MacBook is almost 9 years old! I thought the mic sounded better on the Air. I thought the Pro sound was a little "muddy" (not enough treble).

[skottu]

I went with M1 Pro 14 because I got a better deal on it than 15” M2 MBA. I don’t regret my choice as the screen is much better and it weighs only 100g more than MBA.

[pepijnlatour]

I am studying media design so i am going for the pro, thanks for the video helped a lot

[truthbullets]

Disapointed in the lack of any real world testing. My M3 MacBook Air can do 4K video rendering and 3D modeling flawlessly, I have an STL in blender with 580k polygons and its smooth as silk. The M3 really is a beast

[waltersmiechewicz]

Great overview - thanks! What are your thoughts on the camera for each? I have many video calls and zoom Webinars. Thoughts? Thx!

[Emu_Emu]

Should really compare baseline M1 pro vs M3 air

[thecrafterpenguins]

Mention or show name of laptop you talking about in screen.

[GustavoMdMc]

Why you don't mention the prices?
also the air is not "a lot quieter" it's 100% quiet and the pro is almost 100% quiet, anyone who is thinking about buying the m3 air should definitely get the base M3 pro, if you want the cheapest then get the m2 air.
Aaalso don't upgrade anything, trust me you'll want to replace it in 2 years for the M5 machines with lots of cool new stuff

[gamingfever]

heylo actually i am confused a lot to buy whether macbook air m3 max version ( 8 core cpu and 10 core gpu, 16gb ram and 512gb ssd) or pro m3 ( 12 core cpu and 18 core gpu, 18gb ram and 512gb ssd/1tb ssd)... actually i am wanting to have a laptop for programming, gaming, editing. I wonder if macbook air would be suffiecient or i might have to buy the pro version only?

[Old-School-Liberal]

I’m confused on what to get. I just want a 15in MacBook Pro. My old 15in MacBook Pro’s are the perfect size.

[sonnylanorias]

I prefer the 15" MBA M3 :) Bigger display, more battery and lighter. Plus the speakers and mic are awesome too for the MBA M3 15" Cheers!