Updated March 10: article originally posted March 9.
The iconic MacBook Pro may be the laptop many lust after, but the power of Apple Silicon means consumers should ignore this laptop and look elsewhere.
That elsewhere is Apple’s new MacBook Air. Launched earlier than expected, it is the first of Apple’s consumer laptops to launch with the M3 chipset.
The M1 MacBook Air revitalised Apple’s consumer laptop portfolio, with its extra power and performance delivering on the promise of the then Intel-powered MacBook Pro laptops. While professional creators could make the best use of the increased capabilities of the Pro, the Air had improved immeasurably. No longer the lightweight compromised laptop, it could fully meet consumer needs.
With Apple stating that the new M3 MacBook Air is 1.6 times faster, it’s clear that the latest consumer MacBook laptop can deliver a huge amount of computing to those considering buying a new macOS device.
There will be a tendency for some to look further up the portfolio and consider the M3 MacBook Pro. Yet this would be a curious choice. The extra twenty percent of performance over the MacBook Air is not a huge step, especially considering the power the M3 delivers even on the vanilla laptop. If you are looking for higher power levels, the correct decision is to go for the M3 Pro and M3 Max laptops, which are significantly more expensive but have far more potential.
Apple has also sweetened the MacBook Air option for those looking to get the most productivity from their new laptop. New hardware in the M3 chipset will finally allow the MacBook Air to run two external monitors when the laptop lid is closed. This will be welcome for those who dock laptops and want as much screen real estate as possible.
And in all of this, don’t forget the M2 MacBook Air; thanks to the M3 release, it has moved down the portfolio and is now the entry-level macOS laptop at $999.
Apple MacBook Air M2 (Photo by Olly Curtis/Future Publishing via Getty Images)
Update: Sunday March 10: Another area picked up by Mark Gurman in today’s Power On newsletter from Bloomberg is the inclusion of hardware for ray tracing built into the M3 chipset. It allows for extra realism in games by mimicking the reflections and refractions of light beams in the digital space, allowing for more realistic environments.
It’s also a complex process, and having dedicated hardware to perform the calculations greatly boosts game development. MacOS is not known as a gaming platform. Even the additional performance and power Apple Silicon offers cannot outweigh Macs' smaller install base and lack of peripherals. Consumers looking for gaming hardware tend to prefer dedicated consoles or high-end and well-supported PCs.
The MacBook Air has the largest install base of the Mac platform. Coupled with the hardware-based ray tracing of the M3, the Air could make the MacOS platform more attractive to developers, but it is unlikely to make an immediate difference. Until Apple Silicon that can support ray tracing is prevalent, the addressable audience won't be worth considering. Given that Apple has only now removed the M1 MacBook Air from the portfolio three and a half years after its launch, it could be a long wait.
https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMieWh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmZvcmJlcy5jb20vc2l0ZXMvZXdhbnNwZW5jZS8yMDI0LzAzLzEwL2FwcGxlLW1hY2Jvb2stYWlyLW0zLW1hY2Jvb2stcHJvLWFwcGxlLW1hY29zLWRvY2stbmV3LW1hY2Jvb2stdXBncmFkZS_SAX1odHRwczovL3d3dy5mb3JiZXMuY29tL3NpdGVzL2V3YW5zcGVuY2UvMjAyNC8wMy8xMC9hcHBsZS1tYWNib29rLWFpci1tMy1tYWNib29rLXByby1hcHBsZS1tYWNvcy1kb2NrLW5ldy1tYWNib29rLXVwZ3JhZGUvYW1wLw?oc=5
2024-03-10 19:04:00Z
CBMieWh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmZvcmJlcy5jb20vc2l0ZXMvZXdhbnNwZW5jZS8yMDI0LzAzLzEwL2FwcGxlLW1hY2Jvb2stYWlyLW0zLW1hY2Jvb2stcHJvLWFwcGxlLW1hY29zLWRvY2stbmV3LW1hY2Jvb2stdXBncmFkZS_SAX1odHRwczovL3d3dy5mb3JiZXMuY29tL3NpdGVzL2V3YW5zcGVuY2UvMjAyNC8wMy8xMC9hcHBsZS1tYWNib29rLWFpci1tMy1tYWNib29rLXByby1hcHBsZS1tYWNvcy1kb2NrLW5ldy1tYWNib29rLXVwZ3JhZGUvYW1wLw
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