Apple MacBook Air 13-inch (2024, M3) Review: A New Benchmark in Portable Performance
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For years, Apple's MacBook Air was considered one of the best options for those looking for a laptop that offered performance and portability. Above everything, it proves that Apple doesn't stop improving its computers, and the release of the 2024 Apple 13-inch MacBook Air with a new M3 chip just proves that. In this review, we focus on some key features and try to highlight most of its specification details along with performance appraisal in general.
Apple MacBook Air 13-inch (2024): Design and Build
The sleek, ultra-thin profile that the MacBook Air lineup has been known for since its inception is retained with this refresh for 2024. It will measure a mere 11.3 mm thick and weigh approximately 1.24 kg (2.73 lbs.), this being really portable. The casing of the aluminum construction is available in four colors: Space Gray, Starlight, Midnight, and Silver, hence offering greater aesthetic options to users.
It has a Retina display with True Tone, reaching a resolution of 2560 x 1600 pixels. In the 13-inch screen, colors come in vibrant hue and sharp details, which will be apt for professional usage to casual purposes. It also houses P3 wide color gamut and 400 nits of brightness for better visibility even in a strong light environment.
Apple MacBook Air 13-inch (2024): Performance
The brand-new Apple M3 chip sits right at the heart of this 2024 MacBook Air, representing a real sea change in performance compared to its forebears. The M3 chip comes fitted with a 10-core CPU-8 high-performance and 2 high-efficiency cores-further complemented by a 16-core Neural Engine for really heavyweight computation with energy efficiency at its core.
Complementing the performance of the M3 chip is up to 24GB of unified memory, allowing fluid multitasking and handling the most demanding applications with ease. As for storage, there are options to go with either 256GB, 512GB, 1TB, or 2TB SSDs for ample room in files, apps, and media.
The M3 chip represents a sea change in benchmark tests, showing up to 30% improvement in CPU performance and up to 40% better GPU performance against the previous generation chip, M2. Altogether, it makes this MacBook Air capable of doing everything from casual productivity to more resource-intensive work like video editing and graphic design.
One big problem with Intel processors is that they're power-hungry and tend to get very hot. The fan kicks in often, and with great regularity, just to keep the processor cool. And if you unplug the laptop from a wall socket to operate on battery power, you see a performance dip noticeably with Intel laptops. That isn't so with Apple silicon. It doesn't matter whether it's plugged in or running on battery, you get similar performance, and as I said, my MacBook Pro hardly ever uses its fan because this M chip simply just doesn't heat up. Which, in turn, means the fanless MacBook Air isn't really losing out much.
Apple MacBook Air 13-inch (2024): Battery Life
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The battery life of the 2024 MacBook Air is just incredible. It can get up to 18 hours of web usage and up to 15 hours of video playback on a single charge with the efficiency of the M3 chip. The extended battery life of this MacBook Air will surely make working on the go a whole lot easier for its users and eradicate the need to look for an available power outlet in which to plug into.
With light office work, the MacBook Air runs almost two complete work days. In more power-hungry activities, like video editing, the battery life fell to about four or five hours. Those numbers still outperform most Intel-based laptops.
You can charge it with either one of the two USB-C ports or through the MagSafe, though the maximum charging speed is 70 W. Also, the USB-C ports now support dual external monitor output, which has been missing in earlier M-powered MacBook Air variants.
Apple MacBook Air 13-inch (2024): Gaming
Equipped with the M3 chip's upgraded GPU, the new MacBook Air supports hardware-accelerated mesh shading and ray tracing for better lighting, reflections, and shades in video games. Dynamic Caching automatically monitors and optimizes memory use in real time with a guarantee that as much local memory is tapped as the sub-task requires. Huge leaps in the visual quality and performance of games on M3-powered MacBooks.
While the M3 Max-powered 16-inch MacBook Pro I reviewed performs better as a gaming laptop, the M3 performs admirably on games optimized for Apple silicon. For example, Lies of P has an option to turn MetalFX-on or off: the Apple alternative to Nvidia and AMD's upscaling technologies. Set to "Highest Performance," the game hummed along at 60 fps at 1200p resolution. With MetalFX turned off, frame rates dropped as low as 45 and 50 fps--again, not great, but still somewhat playable.
Games optimized for Apple silicon run great, but things get more complicated when it comes to titles that aren't. In our tests, Sid Meier's Civilization VI ran the smoothest - never reaching the holy grail of 60 fps, though - while Shadow of the Tomb Raider and Total War: Warhammer III were almost unplayable, failing to reach even 30 fps.
Apple MacBook Air 13-inch (2024): Connectivity and Ports
In terms of ports, the MacBook Air 13-inch (2024) has provided two Thunderbolt 4 (USB-C) ports; useful for charging, transfer of data, and compatible with external display. It also comes with a 3. Audio is catered for with a 3.5mm headphone jack on the HTC Rhyme’s body. Nevertheless, it has no SD card slot, and HDMI port which may cause some users to connect some peripherals through adapters.
Wireless connectivity is backed by Wi-Fi 6E for a fast and uninterrupted connection on the laptop. Bluetooth 5. 3 is also added to link different wireless peripherals for instance; headphones and the keyboard.
Apple MacBook Air 13-inch (2024): Keyboard and Trackpad
The 2024 MacBook Air retained the Magic Keyboard of Apple, providing comfortable and responsive typing. It houses a keyboard with a scissor mechanism; this gives takers a satisfying tactile response. The spacious Force Touch trackpad provides precise cursor control and supports multi-touch gestures for enhanced productivity.
Apple MacBook Air 13-inch (2024): Operating System
The latest operating system from Apple comes with the MacBook Air, macOS Sonoma. This release introduces new features and functionalities in macOS: better window management, improved widgets, and integration with other devices by Apple.
Is The Apple MacBook Air 13-inch (2024) Worth Buying ?
The new 13-inch MacBook Air with the M3 chip is indeed one heck of an upgrade, marrying excellent performance with sleekness and impressive battery life. Powerful hardware, combined with power-sipping efficiency, makes this one of the best options for working professionals and students alike. While it may miss some of the fancy ports and other features in its class, its overall performance and portability make it a compelling option in the ultraportable laptop market.
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