What Apple got so right with my M3 MacBook Air that keeps me hooked

Why I always return to my M3 MacBook Air

My first ever Mac was a MacBook Air. It was a MacBook Air that convinced me that I wanted to work on a Mac.

I’ve always had a MacBook Air in my lineup, and over the past couple of years, I have religiously swapped and upgraded to the latest iterations of the Air. I’ve owned M1, M2 and the M3 models.

I love MacBook Airs, and with Apple silicon, they are almost the unsung hero of the current crop of Macs. They’re affordable, portable, and super-powerful.

But oddly, when Apple released the M4 MacBook Air in March, I didn’t buy one. That’s not because I’ve suddenly fallen out of love with the Air, far from it, but because, for once, I decided to buy what I need.

And what I don’t need is more speed or power from my MacBook Air.

Even though I get to do this for a job, I still love buying and unboxing a new Mac. That excitement has remained undiminished. Even though I had originally popped an M4 MacBook Air in my cart, I never followed through & checked out with it.

And you know what? I’ve not once regretted that decision either. If anything, it’s made me realise quite how good the M3 MacBook I already have is. That and how underused it is.

M3 MacBook Air remains

I have a few things I wanted to go over before I start comparing the differences between my M3 MacBook Air and the M4 version, though.

I dare say I’m the same as you in that when I buy a new Mac, I want to get value for money and feel I am trading up for a reason.

And hand on heart, this time around, nothing was compelling me to change.

I dare say even a year ago, the old me would’ve slavishly bought the supposed latest and greatest, but that was the old me. This time I sat it out - and I’ve never regretted that choice.

Looking at the spec sheets, there were precious few differences between the M3 and M4 MacBook Air. So why change for change’s sake?

We all work hard for our cash, and I’d hate to sit here and suggest or even hint that it would be worth you buying an M4 MacBook Air if you already have an M2 or M3 Air.

Save you cash and enjoy what you’ve got!

The MacBook Air, even used, recent models are probably the Mac I would suggest most people should buy. If you’re after a laptop, then you should probably look no further than the MacBook Air - unless you know you’ll be needing the extra grunt of a MacBook Pro.

Pound for pound, they pack a serious punch and offer fantastic value.

Buying smart

Although Apple isn’t in the bargain basement game, the MacBook Air is about as close as it comes.

To that point, last year’s 13-inch M3 MacBook Air started at £1099 with 8GB of memory, whereas this year’s model starts at £999 with 16GB of RAM. Apple giving us something for nothing…surely not…?

But other than the memory upgrade for all the base model Macs, which Apple has made across the board because of Apple Intelligence, other than that, there are few other noteworthy changes.

The FaceTime camera is improved from a 1080p camera to a 12MP camera with support for Desk View & Centre Stage. But the resolution is unchanged, so I’d have thought the overall improvement would be fairly minor. For some reason, Apple’s webcams have always been a weakness - the colour always somehow looks wrong, and I don’t like their take on tracking and Centre Stage.

The only other improvements for the M4 MacBook Air include a slightly improved memory bandwidth, and you now get a 10-core CPU rather than the 8-core CPU found in the M3 version. The neural engine is quicker, and the most expensive MacBook Air now comes with 32GB of memory.

But the GPU architecture is the same as are the Wi-Fi connectivity and the video decode engine.

In short, all you get this year that’s different to last year’s M3 Air is the new chip and a new colour. The only other difference I could spot is that you can now run two external displays with the lid open, giving you three displays in total. Last year, you had to have your MacBook closed to power up the two external displays.

But that is it?

The I/O is unchanged. Now, don’t get me wrong, it does the job, but it’s pretty limited. All you get are two Thunderbolt 4 ports, MagSafe charging and a 3.5mm jack for headphones or speakers. If you find yourself working at a desk, I’d guess that you’d probably want to get yourself a hub of some kind. I’ve been using one from Ivanky for a while now and have no complaints.

Brilliant as they are

So you see, that’s why I stuck with my M3 MacBook Air. It’s not my main Mac, and even if it were, it’s still plenty quick and powerful enough. It’s a fantastic laptop. Light, quiet and eats up most anything you could throw at it

I could have made things easy for myself and used Apple’s trade-in program, but the truth remains the same - it simply wouldn’t have warranted the hassle of changing.

But, don’t let this sound as if for one moment I’m coming down on my MacBook Air. I still love getting to work on it, and one of my regrets is that I don’t get to use mine often enough.

And with iPadOS 26 coming out soon and bringing Macs and iPads closer, it’ll probably be my M4 iPad Pro that I would reach for first if I needed to work away from the studio. The better display and cameras of the iPad Pro make it a better portable solution in my mind.

But, I will always have a MacBook Air - they still have a place in my heart.

Working on the MacBook Air today has reminded me of just how comfortable it is. The keyboard is lush and is a perfect height. It’s way easier to type on here than the chunkier MacBook Pro, although not quite as comfortable as typing on the iPad’s Magic Keyboard.

This is no ‘little’ Mac - this is a full-blown Mac. You’d be as mistaken not taking the MacBook Air seriously as you would be thinking the Mac mini wasn’t capable of working hard and creatively. Apple silicon makes everything possible.

These MacBook Airs are brilliant Mac - end of.

But, for me, there was no honest reason that I could see to buy one - not even to write or make videos about. I wrote ages ago that Apple created a beast of their own making with Apple silicon. And if Apple is to continue with this yearly upgrade of their chip, then there will be fewer and fewer reasons for us to change regularly.

Any Apple silicon MacBook Air should easily see you set for 3, 4 or 5 years as long as you get the specs right - and we’ll get to that in just a bit.

Money savers

If you have an Intel or possibly an M1 Air and are looking to change, then, as always, it’s worth checking Apple’s Certified Refurbished site, as there are some great bargains to be had on both M3 and M4 Airs.

There are a few M4 10-core CPU and 10-core GPU, 16GB, 256GB models around with a saving of almost £200. And if you don’t mind buying an M3 MacBook Air, then you can get one of a similar spec for under £1000.

As I said earlier, this is about as close as you’ll get to a bargain from Apple.

And with those kind of savings made, you’d have some cash left to get a hub or even put money towards a display.

And I’ve got this far in this story without even mentioning that they are whisper quiet and have the most amazing battery life. I stand by my earlier claim that these are currently the stars of the Mac lineup. You get a complete Mac for around £1000 - display, keyboard, everything!

These things started life as glorified notebooks - yet now we have a powerful Mac which is capable of editing 4K 10-bit video!

I carried out a little performance test to give you some context. I put together a simple 10-minute Multicam clip in Final Cut and tried exporting it from an M3 MacBook Air, an M4 iMac and an M4 Pro Mac mini. The Air did it in 4mins 20 secs, the iMac in 4mins 02 secs and the Mac mini in 3mins 40 secs.

Not too bad, right? And also, the MacBook Air was on battery, too!

Keeping it real

The key to buying the right MacBook Air, though, is not to lose sight of its USP. I lost sight of that when I bought mine - the 15-inch Air.

Its lightweight and portability are hard to match, and as such, I should’ve stayed true to its core DNA and bought the 13-inch instead.

Those Thunderbolt 4 ports also mean that you don’t need to go bonkers on buying Apple’s storage. Those ports unlock the options of buying some external Thunderbolt 4 storage that will be more expandable and just as quick as the Apple option.

With all that in mind, the sweet spot for me would be the 13-inch M4 MacBook Air, with 512GB of SSD storage and 24GB of memory. By jumping from 256GB to 512GB, not only does it give you some storage headroom, but it will also offer you other internal performance improvements.

As for the jump in memory, I’ve learned that the only weakness, if there is one, with Apple silicon is not having enough memory. Whilst 16GB will probably be enough, having a bit extra in the bank can’t be a bad thing!

Brand new, that config will cost £1199.

Who is the M4 MacBook Air For?

Unless you’ve started to code, video or audio edit or get into 3D work since you bought your current M-series MacBook Air, then I can’t think of many reasons that you’d need to change to a newer model.

There were probably only two solid reasons that would have convinced me to buy an M4 Air - and neither of those came with the latest model.

Had it had the option for a Nano texture finish like the M4 MacBook Pros and also a brighter display, then maybe, just maybe, I may have bought a newer Air. Although I’m not a fan of Nano-texture on the iPad as it kills the OLED display, I think it would work great on the Air’s Retina display.

And it’s because the MacBook Air will often find itself being used away from home that a brighter and less reflective display would’ve been welcome.

My M3 MacBook Air is all I need. It may not be the very latest model, but it does all I want of it. It’s a perfect Mac for nearly anyone - students, business owners, writers and even creatives.

The beast Apple created with Apple silicon is for them to be concerned about. From our point of view, though, these new MacBook Airs are as near as we’ll ever get to buying a genuine bargain from Apple, and that is why I’ll always come back to a MacBook Air - it’s too good to put down!