Apple MacBook Air 13-inch M3 (2024) Review: Power, Portability, and Silence

The Apple MacBook Air 13-inch M3 (2024) doesn’t shout about its upgrades, but it delivers where it counts. With the new M3 chip, this fanless laptop stays whisper-quiet while giving you enough power to handle multitasking, creative work, and everyday tasks without breaking a sweat.

Whether you’re editing photos, working on spreadsheets, or streaming content, the MacBook Air M3 manages to stay cool, both literally and figuratively. With a brighter Liquid Retina display and Wi-Fi 6E support, you get faster speeds and vibrant visuals that pop. But the real question is: does it offer enough to upgrade from the M2? Or is this just a small step forward?

Let’s dig in and find out what the MacBook Air M3 brings to the table.

Specifications

The MacBook Air 13-inch M3 (2024) keeps things light but powerful. Here’s a breakdown of what’s under the hood:

• Processor: Apple M3 chip with 8-core CPU
• Graphics: 8-core GPU
• Memory: 8GB unified memory
• Storage: 256GB SSD
• Display: 13.6-inch Liquid Retina Display, 2560 x 1664 resolution
• Battery: Up to 18 hours of video playback
• Ports: 2x Thunderbolt 4/USB 4, MagSafe 3, 3.5mm headphone jack
• Wireless: Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.3
• Operating System: macOS Sonoma

Design and Build Quality

The MacBook Air 13-inch M3 (2024) keeps Apple’s signature minimalist design but with a few notable improvements. The unibody aluminum chassis still feels as premium as ever, with its ultra-slim profile and lightweight construction, weighing just 1.24 kg. It’s the kind of laptop you can carry around all day without feeling weighed down, making it ideal for commuters, students, and professionals who are always on the go​.

Apple has stuck with its fanless design, which means the MacBook Air runs completely silent, even when handling more demanding tasks. While this contributes to its slim form factor, it also means there’s no active cooling, which could lead to some throttling under heavy workloads like video editing or gaming. One small downside is the Midnight color option. While it looks stunning out of the box, it tends to attract fingerprints and smudges quite easily, so you might find yourself wiping it down often​.

Display

The MacBook Air M3 carries forward Apple’s impressive 13.6-inch Liquid Retina Display. It offers a 2560 x 1664 resolution, ensuring crisp visuals whether you’re working on documents, watching videos, or editing photos. With 500 nits of brightness, the display is bright enough to handle both indoor and outdoor environments, making it easy to use in well-lit spaces.

The True Tone technology adjusts the color temperature based on ambient lighting, ensuring your display always looks natural, whether you’re in a dim room or outside in the sunlight​. It might not be as advanced as the ProMotion displays on Apple’s higher-end models, but it’s more than enough for casual users and creative professionals who don’t need ultra-high refresh rates.

Performance

The MacBook Air M3 (2024) is all about delivering a seamless and snappy user experience. Powered by the Apple M3 chip, which includes an 8-core CPU and an 8-core GPU (or an optional upgrade to a 10-core GPU), this laptop is built to handle a range of tasks effortlessly.

Everyday activities like web browsing, streaming, and document editing run smoothly, while more demanding tasks like photo editing or even light video work are well within its capabilities​. Where it stands out is its power efficiency. Even with the performance boost from the M3, the fanless design ensures that the MacBook Air stays completely silent, making it perfect for quiet work environments.

However, with no active cooling, you might notice some thermal throttling during sustained heavy tasks like video encoding or extended gaming sessions. While this won’t be an issue for casual users, professionals who regularly push their laptops to the limit might feel the effects​.

Battery Life

Battery life on the MacBook Air M3 is one of its standout features. With up to 18 hours of video playback and 15 hours of web browsing, this laptop is designed to keep you powered through the entire day. Whether you’re working on the go, binge-watching shows, or editing documents, you’ll rarely find yourself scrambling for the charger​.

The M3 chip’s efficiency plays a big role here. Despite offering better performance than its predecessor, the M2, the M3 manages to keep battery usage low, which is impressive for a fanless, lightweight laptop. And when you do need a quick top-up, the MagSafe charging ensures fast and easy charging, letting you get up to 50% battery in just 30 minutes​.

Keyboard and Trackpad

Typing on the MacBook Air M3 is a joy, thanks to Apple’s Magic Keyboard. The keys have a nice tactile feel with just enough travel to make long typing sessions comfortable. Whether you’re working on emails, reports, or just casual browsing, the keyboard delivers a satisfying typing experience. Plus, the addition of Touch ID makes logging in or making purchases quick and secure​.

The Force Touch trackpad is equally impressive. It’s large, highly responsive, and supports a range of multi-touch gestures, making navigation feel intuitive. From zooming in on photos to scrolling through long documents, the trackpad handles everything with precision and ease, solidifying its place as one of the best in the business.

Pros:

• M3 chip offers a significant performance boost
• Up to 18 hours of battery life for all-day use
• Stunning Liquid Retina display
• Sleek and lightweight, great for portability
• Touch ID integration

Cons:

• The fanless design could lead to thermal throttling
• Limited to two Thunderbolt ports

Final Verdict

The MacBook Air M3 (2024) is everything we’ve come to expect from Apple’s lightweight powerhouse, with some solid improvements under the hood. The new M3 chip makes this laptop faster and more efficient, handling everyday tasks and light creative work with ease. Whether you’re a student, professional, or casual user, the 18-hour battery life and fanless, quiet design make it an ideal choice for getting work done on the go. However, if you’re upgrading from the M1 or M2, the jump might not feel revolutionary unless you need that extra performance or faster Wi-Fi 6E connectivity. But if you’re looking for a blend of portability, power, and stunning visuals, the MacBook Air M3 is a top contender in 2024.