Good point. I can see the Costco holiday sales now...
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Apple Announces New MacBook Air Models With M3 Chip
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Great upgrade!
Thats 3-4x faster in CPU, and almost 4x faster in GPU
While completely silent. And the 15-inch Air display is much better in color space, 10-bit colors, contrast, and brightness.
Yes, because there's no reason to keep producing it in light of the M2 and M3. But again, people on here (no offence intended) tend to be kind of obsessive about their tech being "current". Just because it's not available new from Apple anymore doesn't mean that it's out of date. I guarantee that an M1 MBA is still more than sufficient for the average user. It won't be out of date for years to come.Yet "discontinued" today (M1 Air)
I will testify that the new mic array in the M3 iMac is rather amazing. The speakers too sound great for the platform. The mics though, compared to my $60 LAV, they sound very similar. Rather surprised. If this MBA uses similar, KUDOS!
I'm not having any issues with my 2020 Intel i5 MBA, although the battery health is down to 73%.
These education prices here in Switzerland are quite tempting.
Standard prices:
These education prices here in Switzerland are quite tempting.
Standard prices:
While I would have much preferred 12 GB base for a Mac released in 2024, frankly I'm not at all surprised it's 8 GB, and in fact that was what I was predicting. FWIW, my wife's MacBook Air and my daughter's MacBook Pro both have only 8 GB and they have zero complaints. Their usage patterns just don't require more than 8 GB for the foreseeable future.
Similarly, for the M3 iPad Pro I'm predicting 8 GB and 16 GB, but I would much prefer 12 GB and 16/24 GB. I plan on buying an 11" OLED model this year and 12 GB would be great. Mind you, I'm coming from a 4 GB iPad Pro 10.5" and don't heavy productivity needs, so 8 GB will actually suit me just fine.
Similarly, for the M3 iPad Pro I'm predicting 8 GB and 16 GB, but I would much prefer 12 GB and 16/24 GB. I plan on buying an 11" OLED model this year and 12 GB would be great. Mind you, I'm coming from a 4 GB iPad Pro 10.5" and don't heavy productivity needs, so 8 GB will actually suit me just fine.
CPU upgrade is free if you're not buying 8/256. It used to cost £100
It's not that, it's that it infers the start of the countdown on official support ending
This is notable as it's the first time an Apple Silicon Mac has reached this status (and it's barely over 3 years old)
That’s huge. Hopefully they extend that to the Mac Mini line as well.
I just got an M2 Air last Thursday. It was 10 core GPU / 16 / 512. Today I returned it no questions asked at Apple. Will get the M3 10/16/512 on Friday. Who wouldn't?
Apple today announced new 13- and 15-inch MacBook Air models with M3 chip, improved external display support, Wi-Fi 6E, and more.
Apple says that the new MacBook Air is up to 60% faster than the M1 model and up to 13x faster than the fastest Intel-based MacBook Air. With a faster and more efficient Neural Engine, Apple says that the MacBook Air continues to be "the best consumer laptop for AI." It also gains an AV1 decode engine to provide more efficient and higher-quality video from streaming services.
In addition to the M3 chip, the new MacBook Air offers Wi-Fi 6E, Voice Isolation and Wide Spectrum microphone modes, enhanced voice clarity in audio and video calls, and a more fingerprint-resistant finish with the Midnight color option. It also now supports up to two external displays when the laptop lid is closed, increasing from just a single external display on the previous Apple silicon models.
Pre-orders of the new MacBook Air start today, with orders arriving to customers on Friday, March 8. It continues to be available in Midnight, Starlight, Space Gray, and Silver with a starting price of $1,099.
Article Link: Apple Announces New MacBook Air Models With M3 Chip
Apple MBA:
Price US: $1099
Price EU(France): 1299€ / $1411
Dell XPS 13:
Price US: $1399
Price EU(France): 1291€ / $1400 ( currently discounted at 1099€/ $1194)
WTH is going on with Apple prices??
They are basically stealing us.
Price US: $1099
Price EU(France): 1299€ / $1411
Dell XPS 13:
Price US: $1399
Price EU(France): 1291€ / $1400 ( currently discounted at 1099€/ $1194)
WTH is going on with Apple prices??
They are basically stealing us.
Support isn't ending anytime soon. It just doesn't make any sense to have 3 models in production at the same time. Some products (i'm thinking of the iPhone 5 for example) were only sold by Apple for 1 year. It has nothing to do with the capabilities of the product or how many years of support it would go on to receive, just a matter of what made sense given the current product offerings. In addition to prioritizing the production of newer models, if Apple kept selling it alongside 2 newer models, they'd have to cut its price further, and they probably don't want to sell an MBA for less than what they're currently selling the M2 for.
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Do you know if they have ProMotion display (120Hz)?
Thanks.
That's the usual game around Europe
.
The MacBook Air is an accessory for iPhone users.
It’s not clutching at anything. It’s called being aware of the market. They know most Mac users aren’t upgrading in the short term so are comparing to machines from a few years ago.
Apple has always priced goods in EUR to be (approximately) the same as the USD price.
$1099 + 20% VAT = $1319 = €1214.
€1299 seems right when taking into account forex fluctuations and making the price end with 99.
$1499 16/512 is gonna be popular, I reckon
Ahhh, the good ol’ Value Added Tax. Good call.
As an American, a 20% tax is mind-boggling.
Pathetic the base RAM isn't 16 gigs yet. I have an M2 Air with 16 and it's a beast. 8 gigs of RAM just kneecaps these poor laptops, even for day to day use.
Yep
The SSD can be worked around somewhat with cloud storage and external drives, but, alas...the RAM is what it is, forever.
No, only the 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pros have ProMotion display.
You should know that MacBook Pros have 80 ms pixel refresh which is 10x too slow for proper ProMotion 120Hz, which is why the image is smeared when you move it or scroll—which goes against the very point of having a fast display—you're supposed to increase clarity with a 120Hz display, not make it even more blurry! Wait until MacBook Pros have OLED (est. 2026) and then they will be equivalent to ProMotion on the iPhones.