Isn't "Support for Spatial Audio" the same as "Wide stereo sound"?
You can't have spatial audio and not have wide stereo sound. Seems like they just left that out to save space or because new copywriter thinks its redundant.
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Apple Announces New MacBook Air Models With M3 Chip
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You can't have spatial audio and not have wide stereo sound. Seems like they just left that out to save space or because new copywriter thinks its redundant.
You know, we all need to check our emails and read Reddit from time to time. 🤷♂️"the best consumer laptop for AI": does this mean AI are buying laptops now?
Fortunately, Apple is no longer charging extra for the 10c GPU.
It's "free" with a RAM or Storage upgrade. Its no longer a forced $100 fee.
By making it a stock SKU that places like Best Buy and Amazon can carry that means the upgraded models might be subject to eventual retailer discounts that Apple won’t offer. Both retailers routinely run sales with $100-150-200 USD off of the default models, but those models have invariably always come with only 8GB RAM but different storage tiers.
The M1 is only, what, 3 years old? Any laptop that was worth the money in the first place should last at least 4-5 years in my opinion. Some people on here act like it should be an annual upgrade. At this point I think that Apple is still really only selling to Intel Mac users and Windows converts, which is why Intel chips are still being used as the measuring stick. I don't think that anyone actually needs to be on their 2nd M-series Mac already. Probably not until M5.
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Two 'with the lid closed' is a bit of a fumble IMO
sounds like a juggling act as soon as you open that lid.
Better than nothing, but not what was wanted
sounds like a juggling act as soon as you open that lid.
Better than nothing, but not what was wanted
That's true. I didn't realize that at first. I thought I was being forced to pay extra.
I'm still not sure why a bigger SSD requires a larger charger though, but whatever...
Exactly. Most purchases happen at third-party retailers around the US, Canada, and Internationally—not to mention Amazon.com. Apple is but a minor sales channel compared to electronics retailers as a whole.
So them making 16/512 a retail model is a big deal—a huge win if you ask me—because finally 16 GB RAM will be discounted along with 8 GB models.
Best Buy was selling the 15-inch M2 Air with 16 GB RAM and 1 TB storage for $400 off, pretty regularly, if that is any indication of the sales we're about to get, maybe not now but in a few months.
Discontinued doesn't mean much for a while.
Retailers that aren't Apple Store probably sitting on piles of these. Should result in deeper sales for the M1.
Maybe in 6 months to a 1 year will be hard to find from retailers NIB but I don't think any time imminently.
Retailers that aren't Apple Store probably sitting on piles of these. Should result in deeper sales for the M1.
Maybe in 6 months to a 1 year will be hard to find from retailers NIB but I don't think any time imminently.
There’s also hardware raytracing, dynamic meshes and dynamic cache for the GPU.
Pretty significant upgrades.
I would have thought the same had someone not pointed it out to me. It's easy to miss. Had to visit Apple.com and play with a configuration to see it with my own eyes. It's like Apple said, "Let me be a bit less greedy this year."
Yes. Midnight MBA receives a new coating.
It's definitely not due to lack of space as the way its formatted wouldn't add another line to the section if they added "Wide stereo sound" as seen for the M2 Air.
Personally, I don't think it's anything worth investigating. But the speaker specs for the M2 15" Air also have the "Wide stereo sound" spec despite also having all the bullet points mentioning the upgrades.
The 15" M3 Air doesn't have the "Wide stereo sound" spec:
My best guess is that it is a copywriting omission as a result of how low-key this release is. But it does seem odd that the omission is consistent, that all M3 Airs lack "Wide stereo sound".
*I get that more than one speaker means it has stereo by definition. But it does make the M2 look like they have better built-in speakers if you just go by Apple's comparison tool.
I think this is a nice update for people on Intel chips and perhaps some on M1, but these incremental spec bumps are usually not for people that own the prior model. I doubt very many M2 owners will jump ship for the M3 unless they really need two external monitors.
How long before Amazon sells this? I have quite a bit of saved up gift cards. Sounds like I'll be able to purchase a stock 16/512 from Amazon too? Now just to decide which color. Is the space gray anodized like the new coating on the midnight I read about?
Ordered a Midnight Blue 15" w/2TB and 24GB to replace my wife's Mid-2014 13" MacBook Pro w/16GB and 1TB. This new one should also run well for 10 years!
10% Military discount worked, even on the AppleCare!
10% Military discount worked, even on the AppleCare!
What is interesting is the price drops of around 20% on the MBA/M2 and that the price gap between M2/M3 is not that big.
I expect an M2 with a nice corporate discount from Apple will be a purchase shortly and if the corporate discount is not great, M3.
The cheapest prices today are at Apple. I expect that to change as stocks deploy to the discounters around here.....
I expect an M2 with a nice corporate discount from Apple will be a purchase shortly and if the corporate discount is not great, M3.
The cheapest prices today are at Apple. I expect that to change as stocks deploy to the discounters around here.....
Good point.
I know it has the same number of speakers (4 for 13-inch, 6 for 15-inch) according to the product's landing page. But I guess we'll need an iFixIt teardown to confirm they are using the exact same speaker design. For now I'm just assuming its a copywriting thing and not an engineering difference.
Yes, it does. From Apple's press release:
With its durable aluminum unibody enclosure that’s built to last, the new MacBook Air is available in four gorgeous colors: midnight, which features a breakthrough anodization seal to reduce fingerprints; starlight; space gray; and silver.
At least 16GB/512 won’t be hidden behind BTO as before, so it will be possible to buy it at regular retailers.
FINALLY!
FINALLY!