M3 MacBook Air Models Now Arriving to Customers in New Zealand and Australia

[steve09090]

I work from home mainly in O365 and quite often have Outlook, Excel, Teams all open at once for that. I do some Graphic Design so normally might have PS and Indesign open at once for that. Occasional video editing in Premiere. I currently have a 2019 iMac 5k with 16Gb/TB Fusion Drive which slows down at times but generally handles those use cases . Apps are a little slow to launch. I am hoping my upgrade will be zippy and fast.

The 1TB is the sweet spot for the stuff I want to carry around. Images, Videos and a large digital book and comic library. ( that alone is 320GB) I am leaning towards 8gb/1TB but fear anything less than 16GB Ram.

The only thing that would worry me is Premiere. I don’t use that, but you could probably see some reviews on that. I’ve been using FCP which was brilliant. Naturally it also dependent on what resolution you were working on (4K v 8K) and number of streams. I’ve usually only used 2 or 3 max. Photoshop works really well and is optimised nicely for M chips.

I agree with @krspkbl I’d go 16/500. Unless you need full access to your entire library, in my (potential) workflow, I’d use the TB of storage on Office 365 and only have the files I needed on the SSD. Even though you have access to all of it. That’s the way I use and store files I need access to.

It will definitely be zippy. Love new machines. It’s like buying a new car (and close to the price) 😃

 

[dannyyankou]

I still can't believe they start off with 8GB RAM.

It doesn’t bother me for the MBA, but the Macbook Pro should definitely start with 16gb

 

[krakenrelease]

You say students or office workers dont need more...maybe if they use one application at a time, sure but in reality, no one does that. What is more common is for people to have multiple chrome tabs open and many other apps running in the background.

Multiple chrome tabs. Really? You kinda proved my point. There are also browsers that use less resources than Chrome. I'm a software engineer. I have seen numerous videos of the M1 tackling web dev tasks with ease using 8GB ram. Chrome tabs open, Code editors, terminal windows. Just stop.

 

[darthbane2k]

We get it MR, every product will get to those places first…

Apart from Vision Pro.. which oddly still doesn’t have an ETA for the rest of the world

 

[svish]

To everyone getting the new MacBook Air, enjoy your new Mac! Nice to have the Air updated to the latest M3 processor.

 

[sideshowuniqueuser]

Yes, because the "starting spec" is not really the gripe: it's the outrageous relative cost to pay for that 16GB upgrade hop. Pretending like $200 is the RIGHT price is only applying Apple's outrageous pricing to the situation vs. say, 64GB RAM at a retail quantity ONE (unit) purchase with a nice profit for Amazon too (still costing substantially less than 8GB of Apple RAM)...

View attachment 2356717

Else if 16GB is "enough" for someone, instead of only paying for 8 MORE GB in that upgrade for $200, one could buy the entire 16GB for considerably less than that $200...

View attachment 2356718

Neither example is "cheapest" pricing- shopping around would likely find even better pricing- but just representative of what fast RAM can cost... when there are competitors vs. a lone "company store" able to basically charge anything and if someone wants/needs "the rest", they have to just pay up.

So yes, if Apple just upped the RAM and charged $200 more, many people would likely react negatively. Looking at retail pricing of 16GB for $45, we can assume half of that (the upgrade) might be $22.50 at retail. Given Apple's near 50% margin, shall we assume in that it costs them about HALF of that: $11.25? Maybe fold that extra 8GB into Macs and keep the price the same? It never hurts to throw customers a value added bone from time to time and that one seems easy and inexpensive... especially if we further worked the numbers at Apple purchase volumes instead of pretending like Apple would be dealing with retail pricing all the way down to cost per unit. I'm confident that such a move would be very well received by Apple customers.

I'm an Apple "everything" guy for about 24 years now and this just erodes the halo for me... so much so that I find myself seriously considering a PC laptop to replace my aging MB, something that would not even had a moment of consideration as recently as 5 years ago. But hoorayyyy for them shareholders! 💰💰💰

YES!!! It simply erodes good will and trust as a customer.

Regarding your last paragraph, I'm not letting go of macOS and my MBP anytime soon, macOS is just too damn nice to use, especially for a software engineer who uses the underlying "Linux" OS on an almost daily basis.

However, with iOS being the tragic, frustrating, walled garden that it is, I did have a good hard look at iOS vs Android, and iPhone vs Samsung flagships vs Google Pixel, and jumped ship to the Pixel 8 late last year. Wow, I can't believe all the killer features that it has that don't exist on iOS. Why didn't I do this years ago! Oh, and as a bonus, it is remarkably cheaper than an iPhone, for comparable quality hardware.

And note, the storage upgrades are remarkably cheaper than Apple's rip off.

 

[bLackjackj]

I wanted to grab a top spec 15" today but none available in store

So go to another or buy online. Plenty of stock at my local Apple Store,..seems like all variants are in stock.

 

[matrix07]

The amount of 8GB machines I see on marketplace and ebay is pretty astounding. I think a lot of people must buy it just on the basis that its apple branded and its a macbook...later realising the machine can barely load a couple of chrome tabs.

I’m using Chrome with 8 tabs right now on my M1 8/256… + Safari with 50 tabs. (and Mail. and Message. and Widgets etc)

🙄

 

[Alicia1]

So go to another or buy online. Plenty of stock at my local Apple Store,..seems like all variants are in stock.

All stores Australia wide say pick up unavailable for top spec models. Only have one local store. 2 week wait online.

 

[Geert76]

why is that people think that with 8Gb RAM the only thing you can do is to power on and off the Mac with zero or 1 app running?

 

[ric22]

I still feel bad for New Zealand that they don't qualify for an Apple store...

 

[ric22]

why is that people think that with 8Gb RAM the only thing you can do is to power on and off the Mac with zero or 1 app running?

No one thinks that.

The people here commenting on it are just annoyed at Apple saving the ~$15 that 8GB extra would cost them, so many years after 8GB became the norm. At the same time as keeping the RAM lower than it could be, upgrades are ludicrously priced, and they've soldered the RAM to trap everyone into paying the Apple tax. All the while, local LLM adoption in software looms, that will suddenly explode RAM usage and make old devices with low RAM less useful than they could be.

 

[Hilste]

All stores Australia wide say pick up unavailable for top spec models. Only have one local store. 2 week wait online.

If you select the mid model 512/8 one and upgrade RAM to 16GB then you can pickup tomorrow in most stores. Weirdly if you select the same spec one on the main page it says pickup not available.

 

[k1121j]

$10B spent on an unreleased car and they can’t give their thin and light a real-world-functional complement of ports. They artificially make people upgrade to a heavy, chunky computer that most people don’t prefer in terms of form factor.

Apple should further differentiate the “pro” laptops from the Air by the power they have, by discontinuing the one with a non-Pro chip for starters… not by gimping the form factor regular people like more. SD Card and HDMI are not “Pro” features, they are common ports and all Mac laptops should have them for maximum compatibility and interoperability across a range of interactions and settings. No teacher, amateur photographer, conference attendee or anyone else should have to suffer dongles for either of these basic functions even if not used a lot.

We can live without a glove box in a car, as it’s not often used by most people, but it’s included because it’s a good idea, just like a MacBook Air with a full set of common ports. It’s a good idea and it needs to be added back.

No one needs sd card slot and I’m not sure hdmi would fit. But 4 usbc would have been nice

 

[Alicia1]

If you select the mid model 512/8 one and upgrade RAM to 16GB then you can pickup tomorrow in most stores. Weirdly if you select the same spec one on the main page it says pickup not available.

Oh wow how weird is that!!! Thank you!! Available at Robina tomorrow.

However when selecting the education link that I use, it shows as ship to store, pick up in approx 2 weeks 🙁 That is just bizarre

 

[steve09090]

No one thinks that.

The people here commenting on it are just annoyed at Apple saving the ~$15 that 8GB extra would cost them, so many years after 8GB became the norm. At the same time as keeping the RAM lower than it could be, upgrades are ludicrously priced, and they've soldered the RAM to trap everyone into paying the Apple tax. All the while, local LLM adoption in software looms, that will suddenly explode RAM usage and make old devices with low RAM less useful than they could be.

Love to know your source for Apple RAM price, attached to the SoC. Clearly it’s not soldered not trap people. I’m pretty sure you know what the purpose is attaching it to the SoC. Be honest now.

What can’t you do on an entry level MacBook Air where you would need more than 8GB RAM? Why are people obsessed with this number when it has proven to be more than enough for the 3 and a bit years it has been on the M series Macs and continues to be more than enough.

How many people will be using LLM on a MacBook Air when almost all is done on custom enterprise systems? Apple and every other computer manufacturer are unlikely to produce machines that are going natively run LLM until they at least figure out what those software parameters are going to be. Plus it won’t be RAM that is going to decide if it’s going to run, it’ll be specialised processing units running those tasks.

At the moment, unless you have specific needs, 8 GB will be plenty for 90+% of consumers.

 

[Boardiesboi]

how do you find the weight situation? What was wrong with your 13" M2 Air?

I don’t notice the weight increase much at all. But the increase in screen size is very noticeable and welcomed.

Nothing wrong with the M2 13”. Just wanted a bigger screen

 

[ric22]

Love to know your source for Apple RAM price, attached to the SoC.

Google it, mate. You or I could place an order today for $19/20 a unit of 8GB in bulk. The exact same stuff Apple use. Don't you suspect they get a bigger discount than that? Or were you under the illusion their RAM was somehow unique?

Clearly it’s not soldered not trap people. I’m pretty sure you know what the purpose is attaching it to the SoC. Be honest now.

They could socket it if they wished. Again, Google is your friend. The speed and energy differences are tiny. A year ago this wasn't an option, I'll give you that. They won't socket it again, though, because it wouldn't benefit them, as it saves a couple of dollars and their business model revolves around upselling RAM and storage. Storage, for example, does not benefit from being soldered. That's simply to lock us in, and save Apple approximately $1 on build costs.

 

[ric22]

Love to know your source for Apple RAM price, attached to the SoC. Clearly it’s not soldered not trap people. I’m pretty sure you know what the purpose is attaching it to the SoC. Be honest now.

What can’t you do on an entry level MacBook Air where you would need more than 8GB RAM? Why are people obsessed with this number when it has proven to be more than enough for the 3 and a bit years it has been on the M series Macs and continues to be more than enough.

How many people will be using LLM on a MacBook Air when almost all is done on custom enterprise systems? Apple and every other computer manufacturer are unlikely to produce machines that are going natively run LLM until they at least figure out what those software parameters are going to be. Plus it won’t be RAM that is going to decide if it’s going to run, it’ll be specialised processing units running those tasks.

At the moment, unless you have specific needs, 8 GB will be plenty for 90+% of consumers.

You're wrong about LLM's. People want privacy. LLM and AI usage will explode in the next couple of years, and privacy will dictate that a lot of it will be run locally.

 

[Mac Fly (film)]

No one needs sd card slot and I’m not sure hdmi would fit. But 4 usbc would have been nice

Wanting four USB-C is only what advanced users require on a laptop, and arguable this should be left to the pro line. Having HDMI ensures all owners of the Air can plug in a projector without a dongle, should they encounter one—some require HDMI and some require USB-C. This makes the machine practical and usable in more situations. SD Card port ensures all users can plug in this common media should the need to (many MBA models had it) and brings the Air in line with the MBP is terms of everyday usability. Many amateur DSLR photographers prefer and own a thin and light machine and should not need to suffer dongles for it.

 

[ric22]

Wanting four USB-C is only what advanced users require on a laptop.

That's a sweeping statement. I didn't realise my elderly mum was an advanced user for being unhappy with the two measly USB C ports on the MacBook Air.

At least the M2/M3 Airs have a MagSafe port for charging. Dongle sellers delighted in the M1.

For what it's worth, I like having an HDMI port rather than having to carry around a special cable, and I do make use of the SD card slot. I do think extra USB-C ports would find a wider audience, though. Personally, having three USB C ports, with at least one on either side, is the bare minimum for me to avoid dongles.

 

[Abazigal]

That's a sweeping statement. I didn't realise my elderly mum was an advanced user for being unhappy with the two measly USB C ports on the MacBook Air.

At least the M2/M3 Airs have a MagSafe port for charging. Dongle sellers delighted in the M1.

For what it's worth, I like having an HDMI port rather than having to carry around a special cable, and I do make use of the SD card slot. I do think extra USB-C ports would find a wider audience, though. Personally, having three USB C ports, with at least one on either side, is the bare minimum for me to avoid dongles.

Isn't the point of the MBA that it is too thin for a HDMI port by the side?

 

[Mrkevinfinnerty]

I still can't believe they start off with 8GB RAM.

The 256gb SSD on the base model is more egregious than the RAM i think, albeit the upgrade pricing for memory is a joke.

If you look at a Dell XPS 13 plus as an equivalent machine on the PC side you have to upgrade to the i7 chip to get 16gb RAM, the drive is 512gb though even on the base model.

 

[Mac Fly (film)]

That's a sweeping statement. I didn't realise my elderly mum was an advanced user for being unhappy with the two measly USB C ports on the MacBook Air.

At least the M2/M3 Airs have a MagSafe port for charging. Dongle sellers delighted in the M1.

For what it's worth, I like having an HDMI port rather than having to carry around a special cable, and I do make use of the SD card slot. I do think extra USB-C ports would find a wider audience, though. Personally, having three USB C ports, with at least one on either side, is the bare minimum for me to avoid dongles.

If the chip can power three then perhaps you're right. Especially so at these prices, too.

 

[ric22]

If the chip can power three then perhaps you're right. Especially so at these prices, too.

If it can't, it's because it wasn't specifically designed for it, and is more of a tablet chip than a dedicated laptop chip.