New M3 MacBook Air Models Expected Around March 2024

[MRxROBOT]

Why do some people want to shrink the Mac Mini? In what scenario is it currently too large to work? The backside of it is already covered with ports as it is...

Not to mention that it would create 2 separate Mac mini chassis. Although the base M2 has space to spare on the interior, the m2 pro is packed a lot tighter in the same chassis. I don't see them creating 2 distinct chassis to separate the SOCs.

 

[mdhaus72]

Not everybody needs more than 8GB of RAM. And in fact, I'd argue that most casual users are just fine with that amount. Most people who truly need more are going to be looking to buy more than 12GB anyway.

For those who clicked the "disagree" button for this post, I'd love for them to show their proof of how "everybody needs more than 8GB of RAM." Because it's flat-out not true. It is 100% possible to be a casual user who is not impacted in the slightest by having only 8GB.

And almost every single user who needs more is likely going to be looking for more than 12GB as well.

 

[mdhaus72]

For those who clicked the "disagree" button for this post, I'd love for them to show their proof of how "everybody needs more than 8GB of RAM." Because it's flat-out not true. It is 100% possible to be a casual user who is not impacted in the slightest by having only 8GB.

And almost every single user who needs more is likely going to be looking for more than 12GB as well.

And of course MRxROBOT has zero evidence to back up his automatic disagreement....

 

[MRxROBOT]

And of course MRxROBOT has zero evidence to back up his automatic disagreement....

Nah, didn't want to waste my time. You sure seem bothered though 😂

 

[mdhaus72]

Not for me it isn’t..

Awesome. But you're not "most people."

And by the way...That box in the Activity Monitor is a useless metric for actually determining how much RAM a person actually NEEDS, since MacOS is specifically designed to utilize the entire RAM pool that is is given.

 

[mdhaus72]

A couple hundred responses is hardly proof that it’s the best seller in the US or the world. It may be, but I wouldn’t bet on it based on that sample size. To my knowledge, Costco warehouses only stock the midnight as well. That hardly means it’s most folks preferred color when it’s the only option. Rose gold and gold were also extremely popular on iPhone pro’s too and Apple axed them.

That wasn't the source. It was a news article that someone had linked to.

 

[mdhaus72]

Nah, didn't want to waste my time. You sure seem bothered though 😂

I'm not bothered in the slightest....It simply proves my point and I appreciate you doing that for me. 😂

 

[Kabeyun]

this is what I’m saving my money for, to replace my 12-year-old MacBook Pro. I do need a laptop, but not so badly that I need to spend ~$2000 for a new one. Better screen on more ports are not enough for me to jump back into Proville.

 

[Rychiar]

I thought the same until a couple of things occurred to me. Let's say it's a matter of a March '24 vs. June '24 release. What would that extra 3 months allow for?

Lately I've read about 2 upcoming technologies, Wifi 7 and Thunderbolt 5. For a fairly high-end, very powerful but expensive computer some of us would want to use for several years (at least!), a bit of forward-thinking 'future proofing' would be welcome.

I don't know how much Thunderbolt 5 may speed external SSD drive read/write speeds, but Wifi 7 looks to have some substantial advantages over Wifi 6 or 6e. Given the lifespan of a well decked-out Mac, the Studio might be in use when Wifi 8 comes out.

So my questions are: 1.) Would a June release likely offer one or both of these? 2.) How much advantage will either provide over time to many users?

In a world where it’s still hard to find anything that works with thunderbolt 4, I don’t see thunderbolt 5 coming to Mac anytime soon… and they’ll prob take their sweet time with wifi7 too. It will likely come to iPhone first.

 

[Zdigital2015]

Why do some people want to shrink the Mac Mini? In what scenario is it currently too large to work? The backside of it is already covered with ports as it is...

Because some people can't accept that the design has been around since 2010 and it just freaks them out that it's this old design and they cannot show it off as new if it's the same looking thing as 13 years ago. There's a lot of posers on this website who want a conversation piece or to say "look at me" and I wonder if they even use a computer outside of work.

The current design works, the tooling has long since been amortized, the size is set for those who rack mount it, the people who want to run it off of a damn battery are delusional and the list goes on and on.

The design has no need to change at this point for the function the device is designed for.

 

[blipstutter]

Dude. You’re talking about the entry level model. If you want more than 8GB of ram then just buy it.

Apple ain’t going to give you 16GB of ram in an entry level model for the same price as the 8GB model. You’re dreaming if you don’t think that the price of the entry model won’t just go up.

We have an interior designer sharing our office running an 8GB/256GB M1 iMac. Indesign, Sketchup, Archicad, Mail, Word, XL, Safari. I asked her how much ram she uses and she had no idea how much ram was even in her computer. I showed her how to find out and it was only 8GB!

She is a professional interior designer making a full time living with an 8GB ram iMac, who said she’s never noticed her computer being slow. Go figure.

Why defend an entry level spec from 2014. I didn't pay extra for 8gb at the time. I would pay 16gb this time but Apple limits who can sell those models and a 20% mark up is absurd.

I'm not denying there are people out there for whom this isn't an issue.... try believing those of us who are saying this is an issue for us, because that number is growing. With the M2 release it was a debate... now there's no debate, we need 16gb, not 3 year old or 10 year old specs and not to find out the base models have a silent cost of $200. It shouldn't be more than $75.

We are the ones who do not need more than the base model CPU but we do need more RAM. You can read the calculations with every new release figuring out that higher end models are basically a $25 chip, 2 ports, etc.

Also not for nothing but someone that doesn't know the memory in their own computer isn't a great example.

I'm repeating this yet again... the chip is $25 retail. Apple can afford to give it to us. Maybe I would upgrade to 32gb for $200 if they did.

 

[lowkey]

Why defend an entry level spec from 2014. I didn't pay extra for 8gb at the time. I would pay 16gb this time but Apple limits who can sell those models and a 20% mark up is absurd.

I'm not denying there are people out there for whom this isn't an issue.... try believing those of us who are saying this is an issue for us, because that number is growing. With the M2 release it was a debate... now there's no debate, we need 16gb, not 3 year old or 10 year old specs and not to find out the base models have a silent cost of $200. It shouldn't be more than $75.

We are the ones who do not need more than the base model CPU but we do need more RAM. You can read the calculations with every new release figuring out that higher end models are basically a $25 chip, 2 ports, etc.

Also not for nothing but someone that doesn't know the memory in their own computer isn't a great example.

I'm repeating this yet again... the chip is $25 retail. Apple can afford to give it to us. Maybe I would upgrade to 32gb for $200 if they did.

On the contrary. Someone who runs a professional interior design business and has no ideas how much ram is in her computer is someone who has never had a problem with the amount of ram in her computer and has never had to worry about it.

When you bought your computer in 2014 you paid for the ram. Apple didn’t give it to you for free :lol:

If you need more ram than the bottom of the range model there is a very easy solution…buy it. Complaining that the bottom of the range computer is too low spec for you is a complaint that can be fixed in one click of a button before you order.

If price is your main concern, buy a 16GB refurb for the same price as an 8GB brand new one. Again, in less time than it took to write your post, you could have solved your problem.

Apple didn’t become a billion dollar company by giving stuff away for free. They ain’t going to start now. Stop acting like you deserve something for free from a billion dollar company and just buy the amount of ram YOU NEED.

 

[Abazigal]

I'm not denying there are people out there for whom this isn't an issue.... try believing those of us who are saying this is an issue for us, because that number is growing. With the M2 release it was a debate... now there's no debate, we need 16gb, not 3 year old or 10 year old specs and not to find out the base models have a silent cost of $200. It shouldn't be more than $75.

So the issue isn’t so much that 8gb ram is insufficient for your needs, but that you either can’t or won’t pay the little extra for it?

Is there a reason you won’t consider a refurbished M1x MBP or something? Those come with 16gb ram default.

I just don’t understand why people are fixating so much on not being willing to pay a little more for that added 8gb of ram. So Apple is making good profits on each upgrade sold this way. Is the thought of that really too much for all of you to bear, that you would rather cut off the nose to spite the face here?

 

[RealE]

Yep. It's not 'just' one year, it's one MORE year. We're sitting at ten and I wouldn't be surprised if Apple moves heaven and Earth to keep 8GB as the base stat to ensure that $200 USD upgrade cost for 8 GB more.

If major Apple resellers (like Costco or BestBuy) said they refused to stock any Mac with less than 16GB, would that make Apple budge?

 

[Chuckeee]

If major Apple resellers (like Costco or BestBuy) said they refused to stock any Mac with less than 16GB, would that make Apple budge?

If large number of people stopped buying 8GB machines, that would make a difference. Same applies to major resellers, they only sell them because people buy them. If the general public (not MR members) either stopped buying 8GB or started returning 8GB in-mass, then Apple would change the entry level configuration.

 

[Abazigal]

If large number of people stopped buying 8GB machines, that would make a difference. Same applies to major resellers, they only sell them because people buy them. If the general public (not MR members) either stopped buying 8GB or started returning 8GB in-mass, then Apple would change the entry level configuration.

Which goes back to my original point. A large number of people buy these 8gb ram machines because it really is sufficient for their needs. That a small number of you need 16 or more ram doesn’t change this. Neither does your decision to hold off on buying a new entry level Mac (never mind that the Pro / Max MBP does come with the desired amount of ram).

 

[Joshuaorange]

Awesome. But you're not "most people."

And by the way...That box in the Activity Monitor is a useless metric for actually determining how much RAM a person actually NEEDS, since MacOS is specifically designed to utilize the entire RAM pool that is is given.

Need is subjective. Some folks don’t mind slow loading due to fully utilized ram. I don’t want to have to wait for anything. It isn’t useless. It tells you how much ram you’re using at any given time. I never want to not have enough that I have to memory swap.

 

[roundski]

I thought the same until a couple of things occurred to me. Let's say it's a matter of a March '24 vs. June '24 release. What would that extra 3 months allow for?

Lately I've read about 2 upcoming technologies, Wifi 7 and Thunderbolt 5. For a fairly high-end, very powerful but expensive computer some of us would want to use for several years (at least!), a bit of forward-thinking 'future proofing' would be welcome.

I don't know how much Thunderbolt 5 may speed external SSD drive read/write speeds, but Wifi 7 looks to have some substantial advantages over Wifi 6 or 6e. Given the lifespan of a well decked-out Mac, the Studio might be in use when Wifi 8 comes out.

So my questions are: 1.) Would a June release likely offer one or both of these? 2.) How much advantage will either provide over time to many users?

allow for, TSMCs N3E….

 

[RealE]

Which goes back to my original point. A large number of people buy these 8gb ram machines because it really is sufficient for their needs. That a small number of you need 16 or more ram doesn’t change this. Neither does your decision to hold off on buying a new entry level Mac (never mind that the Pro / Max MBP does come with the desired amount of ram).

Is it that, or simply that the average buyer doesn't customize their system and therefore judges based on price while at the store?

When all that's on the shelf is the base 8GB configuration that's what is going to sell.

 

[MajorFubar]

Looking at the decline in Mac sales, what Apple will surely take away from this is that they're going to have to obsolete Mx Macs sooner than they did with Intel models, because most buyers just simply do not need a more powerful computer than the current M1 Macbook Air.

If your customers won't upgrade voluntarily, the only way is to force them to.

 

[Mitthrawnuruodo]

With the introduction of the M3 MacBook Air which of the existing MacBook Airs will be retired? The M1 version? The M2 version? Both the M1 and M2 versions?

I kind of suspect them to keep the M1 Air at the same price point as now (I'm not expecting a price reduction, even if it would be nice, based on the last couple of year's inflation); and just replace the M2 with the new M3.

When Apple introduced the new M-series chips they said something along the lines that one of the advantages with the change was that they could squeeze more out of each generation of chips, and another year or two of selling the M1 Air would probably give them quite a nice profit, and ROI on that generation. (And maybe put the M1 into the new iPad gen 11, too?)

 

[captchasverybadman]

Apple plans to refresh the MacBook Air around March 2024, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said today in a report on Apple's future iPad and Mac plans. Updated 13-inch and 15-inch MacBook Air models are in the works.

As Apple overhauled the MacBook Air's design in 2022 and then introduced a larger model in 2023, no design changes are planned for the 2024 models. The focus will instead be on new internal hardware, including the updated M3 chip.

Introduced earlier this year in the updated MacBook Pro models, the M3 chip is the first chip built on Apple's 3-nanometer process, bringing performance and efficiency improvements. M3 chip benchmarks suggest that the CPU is up to 21 percent faster than the M2, and the GPU is up to 15 percent faster.

According to Gurman, Apple is developing the Macs alongside macOS 14.3, an update that is expected between the end of January and February, but new hardware may ship around the March timeframe. The new MacBook Air models could be timed to launch alongside updated iPad Pro and iPad Air models, which are coming around March.

There is no word yet on when other Macs might be refreshed. The MacBook Pro and iMac models were updated in October 2023, the Mac mini was last updated in January 2023, and the Mac Studio and Mac Pro updated in June 2023.

In the fourth fiscal quarter of 2023, Apple saw a steep decline in Mac sales. Macs brought in $7.6 billion, down 34 percent from the $11.5 billion that Apple earned in Q4 2022. Apple expects Mac sales to go up following the launch of the October MacBook Pro models, and an early 2024 MacBook Air refresh will also help to drive growth.

Article Link: New M3 MacBook Air Models Expected Around March 2024

Tell Tim I aint buying one unless it comes with 16GB out of the box, even for the Air.

 

[captchasverybadman]

They should, but they won't. Maybe next year. The pro having 8gb is confirmation enough.

100% agree. We need to hit the streets on this

 

[captchasverybadman]

I considered waiting for the M3 Max Mac Studio. But I'm not a true power user, even though I process a lot of photos and some videos. So I just pulled the trigger on a M2 Max Mac Studio. I'm sure it'll be more than enough for the next five years. But for all of those waiting tor the M3 version, I hope you get what you want soon.

Im one of those waiting for the M3 but I am increasingly wondering whether I need that performance so as an alternative back to MBP/Air is an option.

 

[geta]

I can see M3 13” MBA with 24GB RAM and 1GB storage in my the near future.