Following the release of the M3 series processors in October last year, as well as their inclusion in the MacBook Pro and iMac, Apple announced on Monday (3/4) that the M3 processor has now arrived in the 13-inch and 15-inch MacBook Air models. The base configurations of these models are priced at $1,099 and $1,299 respectively. The MacBook Air with M3 will be available for purchase in the United States starting March 8th, while the release date for Taiwan is yet to be announced.
The M3 processor offers a 50% improvement in efficiency compared to the M1, and a 30% improvement compared to the M2. In terms of neural engine performance, it boasts a 60% increase over the M1 and a 15% increase over the M2. This results in the MacBook Pro achieving up to 22 hours of battery life, while the MacBook Air can now last up to 18 hours on a single charge.
In terms of specifications, the M3 version of the MacBook Air is similar to the M2 version. The main difference lies in the processor, with the M3 supporting the Wi-Fi 6E standard, while the M2 supports Wi-Fi 6.
Many Apple fans consider the first-generation M1 processor as the most impressive offering from Apple, with subsequent updates being more routine. However, compared to previous MacBook Air models using Intel processors, the M3 version offers performance that is 13 times better. It also outperforms PC laptops with Intel Core i7 processors, offering twice the performance and 50% faster browsing speeds, while providing a 40% increase in battery life.
According to Gartner’s survey on global PC shipments in the fourth quarter of last year, the worldwide PC shipments reached 63.3 million units, showing a growth of 0.3%. The top three vendors were Lenovo (with a market share of 25.6%), HP (22.0%), and Dell (15.8%). Apple secured the fourth position with a 10% market share. However, among the top four vendors, Apple experienced the highest growth rate in shipments, with a 7.2% increase.