Apple introduces new MacBook Air featuring M3 chip, Wi-Fi 6E, and dual screens

While waiting for iPads with an OLED screen, the MacBook Air, Apple's most popular computer, has the right to be renewed.

In a press release published on March 4, a few minutes after being ordered to pay 1.8 billion euros to the European Commission (was the timing always like this?), Apple unveiled new MacBook Air M3s , available from Friday March 8. Minor refreshes, but with a few new features.

13 inches and 15 inches, with an M3 chip

The design of the MacBook Air does not change. Apple continues to offer them in 13.6 and 15.3 inch models, in four colors. Most configurations are relatively similar, always with 8 GB of RAM on the entry level (we can only deplore this).

Among the new features of this new generation, which is sold at the same price:

• The transition from Apple M2 chip to chip Apple M3the same as in the 14″ MacBook and the iMac released at the end of 2023. It is a chip engraved in 3 nanometers, like the A17 Pro in the iPhone 15.
• The support of two external screens when the MacBook Air is closed, for people who use it with desktop monitors.
• The arrival of Wi-Fi 6Ewhile previous MacBook Airs were limited to Wi-Fi 6.
• The use of 50% recycled materials, including 100% aluminum. This is the first time that a MacBook Air has exceeded this threshold.

In its press release, Apple highlights artificial intelligence, indicating that the MacBook Air is “the best consumer computer for AI”. The computer's Neural Engine, its dedicated AI chip, will surely have new functions in June, when Apple announces its transition to generative artificial intelligence.

In its catalog, Apple is removing the MacBook Air M1 but retaining the 13.6-inch MacBook Air M2, sold from 1,199 euros. Given the small difference (100 euros), it is difficult to understand its positioning. You might as well spend a little more for a supposedly more durable chip and a slightly more capable computer.