Mark Gurman of Bloomberg stated back in July 2023 that Apple may deliver a 13-inch MacBook Air upgrade this autumn. He is now revising his forecast, though, and says that the next MacBook Air could not arrive until the spring or summer of 2024.
We were shocked that Gurman left out the 15-inch MacBook Air, which Apple debuted in June 2023, from his first prediction. If the two Macs were not updating at the same time, that would be interesting. It appears like Apple may be delaying the release of the M3 13-inch MacBook Pro to coincide with the M3 15-inch MacBook Air.
A new M3 13-inch MacBook Pro, M3 iMac, and M3 Mac mini may be released as early as November 2023.
M3 Macbook Air Release Date
Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman revealed in July 2023 that Apple was preparing for a second fall launch, possibly in October, at an occasion that “may feature the first Macs with M3 chips.” He listed the iMac, 13-inch MacBook Pro, and 13-inch MacBook Air as the first devices to use the M3. Since the current M2 13-inch MacBook Air was introduced in July 2022, an October M3 update would occur around 15 months after the M2 model’s debut.
But in June 2023, Apple unveiled the 15-inch MacBook Air with M2. It would be strange to provide an upgrade for the 15-inch MacBook Air just four months after the device’s WWDC introduction, which begs the issue of why Apple didn’t wait until the M3 model could be released before introducing the 15-inch model.
Apple may decide to forgo updating the 15-inch MacBook Air in favor of the 13-inch model, which will confuse buyers who won’t want to shell out more money for the more powerful model in order to take advantage of the larger screen. If the 15-inch MacBook Air received an update to the M3 Pro, it would be the only reason not to update both models simultaneously, but we don’t think that will happen.
M3 Macbook Air Design
Apple also gave the M2 13-inch MacBook Air its first full overhaul at the time of its debut. Its classic appearance, akin to that of the 14-inch MacBook Pro, replaced the tapered design.
Since this new design has only been used on one Air generation, we don’t anticipate significant changes from Apple with the M3 update. That’s okay because it’s already among the lightest and thinnest products available.
M3 Macbook Air Colors
The M3 MacBook Air from Apple is most likely going to be available in the same four colors as the M2 model: Starlight, Silver, Midnight, and Space Gray. Although there have been long-standing speculations, Apple has not followed through on its promises to release the MacBook Air in hues that complement the iMac’s colorful exterior.
M3 Macbook Air Display
The M2 model’s display will probably be used by the M3 MacBook Air. The 13.6-inch Liquid Retina display that Apple uses for the 13-inch MacBook Air is a step up from the 13.3-inch Retina displays used in the M1 13-inch MacBook Air and the 13-inch MacBook Pro. It has a resolution of 2,560-by-1,664 pixels, a maximum brightness of 500 nits, P3 color support, and True Tone. The 13-inch Pro has a brightness of 500 nits, compared to 400 nits for the M1 Air.
New mini-LEDs, though, may be on the way. These might be brighter than the ones we have now, but more significantly, they should use less battery power to achieve the same brightness levels. DigiTimes reports that they will be available for the 14- and 16-inch MacBook Pro models, but it’s possible Apple may also utilize them for the next MacBook Air model.
The 1080p FaceTime camera notch at the top of the display, which preserves the 16:10 aspect ratio of the screen area underneath it, is probably going to remain on the M3 MacBook Air.
M3 Macbook Air Specs
Developer files showing core configurations for the M3 series were discovered by Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman in August 2023. These records show that the M3 will feature 10 GPU cores and 8 CPU cores—four for efficiency and four for performance.
Eight CPU cores are shared by the M1 and M2, and as the M2 can be configured to have up to ten GPU cores, it appears that the M3 will do the same.
While the M3 chip appears to be comparable to its predecessor, it is said to be produced via a novel 3nm technology. More transistors may be produced using this method as opposed to the improved 5nm technique utilized for the M2. This may enable the M3 to outperform the typical 20 percent jump that comes with a new processor generation. Find out more about M3.
8GB of unified memory was the starting point for both the M1 and M2, and this is likely what the M3 will have as well. Memory on the M2 may be configured to 24GB; with the M3, this can be increased to 32GB. Gurman asserts that since 36GB and 48GB have been observed in testing, Apple could be modifying the unified memory settings. While 48GB would be a unique configuration exclusive to the M3 Pro and Max, it’s possible that the M3 will only come with 36GB.
We don’t anticipate the MacBook Air’s lack of internal fans to alter. Although the M2 Air may experience slowdowns due to CPU or GPU loads due to its fanless architecture, the M3’s increased efficiency may benefit high-end performance.
The MacBook Air features two Thunderbolt 4/USB-C ports, a headphone jack, and a MagSafe 3 connector for a power adapter (Thunderbolt allows for Thunderbolt charging as well). It’s probably simply going to be an additional USB-C port if Apple adds more ports.
M3 Macbook Air Price
The 13-inch MacBook Air was $100/£100 less expensive when Apple debuted the M2 15-inch MacBook Air in June. We anticipate it will stay at the same price, at least in the United States, although Apple may take advantage of the M3 update to increase the price back to $1,199.
The 13-inch MacBook Air M1 is also available from Apple for the same $999/£999 price as it did upon introduction in October 2020. It’s probable that when the M3 MacBook Air arrives, Apple may drop the price of the M2 model to $999 and retire the M1 MacBook Air.
Conclusion
Mark Gurman of Bloomberg predicted that Apple may release a 13-inch MacBook Air upgrade this autumn, but now suggests that the next MacBook Air could not arrive until spring or summer 2024. The 15-inch MacBook Air, which Apple debuted in June 2023, was left out of his first prediction. It appears that Apple may be delaying the release of the M3 13-inch MacBook Pro to coincide with the M3 15-inch MacBook Air. A new M3 13-inch MacBook Pro, M3 iMac, and M3 Mac mini may be released as early as November 2023.
The M3 MacBook Air design features a classic appearance similar to that of the 14-inch MacBook Pro, replacing the tapered design. The M3 MacBook Air is likely to be available in the same four colors as the M2 model: Starlight, Silver, Midnight, and Space Gray. The M3 MacBook Air’s display will likely use the 13.6-inch Liquid Retina display used in the M1 13-inch MacBook Air and the 13-inch MacBook Pro. New mini-LEDs may be on the way, and the 1080p FaceTime camera notch at the top of the display is likely to remain on the M3 MacBook Air.