Looking at this list comparing the M3 with M1 doesn't motivate me to want the M3. It seems most gains are GPU related. The M2 was underwhelming, and it seems the M3 isn't much better than the M2 so comparing against M1.
> M3 takes MacBook Air performance even further:
> Game titles like No Man’s Sky run up to 60 percent faster than the 13-inch MacBook Air with the M1 chip.
> Enhancing an image with AI using Photomator’s Super Resolution feature is up to 40 percent faster than the 13-inch model with the M1 chip, and up to 15x faster for customers who haven’t upgraded to a Mac with Apple silicon.
> Working in Excel spreadsheets is up to 35 percent faster than the 13-inch model with the M1 chip, and up to 3x faster for customers who haven’t upgraded to a Mac with Apple silicon.
> Video editing in Final Cut Pro is up to 60 percent faster than the 13-inch model with the M1 chip, and up to 13x faster for customers who haven’t upgraded to a Mac with Apple silicon.
> Compared to a PC laptop with an Intel Core i7 processor, MacBook Air delivers up to 2x faster performance, up to 50 percent faster web browsing, and up to 40 percent longer battery life.
Combining the two datapoints 15x faster than Mac with non-Apple-silicon and 2x faster than PC with i7 makes it seem like Intel parts have improved a lot since Apple stopped using them.
I’m sure they know most people aren’t upgrading yearly so it makes more sense to target people two gens or more behind.
Regarding your last point, it’s because of the video accelerators on the M series chips which is why they mention Final Cut. The latter comparison to Intel laptops also has to take into account that it’s been ~4 years since Apple shipped that.
After the big bump with the M1, we are back to the 10-20% generational improvements of old days. The deltas between generations are not impressive, but they do add up after a few years.
I am kind of interested in the M3 Air. I generally prefer MacBook Air over MacBook Pro, since it's lighter and more compact than the Pro, but I am currently still using a MacBook Pro with M1 Pro due to the limitations of the earlier Airs. It seems that these limitations are getting lifted slowly, with the M2 supporting up to 24GB RAM and the M3 supporting two external displays in clamshell. If the MacBook Air M3 supported 32GB RAM, it would pretty much be a no-brainer to go from the M1 Pro to Air M3.
Speaking of video, I’m on my second MacBook Air and have been very happy with them both except for one consistent concern, their unreliability with regard to external displays. It bothers me sufficiently for me to bring my Apple TV with me when delivering training, which is kinda ridiculous. I think my next one will be a Pro. That’s a pity really – I like the Air form factor and I don’t really need the extra power. I do think I need a real HDMI port though.
If you're dependent on the adapter, you need to use the Apple ones, or you need to have multiple. Sometimes HDMI works, sometimes it doesn't, changing the adapter usually fixes it.
Sure, but there are plenty of adapters that drive 4k@60Hz without an issue, such as the latest revision Apple's adapter (old revisions would only do 4k@30).
What do you use to connect the screen to your Air? I've got an M2 air, and recently purchased a 5120x1440 screen with HDMI and DisplayPort outputs. I first connected it through HDMI to one of the USB/HDMI/USB-C Apple adapters, and the result was terrible. But I ordered a DisplayPort->USB-C cable, and it worked perfectly.
Depends on your use case. What little heavy software I run is all terribly optimized single core stuff, so even going m2 to m3 the single core gains are appreciable to me. Iirc its about a 30% bump worth it for a little bit more in price for me. Then of course much better battery life from more and faster e cores too.
> M3 takes MacBook Air performance even further:
> Game titles like No Man’s Sky run up to 60 percent faster than the 13-inch MacBook Air with the M1 chip.
> Enhancing an image with AI using Photomator’s Super Resolution feature is up to 40 percent faster than the 13-inch model with the M1 chip, and up to 15x faster for customers who haven’t upgraded to a Mac with Apple silicon.
> Working in Excel spreadsheets is up to 35 percent faster than the 13-inch model with the M1 chip, and up to 3x faster for customers who haven’t upgraded to a Mac with Apple silicon.
> Video editing in Final Cut Pro is up to 60 percent faster than the 13-inch model with the M1 chip, and up to 13x faster for customers who haven’t upgraded to a Mac with Apple silicon.
> Compared to a PC laptop with an Intel Core i7 processor, MacBook Air delivers up to 2x faster performance, up to 50 percent faster web browsing, and up to 40 percent longer battery life.
Combining the two datapoints 15x faster than Mac with non-Apple-silicon and 2x faster than PC with i7 makes it seem like Intel parts have improved a lot since Apple stopped using them.