M2 vs M3 MacBook Air: A comparison you should check before buying.
Introduction: M2 vs M3 MacBook Air.
Apple has always remained ahead of its competition in all markets. While Windows laptops are mainly dominating. But Apple laptops have held their own. Because of superior reliability, MacBooks have been a great choice for professionals. The two behemoths of the Laptop world will collide in today’s blog, M2 vs M3 MacBook Air comparison. We will know about them separately. Also, we will see how they go side by side. And if buying M3 over M2 is worth it.
M2 MacBook Air
Apple pulled back the curtain on the M2 MacBook Air three years ago. It was one of the best laptops of that year. Which also had distinguished design than its predecessor. The M2 was a fan favourite in its year and had quite good sales. Let us look at more specs of the first one in the MacBook Air M2 vs M3 comparison.
Design and Display
While it is much sleeker and stylish than others. And it is much faster, too. Apple made this laptop available in two variants. The smaller 13-inch variant and the larger 15-inch variant.
Performance
Inside, the M2 chip is an 8-core CPU. With 4 cores handling performance and 4 working efficiently. And a GPU with 10 cores. Also, the device supports up to 24GB of RAM and up to 2TB of SSD storage.
Connectivity
Now talking about ports, it includes two Thunderbolt/USB 4 ports and a MagSafe 3 charging port. For audio, you get a 3.5mm headphone jack. For wireless connections, you get Wi-Fi 6, and regarding Bluetooth, you get the 5.3 version of it.
Camera and Audio
You get a splendid 1080p camera, which is further complemented by a three-microphone setup. Other Audio features include a nice four-speaker sound system with Spatial Audio support.
Charging and battery
Battery life is good as you get more than 50watt-hour of battery. With this setup, you can watch up to 18 hours of Apple TV app movie playback. Also, you get more than 14 hours of internet.
Charging your M2 MacBook Air can be done with either a 30 or a 35W Apple charger.
M3 MacBook Air
The other contender in our comparison of M2 vs M3 MacBook Air is here. Released in 2024 at the Apple convention, it is almost the same as the M2. But apart from a few aspects.
Design and Display
Our latter contender of MacBook Air M2 vs M3 maintains the visual themes of its precursor. But with several advancements. Similar to the predecessor, it is available in both 13.6-inch and 15.3-inch sizes. Controlled by the LRD screen technology, with 500 nits of brightness for each screen type. While supporting a billion colors.
Performance
The main factor that makes this better in the MacBook Air M3 vs M2 comparison is the processor. The chip used has eight cores and is one of the most advanced. Which has 4 cores for performance and 4 for efficiency cores. With a GPU that is 10-core and a sixteen-core neural engine.
The big advance, notably, is the introduction of hardware-accelerated ray tracing and an AV1 decode engine. Which were not present in the M2 variant. The device supports RAM up to 24 GB and up to 2TB of SSD storage.
Connections and ports
In Connectivity options, it include two USB 4/ Thunderbolt ports, a MagSafe 3 charging port, and a 3.5mm headphone jack. Wireless capabilities are upgraded to Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.3. In the M3 MacBook Air, we can connect up to two external displays: one with up to 6K resolution at 60Hz and a second (with the laptop lid closed) with up to 5K resolution at 60Hz.
Camera and audio
For the camera on M3 Air, we see a FaceTime HD camera with a 1080p resolution. Also, with benefits from an advanced image signal processor with computational video. Audio enhancements include a four-speaker sound system and a six-speaker sound system. With Spatial Audio support. This gives you a much improved voice clarity in audio and video calls.
Charging and battery
The 13-inch model houses around 50 50-watt-hour battery, which is sufficient for daily use. Whereas the bigger variant has more than 65 Whr of battery. However, both of them deliver up to 18 hours of movie time. And more than 14 hours of browsing the internet. Further, you have three charging options, which include a 35W Dual USB-C Port Power Adapter. And for a few more bucks, you can buy a nice 70-W charger.
Comparision M2 vs M3 Macbook Air
We will now see the direct head-to-head comparison of M2 vs M3 MacBook Air.
| Specifications | M2 MacBook Air | M3 MacBook Air |
| MacBook Air 13 inches | MacBook Air 14 inches | |
| Processor | Apple M2 processor, with 8 cores
(3.4 GHz for 4 performance cores, 2.4 GHz for efficient) | Apple M3 processor, with 8 cores
( 4 GHz for Performance, Efficient has 2.7 GHz ) |
| Camera | FaceTime HD camera | Facetime 1080p |
| Display | Liquid Retina Display | Liquid Retina Display XDR,
True tone, Anti-reflective Display |
| GPU | 10 core Integrated | 10 core Integrated |
| Brightness | 500 nits | 500 nits |
| External Display support | Yes, up to one display | Yes, up to two external displays |
| Dimensions | 13.6 inch 15 inch | 13 inch, 15 inch |
| Memory | 16 GB and 24 GB | 16 GB and 24 GB |
| Storage | Starts with 256 GB, expandable to up to 2 TB | From 256 GB to 2 TB |
| Wifi | WIfi 6 | Wfi 6 |
| Bluetooth | Bluetooth 5.3 | Bluetooth 5.3 |
| Audio | Four-speaker sound system | Six-speaker Configuration. |
| Ports | Two USB-C /Thunderbolt ports. ports, 3.5 mm jack | Two USB-C ports and a 3.5 mm jack |
| Media Engine | HEVC engine | HEVC engine, Av1 decode, ray tracing |
| Keywords | Backlit keyboard with all required keys and Touch ID | Backlit keyboard with all required keys and Touch ID |
| Weight | 1.2 Kg (13-inch model), 1.5 kg(15-inch model) | 1.5 kg(15-inch model), 1.24 inch for (13-inch model) |
| Battery | 52 WHr battery | 52 WHr Battery |
| Charging Speed | 67 W charging speed | 70W fast charger. |
| Price | USD 1100 onwards | USD 1200 onwards |
| Colors | Silver, Midnight, Space Grey, Silver | Silver, Midnight, Space Grey, Silver |
| Release Year | 2022 | 2024 |
Our Verdict for the M2 vs M3 MacBook Air
You should consider buying an M2 or M3 MacBook Air, depending on several factors.
In the direct comparison of the M3 vs M2 MacBook Air, the M3 variant is straight up better. The Variant M3 chip is much better than the M2 Chip, about 30%. Even the GPU has a significant update.
Hence, without budget constraints, you should go for the M3 MacBook Air. While, processor difference is huge, every other thing stays the same for the Apple M3 MacBook Air.
If you are on a Tight budget and do not have a great need for processing power. Here we will suggest ot stick with the older one.
We hope our blog on M2 vs M3 MacBook Air helped you get an idea. So keep your needs in mind and happy purchasing, and we wish you the best on your new Laptop, MacBook Air.
Frequently asked questions:
Ans. While M3 is clearly better than M3 MacBook Air in terms of processor. The rest of it is the same as the previous one in all the M2..
Ans. The M2 MacBook is priced at $1099 onwards.
Ans. M3 MacBook Air is out for a base price of $1199
Ans. It was launched in March 2024.
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