M3 MacBook Air Review - 6 Months Later

[@6MonthsLater]

📑Blog Post: 6monthslater.net/2024/10/m3-macbook-air-review/ Sponsored by CleanMyMac. Try the new CleanMyMac for free for 7 days using my link clnmy.com/6MonthsLater 🛒 Product Links: 6monthslater.net/2024/10/m3-macbook-air-review/ 👉 View all of our recommended products: www.amazon.com/shop/6monthslaterreviews 🔗 Related Video links: 👉iPhone 15 Pro Max Review: kzbin.info/www/bejne/o6aUnmCnp8-Sb7M 👉iPad Pro vs. MacBook Air Review: kzbin.info/www/bejne/iniuh4Npl8l2Z68 👉Apple Studio Display Review: kzbin.info/www/bejne/jqXJh4qIjdtsm5I 👉Apple Watch Series 9 Review:kzbin.info/www/bejne/rX6UZ6uNlq97mLc 👉Apple Vision Pro Review:kzbin.info/www/bejne/iHSnqIdreZWAiMk ❤ Follow Josh: 👉 Threads: www.threads.net/@joshteder 👉 Reddit: www.reddit.com/user/joshteder/ 👉 Instagram: instagram.com/joshteder/ 👉 Mastodon: mastodon.social/@joshteder 👉 LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/joshteder/ 🎥 Video Production Equipment we use 📹 amzn.to/3Ejc1JR

[@sonnyalvarado768]

I've been looking for a few speakers for the living room, my laptop, and my urgent need a bluetooth speaker for my bike rides🚴 and for 🛼. Do you have any speaker reviews and/or comparisons? The louder with big boom bass the better. I've been looking at portable bluetoooth speakers and recently saw a comparison in which a Anker beat Sonos and other brands in sound performance. Boise and JBL had a slight lead but not big enough to pay the high price. I've never heard of Anker, the post was my first and learned about its connection with Jeff Besos. I've had Boise speakers before in my car, home, portable ones and JBL too but without checking them out in person it's hard to put speakers in my shopping cart and buy.

[@MarbsMusic]

I have an M3 Pro and my wife has the M3 Air... while I do love my screen, extra ports and HDMI out for presentations I've realized I could have gotten the Air and been pretty much just as happy. It's a phenomenal laptop that should be good for years to come, excellent update / review!

[@ArthArmani]

Great to know, thanks. i think i go for MacBook Air:)

[@OfficialDJTazer]

Get a CalDigit TS4 and you’ll have all the ports you’ll ever want.

[@miltonmix1]

​@@OfficialDJTazer Yeah, but for the price of it, you could buy a MacBook Pro instead.

[@ArthArmani]

They don't sell 8Gb ram any more, 16gb is the lowest now for the same price.

[@musclecarsdaily3020]

best buy has a bunch of 8gb ones

[@ArthArmani]

@@musclecarsdaily3020 yes but Apple don't.

[@DanRustle]

Wrong. Apple sells refurbished airs worn 8gb AND retail still sells the 8gb models to clear out inventory. The only reason why Apple did 16 for the new models is bc of apple Intelligence. Otherwise the air will still be 8gb. Apple intelligence is a ram hog if they had to make the new airs 16gb

[@layniez2801]

Not true.

[@Amor_Fati_]

@@musclecarsdaily3020 Don't buy the 8GB.

[@gurdasrandhawa]

My guy forgot halfway through… that he was reviewing m3 MacBook air … not macbook and macOS in general 💁🏽💁🏽😂😂

[@scaylar7246]

😂😂😂

[@lawnside82]

All these fan boy reviews are exactly the same.. like an advertisement and not a review..😂

[@freetobelee]

I picked up a 'refurbished' 15" M3 with 24gb of RAM. When it arrived from Apple it was obviously a brand new unit but the box was just dented 😊

[@whatever-s3e]

you smartr

[@monkeyy_52]

How are you enjoying it?

[@jacobgrisson2695]

It was dented out the box? Did you get a replacement from apple?

[@freetobelee]

@@jacobgrisson2695 box was dented

[@freetobelee]

@@monkeyy_52 I'm really impressed. I leave Logic and Photoshop open basically all the time and never had a slow down.

[@PeterWhite-q1k]

Long time, happy subscriber here! Thank you for this review. As an MBA M2 15" 8/256 owner I must disagree with your statement about 8 GB of ram. In choosing ram one **must consider his/her use case**. If I knew I would or could shortly be needing to have 15-20 tabs constantly open I would not buy any computer with 8 gigs of ram. I rarely have more than 3 tabs open and my experience with this after 1 year is awesome with no unwanted issues. I don't want to pay more for what I don't need, does anyone? Bottom line, know your current or near future use case and buy what you need versus "conventional wisdom says..."

[@andyH_England]

The advantage of having an 8GB option is that it becomes accessible for those who cannot afford the higher-spec models, especially since the base model often has significant discounts. I've seen it on sale for as low as $850 in the US. However, it's important to note that while 16GB is clearly better than 8GB, one must be willing to accept that limitation. I purchased a base M2 MacBook Air 15-inch for £800, just two months old, over a year ago. I realize I need to put in extra effort to manage with only 8GB of RAM, but I'm quite satisfied with that trade-off, especially since I saved £600. These laptops are ultrabooks, and for professional users of RAM-intensive applications, it's advisable to avoid laptops without fans and with less than 16GB of RAM.

[@animehuntyt]

Yes I am also using 8/256 I didn't face any issue in m3

[@saiadityadevisetty]

​@@animehuntyt yupp same here

[@makisedrive3637]

well now base is 16gb...

[@pompombuuum3182]

😄😄😄😄

[@epsig1507]

"One of the best things about MacOS is freedom" lol

[@mightylordkuba]

I was the same. But he copares it to IOS on tablet and phone. When I had a mac I remenbered how much effort was to use normal pendrive put videos from mac and then use this videos on TV. As Pendrive need to be ntfs in order to be playable on tv it. I had to download two programs and one was not free and bunch of setting changes. This was the most thing I hated about mac.

[@PlayerSlotAvailable]

Even as someone who isn't necessarily against Apple, and am considering this as my next daily driver since Windows trackpad software sucks... that is such a bullcrap statement. Lack of freedom is the number 1 thing standing in my way of switching to Apple.

[@stanislavlendiel4982]

how long does your battery last from 100-0%?

[@JReybabay]

5:15 what do you mean 8 gb of RAM? I dont see that anywhere

[@wesleymaduro5795]

Apple changed the base models. It now comes in 16gb ram as a base and 8/8 CPU/GPU as base model.

[@kisarunihofmannndosi5327]

I love your eye for detail like the screen save fading into the background. Great review 👌🏽

[@6MonthsLater]

Glad you liked it!

[@memcore1312]

2 ad reads in 2 minutes is insane

[@David-fn6gu]

Can’t watch it, it feels like every opinion is a Segway to a sponsor.

[@SarekGMusic]

My M3 MacBook Air is great for on the go work. It also has served me well as a main home base computer used while docked and with an external monitor, keyboard and mouse set up.. I may upgrade my home base set up, but in terms of on-the-go work, the MacBook Air M3 is an amazing deal. I got mine with 1TB storage for under $2K.

[@l.c.boogie1219]

My brand new mid-night colored 16 GB of Ram 512 GB of Memory 15 inch M3 Macbook Air arrived yesterday and I love it already. It was easy to set up and use. My only gripe is that you have to clean your fingers before using the keyboard, a few of my buttons were shiny already and I had to wipe the keys down after I finished using it for the day. The laptop is very thin and it is very light. I am glad I bought the Macbook Air instead of the Pro.

[@MidnightToker24]

I have an m2 air with 8gb ram. For anyone looking to use a Mac for editing vids or 3d render I highly suggest 16gb minimum. I learned the hard way. The m2 is held back from tons of performance due to low ram.

[@SukatoaOfficial]

Increase the swap file into 16gb.

[@lambertj.2892]

My M2 Air with 8gb runs flawlessly. It's fast and programs load instantly. It all depends on what your use scenario is.

[@jeysmoothies]

3:24 how is it 28 hours for both 13 and 15 inch…

[@COR0NAD0]

M3 Air Vs M4 Pro base? Of course with the already included 16g.

[@newfnshow031]

PSA not everyone buying a Mac owns an iPhone. I like to keep my things separated

[@Kivancli79]

Will the next MacBook Air (M4) have an oled display, or the MacBook Pro for that matter, like they went with an oled display on the new iPad Pro's 🤔

[@peterbustin2683]

Ive had my new M3 MacBook Air for about two months, now, and I love it. I had the previous MBA with the M2 chip (and only 8GB ram and 512 SSD). With this new one, I specced it carefully, and got 24GB ram, 1TB ssd. Its extraordinary! It looks fantastic in space black - it looks like a premium article as it should do at just over £2k. Its buttery smooth and quick. I feel that the new M3 chip can at last be fully utilized - no point in getting less and knee-capping that nice new processor !

[@Mr.C0ffee]

Thermals?

[@evelynn6832]

Hello, I'm an ESL Teacher, can I use this device to teach and use VOOV MEETING, and such? Is the camera good?

[@paulgrimshaw6301]

The base model is good value especially as it now has 16GB RAM as standard. But if you want a little extra, say a larger screen and 512GB storage, then I think the base MacBook Pro quickly becomes a better option. So for example the 15" Air with 512GB is only £100 less than the base MacBook Pro, but with the latter you get a much better screen, support for 2 external displays instead of 1, better audio, built-in HDMI and SDXC ports, an extra Thunderbolt port, 33% more battery life for video streaming, faster charging, active cooling, and of course now the M4 processor.

[@venkateshyr8844]

Iam also thinking same i am thinking to get m4 16 gb ram 10 cr cpu and 10 gpu with apple care my question is can i go for m4 pro or m4 base model ?

[@Niasyy]

@@venkateshyr8844 it depends on your usages.

[@gorofujita5767]

00:50 Is it my impression or are the letter and number keys slightly concave, while the function row keys are absolutely straight? Numerous videos do give off this impression, and I haven't had the opportunity to confirm this at an Apple Store... Can someone clarify?

[@6MonthsLater]

Pretty sure they have a slight curve to them. - Josh

[@Pandabubba9]

I like how Touch ID is on the M3 MacBook But we didn’t get it on that camera sensor for the iPhone 16

[@jkatz44]

Hey all, I'm in the market to upgrade from my early 2015 13 inch macbook pro i5 8g RAM, 256 storage. I tend to take care of my computer and really don't like change/re-upgrading frequently that much lol (still works fine, just speakers are blown and getting a bit slow, limited storage left etc). I don't really do any video or photo editing nor gaming; most of my work involves basic laptop stuff (email, youtube, surfing websites, netflix, video conferences), medical stuff (electronic medical records/patient charts) which does involve using secure browsing software etc, research papers/citation mangers (often includes lots of tabs open and split screen needs). I currently tend to bring my laptop to work/travel with me a lot but haven't noticed the weight of my old macbook pro at all (I'm also a larger individual). While at home I usually use an external mouse and one single external monitor. I think I am between Macbook pro 14in M4 (16 ram, 512 SSD) and the 15 in M3 Air with 16 ram/512 SSD (but also open to other suggestions/comparisons). Obviously I would like the best deal out there but money/saving a few bucks is not my top priority. I keep hearing that I likely don't need the pro and the air would suffice but I also can't ignore the seemingly minimal price point difference, better display/speakers and more ports of the macbook pro. Any insight? Thx much!

[@niko-l-]

I have pro m1 with 8gb. 8gb is not enough. I constantly see a warning dialog when try to open multiple development tools and browser.

[@belowfactual]

just curious to know, should i buy a M2 oe M3 chip, I am a student looking for a long last laptop. Ive done some research like how its battery life is amazing, its powerful nd its reliable. I have heard that the 8 gb is to small and I'm afraid buying the 16 gb might be to expensive. I use my laptop usually everyday for around morning to night. anyone got any suggestions or verisions because I'm leaning toward M3 but after watching and researching I'm unsure

[@kennordsfan1494]

I have an M3 with 16gb of ram and 512gb of storage. For me this build is perfect, M3 allows you to use 2 monitors as M2 only allows one monitor. The battery life for me and my job gets me thru a day on most occasions. If you really push this computer it will need a top up but other than that I think the Mabook Air is almost a perfect computer. Coming from Windows from my previous employer, the MacBook Air si so much better.

[@ninline2000]

I've got a 2014 Macbook Air with 4GB RAM that I upgraded the pathetic 128GB SSD to 2TB for just over $100. Despite being 10 years old the thing still is useful but no longer supported by Apple. I'm shocked at how the battery has held up. It still lasts for 2 hours of use. I'm about to upgrade to the M3 this Black Friday but I'm going to not be happy at losing all that storage. Apple's attitude about charging 4X the cost for SSD storage is the only thing I don't like. 256GB of storage is ridiculous.

[@micheledelmoro5898]

Great review, Subbed! I have bought the same exact MacBook Air 2 weeks ago. I was very worried about the small amount of ram since my windows desktop has 32GB. But all considered it works very very good for me at least. I grew with slow and cheap tech so I got used to never keep more than 3 or 4 tabs open at a time and I always close programs the moment I don't need them and never suffered a slowdown from that. The only big obstacle comes when I use photoshop and Lightroom. Beside the fact that they still work very very good, I get something like 10gb of swap on the ssd and even considering that they should last somewhere in the neighborhood of 1PB of writes, it is still not a great thing to happen. Hopefully the M4 air has at least 12GB.

[@elephant639]

So happy the Air now comes with 16gb of storage at the same price.

[@thevacdude]

I have an M2 13 inch 8GB 256GB in silver, so one model down. And honestly, if you put an M3 beside my M2, I couldn't tell you which is which. I had to get mine replaced through AppleCare, but so far have had no issues with the replacement. 8GB is more than enough for most average people. I can see wanting 16GB, but not needed.

[@SuperYoungpoet]

The m2 & m3 is the same laptop just a fast chip . They both work great you right 8 gigs is more then enough

[@kennordsfan1494]

@@SuperYoungpoetYes you are correct physically yes the computers are the same but M3 gives you 2 monitors support where as M2 can only project one screen. I will disagree 8gb is fine, it isn’t. I have had both and 16gb is so much better, for Microsoft office is so much quicker web browsing as well, if you get the 256gb unit is is more of an issue in regards to performance as well. But with M4 now all Mac’s will be standard with 16gb

[@SuperYoungpoet]

@ It all depends on how you used the computer 8 gigs is not bad if you are using it for what you need . Is not like having a 60 gig iPhone. Some ppl buy the 128 gb and barley any of the spaceuse it some people If you have An KZbin channel it probably won’t be a good fit . Using the computer for what you need . For example people will go out and buy a iPhone with a 128 gigs & 256 gigs and barely use any of the space on the phone is for comfort 16 GB isn’t much on a ps5. If you a heavy gamer you want all space you can find like I said it all depends on how you used the m3

[@mauroezequielporras]

For most people, the base model of the MacBook Air is more than enough. Personally, I never have 25 tabs open - at most, I usually have around 5 tabs up at a time, and I work supervising post-production in film. It handles my workflow just fine.

[@saiadityadevisetty]

Absolutely correct ❤

[@rufert9899]

Is this good for video editing?

[@monkeyy_52]

No, get the m4 pro macbook pro

[@monkeyy_52]

You're going to notice a lot of lag and overheating if you try to do heavier video editing on the m3 air bc lack of ram and no fans

[@starbavk7482]

@@monkeyy_52 are you already tested with macbook air m3?

[@juliocesarospinoarias6009]

1080 video?...Yes. 4K or beyond? NO. 24GB RAM or more?...YES

[@jj-uu3vf]

Should I wait for m4 MacBook Pro or buy m3 MacBook Air 15 16-512 now ?😢😢

[@manrique420]

Buy it now on Black Friday

[@marcusslade9804]

Once again, this video validates why I’ve enjoyed your channel (perspective?) for quite a while now. Great job. My main use is photo-editing, albeit I have a Studio (M1 Ultra) I’ve had for 2 1/2 years now which serves that primary function and it’s still fantastic. However, when I travel I take my old 2018 MacBook Pro with assorted external SSDs. Amazingly, when I bought it, it represented the leading edge in my assortment of gear, leaping ahead of my then late 2015 27” iMac. Now of course, that old MacBook is tired, the battery runs down at a torrid pace and it gets ridiculously hot. While the MacBook Air configuration (with 16gb memoryand at least 1tb of storage) would probably work for me, I think I now just have to wait for these new M4 MacBook Pros which are apparently just round the corner. Hmmm?

[@Aurelisk]

8gb of RAM is more of a phone and tablet standard. Laptops def need 16gb, unless it's a Chromebook, imo.

[@Silver_Joystix]

I just ordered a M3 Air with 24gb of RAM. I don't see the point in spending more on the Pro unless you need it for specific applications. For regular, every day use, the Air is the better choice for 90% of end users.

[@kyletowns5987]

I just bought the m3 air base model and it does everything I need it to do for that's for sure

[@snooja167]

Bhai tumhara macbook every 1% charge mein kitna minutes ka battery backup de raha h????

[@site.x9448]

"2 weeks without charging" - is something I've been looking for 😂

[@efs5030]

I just ordered one. First real Mac. (Have an ancient one). Just need a around the house computer lol should be good with the air

[@javtimestwo]

The midnight color is 🔥 Great job with this video but I do miss the chapters. Just sayin' The MBA is for the casual user. Anybody that is a power user would never think of getting the MBA. Am I right? I'm sure the M3 is a slight upgrade from the M2 and you are right about the standard 8GB of ram. Which is just inexcusable!

[@6MonthsLater]

There should have been chapters. Did they not appear when you watched the video?

[@6MonthsLater]

Sorry about that, fixed it. One of them was super short which apparently causes Google not to pull them from the description. Sorry about that! Glad you enjoyed the video! - Josh

[@Himanshu-en2tm]

Bro is an advertising company at this point.7:42

[@chriscasillas]

Personal experience…8GB of RAM is totally fine. I work in Photoshop and audio editing (along with all the other basic computing stuff) and my base M2 Air has never slowed down once. I’m also a normal person who has 5-6 Safari tabs open at most. If you need more power, feel free to get it. But you might not actually need it.

[@6MonthsLater]

I'm realizing I might be in the minority of people with my 15-20 tabs 😂. Glad its worked out well for you! - Josh

[@BookOfMorman]

​@6MonthsLater Many many users have 20+ tabs. Super normal. 8gbs of ram has been too little for most companies who care about their customers since 2016 but hey, it's apple. Their 8gbs is the same as others 16gbs right? so yea it's fine

[@gankhuutsogtsaikhan5792]

Omg so many sponsored ads. I've even almost forgotten what I've been watching

[@carl9901]

The design is almost as good as the m1. And the sound is almost as good too

[@ChiragR-007]

Thanks

[@jwrarmstrong]

I had a perfectly good 2015 Macbook Air but unfortunately one of the largest corporations in the world decided that this was now obsolete and unsupportable (trade in? "We would be happy to recycle that for you") so I got a new Macbook Air. What a load of crap! The new machine is no longer shaped like an elegant wedge but is now just a dumb block weighing so much I can't believe that Apple has the nerve to use the word 'Air'. Apple is just racing to the bottom now. Tim Cook.

[@alexanderloh2402]

I ordered a MacBookAir M3 16GB 1TB model in March and within 2-3 months the logic board completely failed on me. Extremely light usage as this was a spare computer for me. Computer suddenly could not start up. A logic board replacement was done. Several months later, the speakers started having hazy sound and a clicking sound. Apple diagnosed this as a hardware issue (no fault of mine). I asked for a replacement unit since this appeared to be a lemon unit. “Senior Advisors” started quoting the Service Agreement to me and informed me that there was no consumer law protection in Singapore. Good to know Apple has such stellar customer service.

[@joshuanesbit]

thinking of moving to this from my very slow and awful battery 2020 intel 13 inch pro

[@mentalisme]

I kinda don't care about whether the macbook air works well, I wanna see a video of someone who removed the operating system and put in some crazy linux distro that looks like an airplane or actually soldered wings on the mackbook air to fly in the air like a plane without even turning it on.

[@mentalisme]

But maybe the video is useful for someone who's possessed by apple and needs it like heroin. So it gets my like for giving someone out there a "fix".

[@sp1863]

Apple refreshed the air 16gb ram is now standard

[@David-fn6gu]

Really informative man but everything seems to be sponsored… takes away credibility

[@throwuout87]

I got a dbrand skin, in black looks like i have a black MBA

[@newfnshow031]

after tax this would cost me 1300... that's a lot imo especially for an LCD screen

[@Blodium7]

Apple doesn’t even have 8GB ram option for the new M3 🧐

[@6MonthsLater]

Since we released this video, when the new M4 MacBook Pros came out, they also updated the M3 MacBook Air line and bumped it up to 16 GB default.

[@swapnilpawar6890]

Will in 2025 macbook air m3 will come with free airpods with student discount in June as macbook air m4 is launching Love from India🙂​@@6MonthsLater

[@lslurpeek]

Now 16 gb is the default and they didnt charge more

[@newfnshow031]

MacBook pro is insanely heavy in addition to being hella expensive

[@TechPreethi-y4r]

good video bruh

[@ThatDevilCookie]

You can’t have your iPhone on Mac in Europe

[@Jordan1000]

This guy is stunning

[@ritwiksahoo536]

Good video; just wanted to mention that you can disable distracting notifications in iPhone mirroring settings OR better, don’t need to use the feature at all. This can’t be brought up as a reasonable downside of macOS neither to compare with a 699 dollar e-reader which has like probably 10% of capabilities.

[@Dinkalinsky]

For me a MacBook with 8gigs of ram is unusable because I’m a power user

[@peterechimi7646]

It’s just an ad

[@bwadley74656]

8GB is perfectly fine for most people, especially if you use it as a secondary portable Mac like I do. My MBP has 36GB and for day to day tasks there isn't a lot in it.

[@amineneo9831]

"Two weeks without charging it ??!"

[@abelluciano]

Now come with 16GB of RAM!

[@MichaelAnderson-l3k]

Purchased one with only 8gb? Seriously?

[@6MonthsLater]

I wanted to test it out and see how it'd perform.I already have a desktop Mac, so I just really needed something on-the-go but didn't need it to do heavy workloads like video edits and exports etc etc. - Josh

[@SuperYoungpoet]

8dB is more than enough . People Wouldn’t push a car with a small engine to great limits so why open up 25 windows on an 8 gb and try to run them all at the same time ? 😂😂😂😂

[@sotonin]

Why are you whining about optional features like using phone stuff on the mac? Just dont enable that garbage.

[@spiritualfitllc3982]

Wait, did i hear that clearly, not good for video editing? 😮😮😮😮😮

[@obiahman]

Lost my interest at clean my mac

[@logdoor3546]

first 1:15 pm

[@nick6990]

Get a life

[@bthediff]

Time to upgrade - M4 Air coming soon 😂

[@bennieng6552]

nope, gotta wait till march 2025

[@lambertj.2892]

No Air till next year.

[@andyH_England]

Distractions are a first-world problem. You can easily use Focus mode when you do not want to be disturbed. I'm sorry, but that sounds like being negative for the sake of it. The 8 GB option is an option, and it means that people who could not afford the 16GB model have a chance of buying a premium MB Air. Why people complain about this is extraordinary, as you still have the option for 16GB or 24GB. And, if there was a base of 16GB, then the price would remain as it is now for 16GB, pricing people like me out of the market. We see that the price is now much higher with new premium Intel machines than when they had 8GB options. So I'm afraid I have to disagree with that; though I believe the MB Pro 14 base should start with 16GB at the current price, I understand why Apple did that, as it will no doubt damage sales of the MB Pro 14 (M-Pro) variant as people choose to save c.$300. 500 nits is fine. Many Windows laptops have lower, and if you live in a region with bright sunlight and have a habit of sitting in direct sunlight, then you probably need to buy a laptop for that use case. But good luck with battery life, as brightness is a major draw on SOT. As with everything in life, common sense is the way to go. You should know what you need and buy accordingly. So don't buy 8GB if you are a pro-editor; you know it will be worse. Don't buy a fanless device if you use intensive workflows; don't buy 500-nit devices if you work in direct sunlight! If you buy the wrong config, you have only yourself to blame, so stop blaming OEMs and do your homework.

[@lslurpeek]

They just announced 16 GB is the default now and didn't realize the price.

[@SneakyJoeRu]

Hardware is nice, OS is garbage. Luckilly Asahi comes to aid.

[@andymartinez1426]

Keyboard review 😂 lol they all the same . 😅

[@ArthropodSpidey]

You lost all credibility with me when you downplayed the speakers and compared them to the Surface speakers. I think you needed 6 more months to think about what to say in this review.