All posts tagged: MacBook Air 15"

New MacBook Air Models With M4 Chip Expected to Launch ‘Earlier’ Than iPhone SE 4 and iPad 11

New MacBook Air Models With M4 Chip Expected to Launch ‘Earlier’ Than iPhone SE 4 and iPad 11

Published by skeptic

Apple is rumored to have many product announcements planned for the first half of next year, including updated MacBook Air models, an iPad 11, an iPhone SE 4, the AirTag 2, updated iPad Air models, and potentially more. In a social media post today, Bloomberg‘s Mark Gurman reiterated that the iPad 11, iPhone SE 4, and updated iPad Air models will be coming in the “spring” next year. Notably, he said the updated 13-inch and 15-inch MacBook Air models with the M4 chip will be announced “earlier” than those other devices, but he did not provide a specific timeframe. This likely means that the updated MacBook Air models will be announced in a press release on the Apple Newsroom website at some point from January through March, whereas the other devices might be announced at Apple’s usual spring event in March or April. Apple would be getting the minor MacBook Air update out of the way early. Apple earlier this month released macOS 15.2, and in doing so it accidentally confirmed new MacBook Air models …

Apple’s 2025 M4 MacBook Air: What to Expect

Apple’s 2025 M4 MacBook Air: What to Expect

Published by skeptic

Apple is working to introduce a new fourth-generation Apple silicon chip across the Mac lineup, and while the first M4 Macs are coming in 2024, the MacBook Air won’t get updated until 2025. This guide highlights everything that we know about the next-generation ‌MacBook Air‌ so far. M4 Chips The 13-inch and 15-inch ‌MacBook Air‌ models were just updated with M3 chips in March 2024, so it’s no surprise that they’re not going to be the first devices to get the M4 chip. Apple plans to wait until 2025, so there will be about a year between the M3 and M4 chip lineups. Rumors suggest that the M4 chip will have a focus on artificial intelligence to support AI features that are coming with the next round of software updates. Most AI talk has been about iOS 18, but Apple is expected to roll out AI integrations across its platforms. The M4 chip is expected to have a Neural Engine with more cores, with the Neural Engine handling AI and machine learning tasks. The M3 …

Macs to Get AI-Focused M4 Chips Starting in Late 2024

Macs to Get AI-Focused M4 Chips Starting in Late 2024

Published by skeptic

Apple will begin updating its Mac lineup with M4 chips in late 2024, according to Bloomberg‘s Mark Gurman. The M4 chip will be focused on improving performance for artificial intelligence capabilities. Last year, Apple introduced the M3, M3 Pro, and M3 Max chips all at once in October, so it’s possible we could see the M4 lineup come during the same time frame. Gurman says that the entire Mac lineup is slated to get the M4 across late 2024 and early 2025. The iMac, low-end 14-inch MacBook Pro, high-end 14-inch MacBook Pro, 16-inch MacBook Pro, and Mac mini machines will be updated with M4 chips first, followed by the 13-inch and 15-inch MacBook Air models in spring 2025, the Mac Studio in mid-2025, and the Mac Pro later in 2025. Apple is said to be nearing production of the M4 processor, and it is expected to come in at least three main varieties. Chips are codenamed Donan for the low-end, Brava for the mid-tier, and Hidra for the top-end. The Donan chip will be used …

Review: Two Weeks With the M3 MacBook Air

Review: Two Weeks With the M3 MacBook Air

Published by skeptic

The latest 13-inch and 15-inch MacBook Air models have been available for two weeks now, and MacRumors videographer Dan Barbera has been using the 15-inch version since it launched. Over on our YouTube channel, Dan shared a review now that he’s been able to spend some quality time with the machine. The M3 ‌MacBook Air‌ is a perfect all-around laptop, and the Air models are what we recommend for most people. In fact, the M3 ‌MacBook Air‌ is more machine than the average consumer likely even needs. For web browsing, sending emails, and other simple tasks, a more affordable M1 ‌MacBook Air‌ or M2 ‌MacBook Air‌ is more than enough, and the M1 MacBook Air is even available at a super low $650 price right now. For photo editing, video editing, and tasks that require a little more power, even the base model M3 ‌MacBook Air‌ with 8GB Unified Memory is more than enough for many people. Upgrading the memory will give you a bit more leeway in terms of future proofing, and adding more …

M3 MacBook Air Teardown Shows Apple Fixed Base Model’s Biggest Flaw

M3 MacBook Air Teardown Shows Apple Fixed Base Model’s Biggest Flaw

Published by skeptic

The repair website iFixit today shared a video teardown of the base model 13-inch MacBook Air with the M3 chip and 256GB of storage, and it shows that this configuration is equipped with two 128GB flash storage chips. This change results in significantly faster SSD speeds compared to the equivalent MacBook Air with the M2 chip, which has a single 256GB storage chip, as the SSD can read and write from the two chips simultaneously. YouTube channel Max Tech ran Blackmagic’s Disk Speed Test tool with a 5GB file size test on both the M2 and M3 models of the 13-inch MacBook Air with 256GB of storage and 8GB of RAM, and they found the SSD in the M3 model achieved up to 33% faster write speeds and up to 82% faster read speeds compared to the SSD in the M2 model. Apple’s decision to switch to a single 256GB chip for the base model M2 MacBook Air was controversial, even though the slower SSD speeds are unlikely to be noticed by the average user …

Video Comparison: M3 MacBook Air vs. M3 MacBook Pro

Video Comparison: M3 MacBook Air vs. M3 MacBook Pro

Published by skeptic

With the refresh of the MacBook Air models in March, Apple now has M3 versions of the 13-inch ‌MacBook Air‌, 14-inch MacBook Pro, and 15-inch ‌MacBook Air‌, all with the same chip inside. For those trying to decide between the MacBook Pro and the ‌MacBook Air‌, we did a comparison video to highlight what you’re getting with each machine. While the ‌MacBook Air‌ and the 14-inch MacBook Pro have the same M3 chip, there is a difference with the low-end ‌MacBook Air‌. At the entry-level $1,099 price, the 13-inch ‌MacBook Air‌ has an 8-core CPU and 8-core GPU. The more expensive $1,299 13-inch ‌MacBook Air‌ has an 8-core CPU and upgraded 10-core GPU, with all 15-inch ‌MacBook Air‌ and 14-inch MacBook Pro models also starting with the upgraded 10-core GPU. So you can get a ‌MacBook Air‌ for as little as $1,099, but at that price point, the GPU is downgraded. That won’t matter for general day-to-day use, but it’s something to keep in mind. The 15-inch ‌MacBook Air‌ is priced starting at $1,299, and …

Is 8GB of RAM Enough for a Mac in 2024?

Is 8GB of RAM Enough for a Mac in 2024?

Published by skeptic

The debate over whether 8GB of RAM is sufficient for a Mac has long been a topic of contention. The controversy goes back to at least 2012, when Apple launched the first MacBook Pro with Retina display, which started with 8GB of RAM. Apple still offers 8GB as the base configuration for its 14-inch MacBook Pro, not to mention its M3 iMac and the latest MacBook Air models. Coupled with the significant cost of upgrading to higher memory options, Apple’s decision has once again sparked discussions about the adequacy and value of this configuration. Of course, Macs have changed a lot over the last decade. For one, Apple no longer relies on Intel processors to power its machines, having developed its own Apple silicon, which is faster and more power efficient. This is because Apple’s custom chips use “system-on-a-chip” (SoC) architecture, which integrates several processing cores (CPUs), graphics cores (GPUs), cache memory, and several other components within a single physical package. Apple’s M-series of chips also use something called “unified memory,” which sits alongside the …

Base Model M3 MacBook Air Has Faster SSD Speeds After Controversy With Previous Model

Base Model M3 MacBook Air Has Faster SSD Speeds After Controversy With Previous Model

Published by skeptic

The base model 13-inch MacBook Air with the M3 chip, 256GB of storage, and 8GB of RAM has significantly faster SSD speeds compared to the equivalent model with the M2 chip, according to benchmark results shared today by YouTube channel Max Tech. Max Tech’s teardown video confirms that Apple has returned to using two 128GB storage chips for the new 13-inch MacBook Air with 256GB of storage, compared to a single 256GB chip in the equivalent model with the M2 chip. This change results in faster SSD read and write speeds in tests, as the two chips can process requests in parallel. Max Tech ran Blackmagic’s Disk Speed Test tool with a 5GB file size test on both the M2 and M3 models of the 13-inch MacBook Air with 256GB of storage and 8GB of RAM, and they found the SSD in the M3 model achieved up to 33% faster write speeds and up to 82% faster read speeds compared to the SSD in the M2 model. The change very likely extends to the base …

Hands-On With the 2024 M3 MacBook Air

Hands-On With the 2024 M3 MacBook Air

Published by skeptic

Apple’s M3 MacBook Air models are in stores as of today, so we picked one up to test it out, see what’s new, answer reader questions, and determine whether it’s worth buying or upgrading to. The ‌MacBook Air‌ is available in 13.6-inch and 15.3-inch sizes, just like the prior-generation versions. Apple did not introduce notable design changes this time around, so most of what’s new is on the inside. An M3 chip is the main upgrade, and this is the same chip that Apple already used in the 14-inch MacBook Pro. When we benchmarked our test unit with an 8-core GPU and 10-core GPU, we got a Geekbench single-core score of 3106 and a multi-core score of 11690. For comparison’s sake, the M1 ‌MacBook Air‌ scored 2335/8314 and the M2 ‌MacBook Air‌ scored 2595/9745, so that’s a decent boost in CPU performance. Compared to the ‌M1‌, single-core M3 performance is up 28 percent, and multi-core performance is up 34 percent. Compared to the ‌M2‌, both the single-core and multi-core CPU tests came in at 18 …

M3 MacBook Air Models Now Available for Same-Day Pickup

M3 MacBook Air Models Now Available for Same-Day Pickup

Published by skeptic

Starting today, Apple’s refreshed MacBook Air models with M3 chips are available for same-day or next-day pickup at Apple Stores, with no pre-order required. Online orders are also beginning to arrive to customers today. Customers across the United States, Canada, Europe, Asia, and other regions can now place an order on Apple’s website or in the Apple Store app and arrange for in-store pickup at a local retail location. To order a product with ‌Apple Store‌ pickup, add the product to your bag on Apple.com, proceed to checkout, select the “I’ll pick it up” option, enter your ZIP code, choose an available ‌Apple Store‌ location, and select a pickup date. Payment is completed online, and a valid government-issued photo ID and the order number may be required upon pickup. In addition to the M3 chip, the new 13-inch and 15-inch ‌‌MacBook Air‌ models‌ offer Wi-Fi 6E, Voice Isolation and Wide Spectrum microphone modes, enhanced voice clarity in audio and video calls, and a more fingerprint-resistant finish with the Midnight color option. They also now support …