M3 vs M2 vs M1 MacBook Air: Which One is Right for You?
M3 vs M2 vs M1: Which MacBook Air Should You Buy?
Which MacBook Air should you buy? At first, it might seem obvious to choose the M3 MacBook Air. But it’s not that simple. Finding the best MacBook Air for you can be tricky. I’ve thoroughly tested the M1, M2, and M3 models, from running benchmarks to draining the battery. My testing results are here to guide your decision. Let’s jump into the M3 vs M2 vs M1 ultimate showdown!
COMPARISON OVERVIEW
#1: Design
#2: Display and Speaker
#3: Battery Life
#4: SSD Speed Test
#5: M3 vs M2 vs M1 Chips
#6: CPU
#7: Geekbench 6 CPU
#8: Cinebench 2024 CPU
#9: GPU
#10: Geekbench 6 Metal
#11: Cinebench 2024 GPU
#12: Gaming
#13: Xcode
#14: Logic Pro
#15: Web Browsing
#16: Blender 3D Rendering
#17: Photo Editing
#18: HandBrake
#19: Video Editing
#20: Price
#21: FAQ
#22: Which MacBook Air Should You Buy?M3 vs M2 vs M1: Design
I’ll start with the design. You won’t notice many differences among these three generations of MacBook Airs. The M1 Air seems a bit dated since it’s four years old, but it’s still a well-made MacBook with sturdy build quality. On the other hand, the M2 and M3 Airs look quite similar — like telling twins apart just by looking at them.
The M1 MacBook Air has a classic tapered design. Apple switched to a more squared-off look for the newer MacBook Airs. That’s what makes the M2 and M3 thinner and lighter. Additionally, they come with a MagSafe port. This gives you two Thunderbolt Type-C ports. You can use them for transferring data or connecting an external monitor.
The new M3 Air finally lets you connect two external displays. In comparison, the M1 and M2 models can only add a single external monitor.
Strangely enough, it only works when the Mac is in clamshell mode. But if you really need to connect multiple monitors to your MacBook Air, you can finally do it with the new M3.
Display and Speaker
Display technology has advanced quickly in some areas, but it’s been slower in others. While Apple hasn’t embraced OLED in its MacBooks yet, you still have two options to choose from.
The M1 MacBook Air features a Retina display with 400 nits of brightness. It’s a standard IPS panel, measuring 13.3 inches diagonally, with a resolution of 2560 by 1600 pixels.
Both M3 and M2 boast a beautiful Liquid Retina display, available in 13.6 or 15.3 inches. The brightness is up to 500 nits and supports 1 billion colors. That makes these displays 25% brighter than the M1.
The M2 and M3 MacBook Airs are far ahead in terms of cameras. Both use a 1080p camera, unlike the M1’s 720p sensor. The result is vastly superior image quality, with better details and less noise.
In addition, the M3 goes one step further with improved audio capture. The M3 features exclusive voice isolation and wide-spectrum microphone modes.
The speakers on the newer MacBook Air models sound noticeably better than those on the M1 Air. They offer improved details, clarity, and loudness. The 15-inch M3 is equipped with a six-speaker sound system with force-cancelling woofers. It provides even better audio quality.
I don’t need to tell you how great the keyboard and trackpad are on these MacBooks. In my opinion, MacBooks offer the best keyboard and trackpad experience you can find on a laptop.
M3 vs M2 vs M1: Battery Life
The M1 has a built-in 49.9-watt-hour battery, while both the M2 and M3 feature a 52.6-watt-hour battery. However, all models can last up to 18 hours of Apple TV app movie playback and 15 hours of wireless web browsing.
As for battery testing, I’ve been surfing the web non-stop with the screen brightness set to 150 nits. I found that the M3 MacBook Air lasted 15 hours in total. The M2 MacBook Air lasted 14 hours, while the M1 came in last with 13 hours. The M1 and M2, both behind the M3, are two hours and a full hour, respectively.
Even so, the results are still impressive compared to Windows laptops. The M3 MacBook Air, with a battery life of 15 hours and 5 minutes, redefines all-day battery life.
The M3’s efficient performance helps meet Apple’s high standards for energy efficiency. It also helps the M3 MacBook Air achieve the longest battery life, up to 18 hours. This minimizes the need to plug it in and the amount of power consumed over its lifetime.
SSD Speed Test
I’m going to start with the Blackmagic Disk Speed Test. The M3 MacBook Air had a read speed of 2735 MB/s and a write speed of 1912 MB/s. The M2 was slower, with a read speed of 1153 MB/s and a write speed of 1595 MB/s. But you probably won’t notice this in everyday usage.
Surprisingly, the M1 scored a read speed of 2479 MB/s and a write speed of 2684 MB/s. The M1 and the M3 outperform the M2 because they have more NAND chips.
M3 vs M2 vs M1: Chips
In 2020, Apple built the M1 as the first chip using advanced 5-nanometer technology. It packs 16 billion transistors.
In 2022, Apple introduced the 5-nanometer M2 chip with 20 billion transistors, 25% more than the M1.
Then, in a surprise move, Apple introduced the 3-nanometer M3 chip in 2023. It boasts 25 billion transistors, which is 5 billion more than the M2.
According to Apple, the M3 performance cores are 30% faster than the M1 and 15% faster than the M2. Additionally, the efficiency cores are 50% faster than the M1’s and 30% faster than the M2's.
M3 vs M2 vs M1: CPU
Each MacBook Air model has its own corresponding chip: the M1, M2, and M3. All these chips feature an 8-core CPU with 4 performance cores and 4 efficiency cores. Apple has made significant progress from the M1 to the M3 in CPU performance and efficiency.
Each new chip has a predictable pattern: more transistors, a better manufacturing process. This includes a faster CPU and GPU, as well as a faster and more efficient neural engine.
The M3 chip brings faster performance and more capabilities to the MacBook Air. The M3 eight-core CPU is up to 35% faster than the M1.
Geekbench 6 CPU
The Geekbench 6 CPU Benchmark measures the CPUs’ performance in everyday tasks. It uses tests built to simulate real-world applications. So, Geekbench 6 CPU tests are more aligned with typical MacBook Air user tasks.
The M3 MacBook Air continues to improve on the M2 and M1 in performance. For single-core scores, the M3 (3096) is 19% faster than the M2 (2607) and 30% faster than the M1 (2380).
For multi-core scores, the M3 (12107) is 25% faster than the M2 (9707) and 38% faster than the M1 (8761). The M2, meanwhile, is 10% faster than the M1 in single-core performance and 11% faster in multi-core. As I expected, the M3’s cores perform better than those in the M1 and M2.
The results were in favor of the M3 in both single-core and multi-core runs. During testing, I observed that the M3 CPU generates the most heat compared to the other two. While it’s not a cause for concern, it’s worth mentioning.
Cinebench 2024 CPU
Next, I’ll run the Cinebench 2024 CPU Test. It measures the CPU’s raw processing power, particularly for creative tasks. It tests how efficiently the CPU handles complex 3D rendering tasks.
Once again, the M3 delivers decent improvements over its predecessors. With its single-core score of 140, it is 18% better than M2 and 27% higher than M1.
On the multi-core side, the M3 582 score is a solid 9% better than M2 and 27% better than M1. This is because the M3 runs at a higher clock speed of 4.05 GHz.
Cinebench gives us a clear idea of raw CPU power. But remember that Apple didn’t design MacBook Airs for such demanding tasks. Now that I’m wrapping up the CPU tests, I’ll shift to the GPU.
M3 vs M2 vs M1: GPU
The M3’s next-generation GPU supports hardware-accelerated mesh shading and ray tracing. It provides more accurate lighting, reflections, and shadows for realistic gaming experiences.
Additionally, the M3 GPU can match the M1’s performance while using almost half the power. At its peak, it can achieve up to 65% more performance. Also, the M2 boasts a 35% more powerful GPU than the M1.
So, all three of the MacBook Airs I have are base models with 8 GB of memory and 256 GB of storage. The M1 has a 7-core GPU, while the M2 and M3 both have 8-core GPUs.
Geekbench 6 Metal
The graphical performance has also improved, as shown by Geekbench’s Metal results.
The increase in performance from the M1 (30948) to the M2 (40066) and the M3 (41406) is due to the shift from 7 GPU cores to 8 cores.
If you opt for the 10-core GPU M3, you’ll see even higher graphical performance.
Cinebench 2024 GPU
Next, I pushed the GPUs to their limits with Cinebench 2024. The M3 scores 3312, leading over the M2’s 1722 and the M1’s 1379. The M3 was an astounding 92% and 140% faster than the M2 and M1, respectively.
The M3’s eight-core GPU is more capable than the same eight-core M2 and seven-core M1.
M3 vs M2 vs M1: Gaming Performance
As for gaming, don’t expect much from a MacBook Air. However, lately, Apple has shown more interest in gaming. So, I decided to give it a try and see how well the three MacBooks perform.
The M3’s next-generation GPU supports hardware-accelerated mesh shading and ray tracing. This will optimize gaming experiences with more accurate lighting. Additionally, it enhances reflections and shadows for incredibly realistic visuals.
Shadow of the Tomb Raider
In Shadow of the Tomb Raider at the highest 1080p settings, the M3 achieves 28 fps. This is 12% faster than the M2 (25 fps) and 56% faster than the M1 (18 fps).
GFXBench Aztec Ruins
GFXBench tests the MacBook GPU’s performance. It measures frame rates and rendering quality in demanding 3D graphics environments.
In GFXBench Aztec Ruins (1440p off-screen), the M3 reaches 102 fps, besting the M2 by 13% (90 fps) and the M1 by 42% (72 fps).
3DMark Wild Life Extreme Test
3DMark Wild Life is a benchmarking tool that measures graphics performance. It tests the GPU’s ability to handle demanding 3D graphics. Also, it simulates real-time gaming scenarios.
In 3DMark Wild Life Extreme Mode, the M3 scores 42 fps, making it 24% faster than the M2 (34 fps) and 56% faster than the M1 (27 fps).
Based on these results, we can see Apple’s improvements to the M3 MacBook Air. The gaming experience was okay, but Apple still has a lot of room for improvement in this area.
Xcode
Up next, I’ll test these MacBook Airs on real-world tasks. I’ll start with compiling the Firefox codebase on Xcode 15.
The M3 MacBook Air shows notable improvements over its predecessors in coding. It completes the task in 22 minutes and 45 seconds. That’s 20 seconds as fast as the M2, and almost 4 minutes faster than the M1. This translates into significant time savings for developers when working on large projects.
Logic Pro
My second task involves running Logic Pro. I’ll test how many tracks I can play without triggering the “System overload” window.
In Logic Pro, the played track count goes from 90 for M1 to 96 for M2, and then jumps to 118 tracks for M3. The M3 can play 22 and 28 more tracks, respectively, than the M2 and the M1.
In other words, the M3 lets you use more instruments and effects in your Logic Pro projects without a glitch. Musicians can now rejoice with the M3’s performance cores.
Web Browsing
Next, I’ll test web browser speed using Speedometer 3.0. The M3 completes 37 runs per minute, marking a significant performance leap. That’s 48% faster than the M2 (25 runs per minute) and an impressive 68% faster than the M1 (22 runs per minute). However, even with the M1, most people will find it perfectly adequate for browsing.
M3 vs M2 vs M1: Blender 3D Rendering
Now the M3 supports ray tracing, which helps in gaming and graphical applications. Next, let’s look at Blender 4.0 to see how these machines handle rendering the classroom scene.
The M3 got a big boost in performance, doubling the speed of the M2 and tripling the speed of the M1. Wow, this is an incredible upgrade for 3D design and rendering!
M3 vs M2 vs M1: Photo Editing
In Lightroom Classic, let’s see how these MacBooks handle the export of 100 raw (45 MP) images. This task is demanding, requiring all three: CPU, GPU, and RAM.
The M3 completed the export in just 2 minutes and 40 seconds. Although a slight improvement over M2 (4%), it is only 8.5% faster than M1 (3 minutes and 5 seconds).
I’m surprised the M2 is nearly as fast as the M3; the gap is just 10 seconds. I think the M2 MacBook Air offers the best bang for the buck here.
HandBrake
Next, I’ll convert a 4K video to 1080p with Handbrake. Converting a 6.5GB 4K video to 1080p takes just 6 minutes and 42 seconds on the M3. That’s 1 minute and 20 seconds faster than the M2. Also, it’s a solid 2 minutes and 43 seconds as fast as the M1.
On the M2, I noticed that the top and bottom middle of the keyboard got uncomfortably hot. The M3 excels once more in transcoding 4K video.
M3 vs M2 vs M1: Video Editing
My final task involves exporting a 10-minute 4K video in H.264 format using Final Cut Pro.
The M3 took 6 minutes and 53 seconds to export a 4K video, just 3 seconds faster than the M2 and 4 seconds ahead of the M1. That’s because they share the same video encoder engine.
When it comes to editing regular 4K videos, there’s no variation in export times among them. All three MacBook Airs handle regular 4K editing equally well. For most users, you won’t notice any difference.
After I complete real-world tasks, I’ll move on to the most crucial part: pricing.
M3 vs M2 vs M1: Price
At its release, the 13-inch MacBook Air with the M2 chip cost $1099. This configuration included an 8-core GPU, 8GB of unified memory, and 256GB of storage. But Apple still has the M2 version on sale for a discounted price of $999, keeping the same basic specs.
With Apple no longer selling the M1 MacBook Air online, it seems this popular laptop is being phased out. Now it’s on Amazon for $519, refurbished, and in excellent condition.
The starting price for the 13-inch MacBook Air with the M3 chip is $1,099. This model includes an 8-core GPU, 8GB of unified memory, and 256GB of storage. Upgrading to a 10-core GPU adds an additional $100 to the base cost.
The 15-inch M3 MacBook Air costs $1299 with a 10-core GPU, 8GB of memory, and 256GB of storage. The M2 version, with identical specifications, also costs $1299. But it’s currently unavailable for purchase directly from Apple. Don’t worry, you can buy it renewed from Amazon at a 10% discount.
The default 8GB of memory is expandable to 16GB for an extra $200 or to 24GB for $400, available for both models.
In all models, Apple has four options for storage capacity. Starting at 256GB, you can choose to upgrade to 512GB for $200, 1TB for $400 more, or 2TB for an additional $800.
FAQ: M3 vs M2 vs M1
Is M1 better than M2 and M3?
The M3 chip is Apple’s best yet, with 50% more performance than the M1 and 25% more than the M2. It handles modern, demanding apps well and uses less battery.
Is M3 worth it over M2?
If you want the best performance, the M3 is the way to go. The main difference between the M2 and M3 models is the chip. The M3 excels in performance for AI applications, both in the cloud and on the device.
What is the difference between M1, M2, and M3 apples?
They have the same number of CPU cores, the same base RAM, and the same SSD sizes. The only difference is that the M2 and M3 have an extra GPU core, and you can pay $100 more to upgrade to a 10-core GPU.
Should you pay extra for the additional two GPU cores? If you upgrade the RAM or SSD on either the M2 or M3, you get the 10-core GPU for free. Also, it comes with a more powerful charger featuring an extra USB-C port.
Which is best, a MacBook Air M2 or M3?
The new M3 MacBook Air has better GPU and CPU performance. Additionally, it packs faster Wi-Fi and improved microphones. If your workflow doesn’t include downloading large files, video editing, animation, or AI-intensive work, the M2 MacBook Air should handle daily tasks smoothly.
Is M1 really better than M2?
The Apple Silicon M2 processor is an upgraded version of Apple’s M1 chip. Its cores are slightly more powerful and significantly more efficient than the M1’s. Both processors in the MacBook Air offer an 8-core CPU, with 4 performance cores and 4 efficient cores.
Best Deals Today!
13-inch M3 MacBook Air ➡ (9% Off)
15-inch M3 MacBook Air ➡ (8% Off)
13-inch M2 MacBook Air ➡ (10% Off)
15-inch M2 MacBook Air ➡ (Renewed $849)
M1 MacBook Air ➡ (Renewed $519)
14-inch M3 MacBook Pro ➡ (19% Off)
14-inch M3 Pro MacBook Pro ➡ (15% Off)
16-inch M3 Max MacBook Pro ➡ (14% Off)
Apple Magic Mouse ➡ (14% Off)
Which MacBook Air Should You Buy?
The M3 MacBook Air tops the M2 and M1 in all tests. But the difference with the M2 is often small, so it remains a solid value choice. You can use the savings to upgrade the SSD and RAM, providing excellent value.
I think $899 for the 13-inch M2 MacBook Air is an incredible value. If you can spend a bit more, you can upgrade RAM and storage. Most people buying a MacBook Air are doing regular tasks anyway.
The 13-inch M3 MacBook Air is now at its lowest price of $999, saving you $100. Also, the 15-inch M3 MacBook Air is now as low as $1,199; it saves you $100, so both deals are solid.
