When Apple announced the MacBook Air M3 without the fanfare of a press event, it appeared to be a modest update, simply introducing the power of a new chipset to an already refined line of ultrabooks.
But there appears to be an update that Apple didn’t mention that should be of particular interest to those evaluating the base 256GB models of the M2 and M3 Air.
In short, Apple has significantly improved SSD speeds on the 256GB model. This isn’t something to consider for those looking for tiers with more storage, but it’s a great reason to consider a 256GB M3 Air instead of a now downsized M2 model with the same storage.
As we explained last year, the problem with the cheaper M2 MacBook Air model is that it uses a single 256GB storage chip. This not only made it slower than higher-capacity models, but also the MacBook Air M1, which split the same 256GB capacity into two 128GB storage chips.
With the MacBook Air M3, we apparently reach maximum speed again. He Max Tech YouTube Channel conducted a teardown of the new laptop and revealed that once again, the 256GB MacBook Air M3 contains two 128GB NAND chips that can perform tasks at the same time, allowing for significantly faster data transfer speeds.
How much faster? The video shows the new M3 MacBook Air reaching write speeds of 2,108 MB/s, an increase of approximately 33% over the M2 model’s 1,584 MB/s. It’s even more marked by the read speeds, which nearly doubled from 1,576 MB/s on the M2 to 2,880 MB/s on the M3.
These speeds are pretty close to the 256GB M1 MacBook Air, which achieved write speeds of 2,221 MB/s and read speeds of 2,910 MB/s. Slower, yes, but only really noticeable in benchmarking software, and crucially overshadowed by the M3 processor’s huge improvements over the M1.
We’ll have a full review of the new M3 MacBook Air laptops very soon, but right now you can read our hands-on impressions of the 13- and 15-inch models. In short, it feels like another home run from Apple, with very little to complain about.
“The M3 chip offers very powerful performance combined with super-long battery life, an excellent display, and a lightweight, rugged design,” concludes our Global Editor-in-Chief, Mark Spoonauer, in his hands-on review of the 15-inch M3. MacBook Air. “Competitive Windows laptops with Intel Core Ultra 7 processors offer a little more raw processing power, but they’re not in the same league as the 15-inch Air for endurance.”
