Which MacBook M3 should I buy? Here are your choices

Which MacBook M3 should I buy? Here are your choices

With the release of the MacBook Air 13-inch M3 and MacBook Air 15-inch M3, Apple's latest MacBooks all feature the company's M3 processor. This has made buying the best MacBook simple. All of the current MacBooks are beautiful to look at and have great performance and battery life. They are the best laptops we have tested.

With five different models, the MacBook is perfect for everyone. Now it's just a matter of figuring out which MacBook best suits your needs. To answer this question, we tested all of the M3 MacBooks. Which M3 MacBook best fits your needs?

If you are looking for the most affordable M3 laptop, look no further than the latest 13-inch MacBook Air. This new laptop is not that much different from its predecessor, the 13-inch MacBook Air M2. The ultra-portable design, MagSafe charging, sharp 13.6-inch Retina display, and phenomenal battery life are the same; the M3 chip is just an improvement on what was already one of our favorite laptops.

As you'll see in our review of the MacBook Air 13-inch M3, it also offers faster Wi-Fi 6E connectivity, the ability to operate two external displays simultaneously (with the lid closed), and over 15 hours of battery life. $1,099 The MacBook Air 13-inch is the best overall laptop for most people interested in Apple's M3 notebook. There are more powerful MacBooks, but if you just want a reliable machine for getting work done, watching videos, and doing light editing, this is a great machine at a great price.

If the 13-inch Air looks interesting but you want a bigger screen, check out the MacBook Air 15-inch M3, which is also great. as mentioned in our MacBook Air 15-inch M3 review, this laptop is a 13-inch MacBook Air and the MacBook Pro 14-inch M3, and sits in the sweet spot between the MacBook Air and the MacBook Pro 14-inch M3, offering a larger display than both models and nearly as much power as the entry-level MacBook Pro for less money.

Besides size, the main advantage the 15-inch MacBook Air M3 has over the smaller MacBook Air M3 is its more powerful speakers; while the MacBook Pro's speakers are better, listening to music or podcasts on the 15-inch Air M3 is uncomfortable for the ears At $1,299, it's also a great choice for those new to the Apple ecosystem, and a worthy successor to the MacBook Air 15-inch M2.

And now we step into premium MacBook territory with the MacBook Pro line. The MacBook Pro 14-inch with the entry-level M3 chip is a nice sweet spot between the MacBook Air and the more powerful MacBook Pro, offering the relative affordability of the former and some of the power of the latter.

Why do we recommend this notebook over the Air M3 notebook with the same processor? For starters, you get a more vibrant 120Hz mini-LED display, additional ports like HDMI and SD card slots, and longer battery life. In addition, this MacBook Pro with M3 has a fan, which gives it stronger sustained performance than the new MacBook Air. Sure, it's not cheap at $1,599, but it's still $400 less than the MacBook Pro 14-inch M3 Pro. Speaking of which...

This used to be the entry-level MacBook Pro, but now it's a mid-level model in the Pro line. It is more expensive than the base M3 MacBook Pro, but not as powerful as the entry-level 16-inch MacBook Pro with the more powerful M3 Pro chip. These factors may make it tempting to ignore this model altogether.

Nevertheless, this model is objectively a solid laptop, even at a starting price of $1,999. It features a gorgeous mini-LED display, impressive M3 Pro power (with optional M3 Max), and spectacular battery life. However, the only real reason to get this over its more powerful cousin is its starting price and more portable size.

Last but not least is the massive MacBook Pro 16-inch, arguably the most powerful MacBook available, starting at $2,499 with the M3 Pro chip and $3,499 with the M3 Max processor. The design is nearly identical to its predecessor, the M2 Pro/Max, but with a nice space black finish that makes fingerprints less noticeable (the same feature is available on the Air M3's Midnight finish).

To be fair, this 16-inch MacBook Pro is not for most people; creative professionals working with 8K video will no doubt make great use of the machine's M3 Max chip. With the same processor, this beast of a notebook can also be a powerful gaming rig, even if its gaming support is not yet as solid as the best gaming laptops. Still, if you're not a video editor, don't play video games, or simply use your laptop for writing, you're better off choosing one of the more affordable MacBooks listed above.

I know this article is about the M3 MacBook, but I can't resist briefly describing the MacBook I'm most likely to recommend to you right now, the MacBook Air 13-inch M2.

At $999, it is the cheapest MacBook since Apple discontinued the MacBook Air M1, and while the M2 chip is no longer the most powerful, it is more than capable of handling everyday computing tasks. Not only that, but this humble notebook has the same sleek design as its M3 siblings and excellent battery life that puts most Windows laptops to shame.

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