Macbook Air M3 Review
Last September I purchased a Macbook Air M3, to replace my incredibly old 2013 Intel i5 MacBook Pro. It had been a trusted companion, but it was time to put it out to pasture. On top of that, I’d started to feel the desire to code and make fun silly projects (ED. which eventually lead to building thoughtstream.me & geo.harrywinser.com ). So, after some prompting from my partner, I decided to pull the lever and buy a second hand one.
I should also disclose that I work on a MacBook Pro 2019 (it sucks), and have worked with MacOS for years. MacOS is something I’ve very familiar with. If you’re looking for “Should i jump from Windows”, you won’t get that opinion in this piece.
What did i buy?
So, I bought my laptop from CEX (which is a second hand online platform here in the UK). It’s the 2024 M3 Air, with 16GB of RAM and 500Gb disk. All of this is a big step up from my old i3 Macbook which had 8GB, i3, and 120Gb disk.
What I like
Lets dive into what I liked; the hardware. Pretty well known with Apple; they make good stuff. This is no exception. The keyboard is lovely with the right amount of travel. The form factor and weight is just prefect; feels sturdy without feeling heavy. If i could design the perfect form factor for a laptop, I think this would be it (or damn well close enough to).
It’s more squared design compared to the old wedge shape of old, which does make it feel bigger. It’s probably closer to the MacBook Pro 2019 in size. But it’s much lighter, and I’ve carried it around all day in a bag on my shoulder without noticing.
This new Air doesn’t have any fans. This sounds like a cool brag, but I have my worries. I made my purchase in September, which traditionally isn’t the hottest month, so I’ve yet to test how well the lack of fans will pan out. I can say however that my work provided 2019 MacBook Pro does become horridly hot during the summer (or a warm office), and the keyboard becomes near unusable. I previously had no knowledge of “sweaty wrists”, of which I’m now very familiar. So until I’ve used the Air during the heat of summer, I can’t give the fanless aspect a free pass. Nor do I know how it’ll hold up in 3 years time when standard software is more demanding.
One final item; they’ve gotten rid of the touch bar. What a piece of junk that was, and I’m glad it’s gone.
There’s nothing like a good
blasteresc key by your side.
What I don’t like
From a hardware perspective, the black feet that sit on the underside just look a bit naff. They’re sturdy, and I don’t expect them to fall off anytime soon. But compared to how pretty everything else is, they don’t really fit in.
As for the notch at the top of the screen; eh. I would prefer it without, but i does “disappear” from your sight pretty soon.
MacOS
MacOS, sits within the “Don’t Like” category. I’ve used MacOS for years. In fact, it supplanted Windows for me in around 2018. However, it’s got some weird design decisions. Here’s a short list of what I dislike:
- Window management is confusing and broken - it still doesn’t really work
- The “Settings” are a confusing mess. For example:
- Setting your account image, needing to both set your local and iCloud account separately
- There’s now a long bar of options down the side, that is far too overwhelming. Why is Desktop separate from Wallpaper?
- Some UI/UX aspects feel around 15 years old
Round up
Lets get to the point; if you’re on the fence - it’s a hard yes from me. This is an excellent machine, and one I’ve gotten constant joy out of from the last few months.
As for if you should get the 13’ or the 15’ - that I can’t answer. I can say that the 13’ to me is the right form factor to power ratio that just works for me. I can huck it into a bag, and know that I’ve got all the processing power, screen space, and battery I need.
To sum up; I’m incredibly glad of my purchase so far. I’ll probably write another post in a few years outline how well it’s aged, but I’m hoping it’ll be good.