Apple launches new MacBook Air with faster M3 chip

New computer could be the first of a run of Apple announcements – which might also include tablets and more

(Apple)

Apple has launched a new MacBook Air, with a new chip inside.

The laptop takes the same basic design of Apple’s smallest and cheapest computer, but gives it the M3 chip that was first launched late last year.

In addition to that improved chip, the new computer has better WiFi, new microphone features and better voice clarity on calls, Apple said. It will now also support two displays when the lid is closed, rather than one.

Otherwise everything else stays the same, including its $1,099 starting price and the four colours it has always been offered in, though the “midnight” version now comes with a special coating that will pick up fewer fingerprints. Like the previous model, Apple will also offer the MacBook Air in 13- and 15-inch display versions.

Some countries will see the price reduced, however. In the UK, the new laptop will start at £1,099, compared with £1,149 for the previous model.

The previous 15-inch MacBook Air at its release event, last summer (Getty Images)

The new laptop is up to 60 per cent faster than the predecessor that came with Apple’s M1 chip, it said . Just as it did when it first launched the chip, it only compared the MacBook Air’s performance with the M1 chip of two generations ago, rather than the more recent M2, presumably on the assumption that more people will be upgrading from those older computers.

Apple will still sell an M2 version of the MacBook Air at the 13-inch display size. That will cost $999 or £999.

The introduction of that cheaper model means that Apple is discontinuing the M1 MacBook Air, which had been on sale until today. That was first released in 2020 – and still used the old design, which was first unveiled in 2018.

In its announcement, Apple said that the new MacBook Air is the “world’s best consumer laptop for AI”, pointing to the devoted hardware int he new chip. After a slow start in the recent wave of artificial intelligence, Apple has been planning a range of new features for its new operating systems, which are expected to start arriving from this summer.

Apple chief executive Tim Cook with last year’s, then-new MacBook Pro 15-inch (Getty Images)

The new MacBook Air could be the first of a run of new announcements in the coming days. Apple has been rumoured to have been planning a spring launch event – but recent reports suggested that it would instead reveal the products through updates to its website.

That run of launches might also include updated iPads, rumours have suggested. Apple did not update any of its iPads last year – and is expected to be planning a major set of upgrades early this year.

The new computer was launched about a couple of hours after the European Union announced a $2 billion fine on Apple. It said that it had “abused” its dominance of the iPhone to stop users from learning about rival streaming services such as Spotify.