The Apple M3 chip is Apple’s third-generation custom silicon built on a cutting-edge 3-nanometer process, delivering major improvements in performance and efficiency over its predecessors.
Variants of the chip feature up to 12 CPU cores, up to 18 GPU cores, and support for advanced technologies like hardware-accelerated ray tracing and dynamic caching for graphics, making it especially powerful for creative and professional workloads. Unified memory architecture provides high bandwidth and low latency across the system, enabling seamless multitasking and faster performance in demanding apps.
The M3 is used for Macs ranging from the MacBook Air to the MacBook Pro, where it balances speed with energy efficiency, offering longer battery life while maintaining desktop-class performance in a thin, fanless form factor.
Apple also puts the M3 in the iPad Air, showing the versatility of the processor and the power of iPadOS tablets.
MacBook Pro has long been the centerpiece of ambitious, eye-catching workstations. Whether it’s a sleek M4 Pro model driving a pair of 5K touchscreen displays or a still-going-strong M1 Max powering an audiophile-grade sound system, Apple’s flagship laptop has the chops to anchor setups that would make any pro proud. Here are the Top 15 MacBook Pro setups from Cult of Mac’s archive.
You can be excused if you don’t know off the top of your head how many external monitors your MacBook supports. The number varies by model, processor version, and even whether the laptop is open or closed. Still, there’s a good chance it’s more than you think.
Now that notebooks with the new M4 family of processors are available, here’s an updated guide to how many external screens you can attach to your MacBook.
Some computer setups on social media are like highly functional art, beautifully curated and seemingly permanent, like museum pieces. Others are just weird, wonderful and fleeting. Today’s example is more the latter case, featuring a “spec’d out” M4 Mac mini used with an iPad Air and a tiny touch screen as external displays, plus a Magic Trackpad and a crazy split keyboard.
People questioned the lack of a MacBook, but other commenters rose up in defense of the oddball setup.
Sometimes a computer setup may look basic or boring at a glance — but it still might get the job done quite well and pack some surprisingly cool gear. Today’s featured setup, centered on an M3 MacBook Air with dual monitors, is a good example. It features not only Apple’s great lightweight laptop driving a pair of displays, but some other solid peripherals — like a Harman Kardon Bluetooth speaker I’ve never seen before in a setup featured on Cult of Mac.
And while the user seemed unsure his not-super-cool setup warranted posting on social media, he ended up getting lots of reassurance and good advice for improvements.
★★★★☆
The M3 iPad Air can do it all, as I found while testing Apple’s midrange tablet for this review. At its core, the thin, lightweight device proves perfect for living room reading, watching and browsing. Add the Magic Keyboard and Apple Pencil, and you can get some serious work done. It’s fast, powerful and remarkably capable.
I never previously owned my own personal iPad. I’ve used Windows PCs and Macs since 2002, switching to the Mac full-time in 2012. Between my Mac mini and Vision Pro, I haven’t felt the need for an iPad in my life.
Nonetheless, for this M3 iPad Air review, I went all-in, using the tablet with a Magic Keyboard and Apple Pencil for as much of my work as I could to see if I was missing out. Here’s what I discovered — keep reading or watch our video review.
Early benchmarks for the Mac Studio with the M3 Ultra processor reveal that Apple’s new top-of-the-line chip brings a 30% performance increase over its predecessor.
The speed boost is even more dramatic over the original version of the Mac Studio from 2022.
Sometimes even an advanced user runs into roadblocks getting their computer setup where they want it. Today’s Mac mini and MacBook Air setup, owned by a French software developer, relies on cable swaps to switch between devices on a big external display. But some straightforward Mac functionality and the addition of one piece of hardware could make things much easier.
In a world where people love their Macs for some uses and their PCs for others — especially gaming — a setup KVM switch comes in mighty handy. That’s because it lets you easily switch between Mac and PC using the same peripherals, like keyboard, video (displays) and mouse. That spells K-V-M.
The long wait for an upgraded Mac Studio finally ended. A version with an M4 Max processor and (surprise!) an M3 Ultra chip launched Wednesday.
“The new Mac Studio is the most powerful Mac we’ve ever made,” said John Ternus, Apple’s senior vice president of Hardware Engineering. “A complete game-changer for pros around the world — powering both home and pro studios — Mac Studio sits in a class of its own, offering a staggering amount of performance in a compact, quiet design that fits beautifully on your desk. With this new Mac Studio, we’re delivering even more extreme performance with M4 Max and M3 Ultra, support for half a terabyte of unified memory, up to 16TB of superfast storage, and Thunderbolt 5 connectivity. Mac Studio truly is the ultimate pro desktop.”
Apple’s iPad Air lineup is getting an M3 refresh. The chip upgrade boosts the performance of the latest iPads while promising the same battery life. This enhancement aligns with Apple’s ongoing efforts to integrate advanced technologies, such as Apple Intelligence, into the company’s devices.
“iPad Air is so popular because of its unmatched combination of powerful performance, portability, and support for advanced accessories, all at an affordable price,” said Bob Borchers, Apple’s vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing. If you’re looking for a comparison with Apple’s flagship models, explore this iPad Pro M3 review for more details.
An iPad Air with a speed boost is on the way, according to a report posted Friday by a generally reliable source. The tablet won’t have Apple’s latest processor, though.
And a cheaper alternative, the iPad 11th generation, also could launch soon. If you’re considering an upgrade, take a look at the iPad Pro M3, which brings even more power and features. Check out our M3 iPad Air review for more details. If you’re interested in how Apple’s premium tablets stack up, check out this iPad Pro review for insights into performance and features.
Apple’s 15-inch MacBook Air with M3 chip is on sale for its lowest price just days before Black Friday. The world’s slimmest laptop packs plenty of power, and a lower price tag makes it an even better buy.
If you take advantage of the Amazon deal, you can get the 15-inch MacBook Air with M3 chip, 16GB storage, and 256GB storage for $1,044—a whopping $255 cheaper than its MSRP.
The M4 iMac that Apple launched Monday looks the same as its predecessor but brings some big changes internally. So, how does the M4 iMac compare to the M3 iMac, which arrived less than a year ago? Our M4 iMac versus M3 iMac comparison will show you how the 2024 model ups the ante on performance.
We see more laptop-based computer setups using the machine in clamshell (mode) on a vertical stand than we see setups with open laptops. But they’re both pretty popular options. Today’s M3 MacBook Air sits on a tray attached to the same arm that holds the ultra-wide external display. So they float together above the desk. That monitor arm laptop tray situation wouldn’t work for everyone, but it’s a cool way to add a second display when you need one (and you have an external keyboard so you don’t have to use the laptop’s).
With the fall edition of Amazon Prime Day falling on Tuesday and Wednesday this week, it’s a great time to nab yourself a coveted M3 MacBook Air. Discounts abound on both 15-inch and 13-inch models, with an array of specification choices. See the deal links below. Most of the deals cover all four colors — midnight, silver, space gray and starlight. And don’t miss our full guide to Apple deals for Prime Day.
UPDATE: On Wednesday we updated fluctuations in prices and color availability for various models, below. And though prices on some items fluctuate, Amazon has extended many deals beyond Wednesday.
Need a great new laptop, but don’t want to wait for Apple’s models with M4 chips to come out? (Or maybe you just don’t want to spend that much.) Well, you can’t do much better than a few hundred bucks off M3 MacBook Pro models. Amazon offers some smoking-hot prices on 14- and 16-inch versions with various specifications. Take a look at some bargains below.
You might not be thinking much past a barbecue on Monday. But you should be thinking about nabbing incredible Labor Day deals on M3 MacBook Pro. Both Amazon and Best Buy are pulling out the stops for Labor Day. Savings run up to $500 — or even $1,000 (but that’s only for Best Buy members … so you might want to sign up).
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Apple has finally added dual external display support to the M3 MacBook Pro, nine months after its release. The latest macOS Sonoma 14.6 update enables this feature.
After the update, M3 MacBook Pro users can run two external displays simultaneously, albeit with the lid closed.
In late 2020, the switch to Apple silicon introduced a major leap in the MacBook Air’s performance, efficiency and battery life. Almost four years later, Microsoft’s Surface Laptop lineup is undergoing a similar transition.
The latest Surface Laptop 7 uses Qualcomm’s newest Arm-based Snapdragon chips, which bring a major leap in performance and efficiency. Do these upgrades make the Surface Laptop 7 better than the M3 MacBook Air?
You can now buy a refurbished M3 MacBook Air directly from Apple in the US. The company recently updated its Certified Refurbished store, listing the new Air.
Depending on your desired model, you can save up to $200 on the refurbished M3 MacBook Air.
Mac Studio and Mac Pro models updated with an M3 Ultra processor that we expected to arrive soon reportedly have been canceled. Apparently, professional Mac users shouldn’t look out for new hardware with faster processors at WWDC24 in June. And the wait might actually stretch until next year’s WWDC25.
It seems Apple already moved on from its M3 series processors, so there are no new chips ready to go into these high-end desktops. However, if you’re interested in the M3 MacBook Pro, you can explore how it compares to other Macs in this in-depth Mac Studio vs. Mac Pro comparison.
Right now you can lop up to $250 off the regular prices of M3 Pro or M3 Max MacBook Pro, the latest and greatest Apple laptops. And you can do it at your choice of competing retailers. Amazon, B&H Photo and Best Buy all have the same deals.
A medical school student’s charming dual-display setup adds an M3 MacBook Pro as a third display by keeping it open on a stand. And the three displays form a pleasingly staggered formation, with one in portrait on the left, one in landscape at center and then the laptop’s screen.
If you are in the market for a slim laptop, there are few options better than the 15-inch MacBook Air. But if you look beyond Apple’s ecosystem, there’s the Dell XPS 15. It packs a slim and lightweight design and offers more value for money than the MacBook. So, which 15-inch laptop wins the MacBook Air vs. Dell XPS 15 smackdown?
Find out in this buying guide, which compares the two laptops on their designs, displays, performance, ports, battery lives and prices.
Apple’s upcoming M3 Ultra chip won’t consist of two M3 Max processors merged together, according to information leaking out of Cupertino. The change from its predecessors would free up designers to make the next-gen Apple silicon even more powerful.
It even raises the possibility of an M3 Extreme, a workstation-level processor that would give the Mac Pro a reason to exist. With Apple continuing to push the boundaries of performance, the Apple M3 lineup is expected to redefine computing power—learn more about it in Apple’s unveiling of the M3 Ultra chip.