Apple MacBook Air 13″ (M1) vs Apple MacBook Air 15″ (M3)

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MacBook Air 13″ (M1) compared with MacBook Air 15″ (M3)

	AppleMacBook Air 13″ (M1)	AppleMacBook Air 15″ (M3)
Overview
Released
Released	November 2020	March 2024
Display
Screen size
Screen size	13.3″	15.3″
Resolution
Resolution	2560 × 1600	2880 × 1864 (better)
Panel
Panel	IPS LCD	IPS LCD
Refresh rate
Refresh rate	60 Hz	60 Hz
Brightness
Brightness	400 nits	500 nits (better)
Touchscreen
Touchscreen	No	No
Display type
Display type	Retina display; LED-backlit with IPS technology	Liquid Retina display; LED-backlit with IPS technology
Pixel density
Pixel density	227 ppi	224 ppi
Colour range
Colour range	Wide colour (P3); millions of colours	Wide colour (P3); 1 billion colours
Screen finish
Screen finish	Glossy (Notebookcheck)	–
Display features
Display features	True Tone; 60 Hz refresh rate (Notebookcheck)	True Tone; 60 Hz refresh rate (Notebookcheck)
Performance
Processor
Processor	Apple M1	Apple M3
CPU cores
CPU cores	8	8
Graphics
Graphics	7-core GPU or 8-core GPU	10-core GPU
Memory
Memory	8 GB or 16 GB	8 GB, 16 GB or 24 GB (better)
Storage
Storage	128 GB to 2 TB	256 GB to 2 TB
CPU
CPU	8-core CPU with 4 performance cores and 4 efficiency cores	8-core CPU with 4 performance cores and 4 efficiency cores
GPU
GPU	7-core or 8-core GPU	10-core GPU with hardware-accelerated ray tracing; media engine supports H.264, HEVC, ProRes and ProRes RAW, video and ProRes encode/decode, and AV1 decode
AI engine
AI engine	16-core Neural Engine	16-core Neural Engine
Memory type
Memory type	Unified memory, configurable to 16 GB	Unified memory; 8 GB at launch, configurable to 16 GB or 24 GB; standard memory increased to 16 GB on 30 October 2024
Memory bandwidth
Memory bandwidth	–	100 GB/s
Storage type
Storage type	SSD; consumer models started at 256 GB, configurable to 512 GB, 1 TB or 2 TB. Apple's US education price list also lists an 8 GB / 128 GB model with a 7-core GPU.	SSD, configurable to 512 GB, 1 TB or 2 TB
Cooling
Cooling	Fanless	Fanless
Battery and size
Battery life (maker's claim)
Battery life (maker's claim)	Up to 18 hours	Up to 18 hours
Battery capacity
Battery capacity	49.9 Wh	66.5 Wh (better)
Weight
Weight	1.29 kg (better)	1.51 kg
Thickness
Thickness	16.1 mm	11.5 mm (better)
Width × depth
Width × depth	304.1 × 212.4 mm	340.4 × 237.6 mm
Battery life detail
Battery life detail	Up to 15 hours wireless web; lithium-polymer battery	Up to 15 hours wireless web; lithium-polymer battery
Charger
Charger	30 W USB-C Power Adapter	35 W Dual USB-C Port Power Adapter
Fast charging
Fast charging	–	With the 70 W USB-C Power Adapter
Materials
Materials	100% recycled aluminium enclosure	100% recycled aluminium enclosure
Colours
Colours	Gold, Silver, Space Grey	Silver, Starlight, Space Grey, Midnight
Connections
Ports
Ports	2 × Thunderbolt 3, headphone jack	2 × Thunderbolt 3, MagSafe 3, headphone jack
Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi	Wi-Fi 6	Wi-Fi 6E
Bluetooth
Bluetooth	5.0	5.3
Webcam
Webcam	720p FaceTime HD	1080p FaceTime HD
Operating system
Operating system	macOS	macOS
Port detail
Port detail	Two Thunderbolt / USB 4 ports with charging, DisplayPort, Thunderbolt 3 and USB 4 up to 40 Gb/s, and USB 3.1 Gen 2 up to 10 Gb/s; 3.5 mm headphone jack	Two Thunderbolt / USB 4 ports supporting charging, DisplayPort, Thunderbolt 3 and USB 4 up to 40 Gb/s; MagSafe 3; 3.5 mm headphone jack with high-impedance headphone support
External displays
External displays	One external display at up to 6K 60 Hz alongside the built-in display	One external display up to 6K 60 Hz alongside the built-in display; close the lid to use a second external display up to 5K 60 Hz
Keyboard
Keyboard	Backlit Magic Keyboard; 78 (US) or 79 (ISO) keys with 12 function keys and inverted-T arrow keys; ambient light sensor	Backlit Magic Keyboard; 78 (US) or 79 (ISO) keys with 12 full-height function keys; ambient light sensor
Trackpad
Trackpad	Force Touch trackpad	Force Touch trackpad
Speakers
Speakers	Stereo speakers; wide stereo sound; Dolby Atmos playback	Six-speaker sound system with force-cancelling woofers; Spatial Audio with Dolby Atmos
Microphones
Microphones	Three-mic array with directional beamforming	Three-mic array with directional beamforming; Voice Isolation and Wide Spectrum modes
Biometrics
Biometrics	Touch ID	Touch ID
In the box
In the box	MacBook Air, 30 W USB-C Power Adapter, USB-C Charge Cable (2 m)	15-inch MacBook Air, 35 W Dual USB-C Port Power Adapter, USB-C to MagSafe 3 Cable (2 m)