When Apple introduced the MacBook Air with the M3 chip today, Apple also discontinued the MacBook Air with the M1 chip as well. That Mac was introduced back in November 2020 as one of the first Mac models with Apple Silicon. Until today, Apple was selling the M1 MacBook Air starting at $999 for over three years.
With the M1 MacBook Air discontinued, it was the last MacBook Air to feature the iconic wedge-shaped design that originated from the original MacBook Air from 2008. Additionally, it was the last model in the current MacBook lineup to have these outdated features or omissions:
- No MagSafe port
- Headphone jack with no support for impedance headphones
- Rectangular function-row keys
- 720p FaceTime camera
- Retina display with no rounded corners
- support for up to millions of colors
- 400 nits of maximum brightness when viewing SDR content
As the M2 MacBook Air finally takes the former’s place of starting under $1,000, today’s lineup of MacBooks has been more standardized than ever before as every model comes with these features:
- MagSafe 3 port with support for fast charging
- Headphone jack with support for impedance headphones
- Full-height function-row keys
- 1080p FaceTime camera
- Liquid Retina display with rounded corner on top (MacBook Pro has XDR)
- support for up to 1 billion colors
- 500 nits of maximum brightness when viewing SDR content
The M2 13-inch MacBook Air now has an even better value for an entry-level Mac since you still get most of the latest features you’ll find in a MacBook with a modern design, not to mention that you can still configure that machine with a fully-unbinned Mac chip.
The M2 13-inch MacBook Air starts at $999. The M3 13-inch and 15-inch MacBook Air starts at $1,099 and $1,299, respectively. You can order those models today at Apple, and the M3 models will be available this Friday.
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