This morning after reading the news of the new MacBook Air, I asked my Tech Editor partner what he thought about it.

He told me it was "the little black dress of laptops" – in that it does everything and can be taken anywhere.

Apple has always prided itself on creating intuitive products (like our favourite Apple Watch Hermès), but this new MacBook really does go one step further. It seems to solve almost every problem modern users have with their laptop. It's a powerful workhorse that you can use to run your business but also easily carry home to watch Netflix in the evenings – all on one charge.

It's undoubtedly going to be the next laptop I buy, and after reading through the features, it will probably be your next laptop too.

 

It's ultra thin and light

The weight of a device is normally a feature that is sidelined while we talk about processing power and display size. But, for all the hybrid workers (like myself) who regularly slug a bag with a laptop and lunch containers over their shoulder, the importance of a lightweight device cannot be understated.

Both the 13 inch and the 15 inch are just half an inch thick – roughly 1.25 centimetres. And while there is no official weight listed, we do know it's one of the lightest laptops on the market. Greg Joswiak, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing said the new MacBook Air is "the world’s best thin and light laptop".

 

It has a much longer battery life

Uni students, travellers and conference attendees will all have at least a handful of stories about prowling for power outlet as they near hour five of an eight-hour-day.

Fighting for battery may not be an issue at all with the new MacBook Air as it has a reported battery life of 18 hours. Which is a whole 6 hours longer than the previous generation of MacBook Air.

 

The M3 Chip – it's super fast

The real magic is in Apple's own M3 chip.

Apple first introduced its own processor chip back in 2020: the M1. It replaced the Intel chip in all future Apple-powered computers. This new piece of tech helped power improved battery performance, computing performance and graphic output.

The M3 chip is the next generation. Apple estimates that the new MacBook Air is now 60% faster than M1 devices and up to 13 times faster than the fastest Intel-based MacBook Air – all thanks to the new chip. It also supports up to 24GB of unified memory.

Normally, when you need to a device with high-processing power, you end up with something heavy. But the M3 chip allows the MacBook to pack-a-punch without weighing you down.

 

The new Macbook Air supports two external displays

If you're one of the people who prefer to plug their laptop into a monitor and work off the big screen, the new MacBook Air will be music to your ears. This device supports two external displays when the laptop lid is shut.

 

The screen, camera, colours and more

The screen is Liquid Retina display and comes with a decent 1080p FaceTime HD camera. The design is also fanless, so it's silent.

One other interesting feature, it's the first Apple product made with 50% recycled content.

The new MacBook Air comes in two sizes, a 13-inch and 15-inch, and four colours: midnight, starlight, space grey and silver.

 

The price

Prices start at A$1,799. It will be available starting March 8th.