Apple announces new MacBook Air laptops with its latest M3 chip

An apple on Monday announced new versions of its 13-inch and 15-inch MacBook Air laptops with its latest M3 chip.

Apple released the M3 chip in October with versions for its iMac desktop computer and more powerful versions for its MacBook Pro laptops. Apple reported $7.78 billion in Mac revenue during its fiscal first quarter earnings report, which showed less than 1 percent growth. The latest computers can help increase a company’s sales.

Apple said its new MacBook Air laptops offer clearer 1080p webcams, support for faster Wi-Fi networks and up to 18 hours of battery life. The design remains the same as the earlier models. The new M3 chip allows users to add up to two external displays, an improvement from the single screen supported by earlier chips.

Apple’s announcement showed that it is ramping up its marketing around artificial intelligence.

He called the new MacBook Air “the world’s best consumer laptop for AI.” It’s an interesting change of language, as Apple didn’t mention it when it introduced the M3 iMac in October, but it shows it’s trying to compete with the new Windows laptops billed as “computers with artificial intelligence.”

Yet the most popular AI platforms, such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Anthropic’s Claude, and others, run in the cloud over an Internet connection rather than directly on a computer. Apps like Pixelmator Pro can use AI to remove background noise in photos, Apple said, though that’s more in line with how apps have used artificial intelligence for years.

Apple CEO Tim Cook reiterated on February 28 that Apple is “investing significantly” in artificial intelligence and has a big announcement later this year. That could happen during Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference in June, when the company usually unveils new software. It’s possible that Apple will announce its own major language model that can run natively on its Macs and other devices, such as the iPhone and iPad.

The 13-inch MacBook Air starts at $1,099, while the 15-inch starts at $1,299. They are available to order from Monday and will be in stores from March 8.