Subj : MacBook Air M3 teardown proves Apples laptop remains much the sam
To   : All
From : TechnologyDaily
Date : Thu Mar 14 2024 11:30:05

MacBook Air M3 teardown proves Apples laptop remains much the same inside  
except for one important upgrade

Date:
Thu, 14 Mar 2024 11:14:59 +0000

Description:
MacBook Air teardown is good news regarding worries about slower storage on 
entry-level models.

FULL STORY
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 Apples MacBook Air M3 has just been released in 13-inch and 15-inch flavors 
, and that means the inevitable teardown has just arrived, with iFixit taking 
the laptop apart to confirm one major improvement over the M2 models. 

Namely that Apple has indeed used two 128GB modules for the SSD , rather than 
a single 256GB chip, in the base MacBook Air 13-inch with M3  plus iFixit 
confirmed the entry-level MacBook Air 15-inch also has this dual module 
configuration for its storage, as MacRumors reports. 

Why is this so crucial? Using two modules allows for running tasks in 
parallel for considerable performance benefits, as underlined by Max Tech on 
YouTube ( as we reported previously ). 

In fact, the MacBook Air M3 has up to 80% faster read speeds and up to 33% 
faster writes than the base model of the M2, so its quite the difference. 

With iFixits teardown, its good to have it confirmed that the MacBook Air M3 
uses this 2 x 128GB configuration for both the entry-level models of the 
15-inch and 13-inch versions (incidentally, the latter now tops our ranking 
of the best laptops ). 

The major finding here is that SSD change, but otherwise, this new take on 
Apples svelte laptop carries pretty much the same design as the M2 version. 
Analysis: Getting it right for repairs 

The new M3 models using the same design as their predecessor is no bad thing 
in some ways, as the M2 variant witnessed some important improvements for the 
repairability of the MacBook Air. Most notably a change in terms of the 
battery being glued in. 

 Apple made a move with the M2 to use a stretch-release adhesive (that can be 
relatively easily extracted  at least when the laptop is new) for the 
battery, rather than slathering glue around. And thats again the method used 
for the M3 notebooks, so its good to have that confirmed, as well  it means 
replacing a duff battery is a much easier task. 

Theres still work to be done for Apple, though, as iFixit observes. Another 
obvious improvement that could be implemented is changing the pentalobe 
screws on the chassis, and making the case easier to open (its not just about 
those non-standard screws, but also some strong clips that make it difficult 
to pry open the case). 

These are easy changes to facilitate in theory, and iFixit raises the hope 
that right to repair legislation in the US might make Apple mend its ways in 
terms of these kind of measures. 

Meanwhile, work has already begun on a MacBook with the M4 chip , or so we 
are told. You might also like Two days with Vision Pro: Apple's almost 
convinced me to part with $3,500 The 3 big ways the Apple M3 chips will 
change Mac gaming forever These are the top MacBook deals right now



======================================================================
Link to news story:
https://www.techradar.com/computing/macbooks/macbook-air-m3-teardown-proves-ap
ples-laptop-remains-much-the-same-inside-except-for-one-important-upgrade


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