Question New MacBook worth Buying?

[mmitsch]

Our son has a MacBook Air (Retina, 13-inch, 2020) : MBA 13.3 SILVER/1.1GHZ QC/8GB/512GB-USA, Part Number: MVH42LL/A.

We were considering getting a new one for a graduation present and are looking at this one at Costco:
MacBook Air Laptop (13-inch) - Apple M3 chip, Built for Apple Intelligence, 8-core CPU, 10-core GPU, 24GB Memory, 512GB SSD Storage

Item 1849793 Model MC8Q4LL/A

Link is https://www.costco.com/.product.4000285646.html?sh=true&nf=true

Is there a big difference in these? Is the OS newer? Will it be faster? Is there other advantages?

Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks!

Mike

 

[helpstar]

it´s faster, better battery life up to 18hours, newer macOS,
better connectivity, like TB4, wifi 6e, BT 5.3

it´s little bit lighter and thinner

 

[QyInvoLing]

It's significantly faster if your Macbook Air 2020 uses an Intel CPU.

 

[LordVile]

Yeah the current one is an intel model so any Apple silicon model will be a large upgrade.

However for 1550 I’d pay the extra 50, forgo the 24GB of RAM and get a base model 14” pro. You lose the 8GB of RAM but you gain one of the best screens on the market right now, a bigger battery and a better selection of ports.

 

[JTR17]

I'd recommend buying the new MacBook Air with the M4 CPU directly from Apple, using their education discount. With 24 GB RAM and 512 GB SSD, it's $1299 and more future-proof. Quick comparison of M3 to M4: https://nanoreview.net/en/cpu-compare/apple-m4-vs-apple-m3

 

[CelicaGT]

I went from a slightly better version of your sons Air, to the M3 version from last year. It is absolutely worth it. From being several times more powerful, to multi day battery life. During my last and final term of school this was my primary machine, being used for video conferencing and schoolwork/design projects. With my previous Intel Air, I would need to stay plugged into the mains. This new M3 could go two days before plugging in. For in class sessions I could leave the charger at home. Awesome machines.