The base model 13-inch MacBook Air with the M3 chip, 256GB of storage, and 8GB of RAM has significantly faster SSD speeds compared to the equivalent model with the M2 chip, according to benchmark results shared today by YouTube channel Max Tech.
Max Tech's teardown video confirms that Apple has returned to using two 128GB storage chips for the new 13-inch MacBook Air with 256GB of storage, compared to a single 256GB chip in the equivalent model with the M2 chip. This change results in faster SSD read and write speeds in tests, as the two chips can process requests in parallel.
Max Tech ran Blackmagic's Disk Speed Test tool with a 5GB file size test on both the M2 and M3 models of the 13-inch MacBook Air with 256GB of storage and 8GB of RAM, and they found the SSD in the M3 model achieved up to 33% faster write speeds and up to 82% faster read speeds compared to the SSD in the M2 model.
The change very likely extends to the base model 15-inch MacBook Air with the M3 chip, although Max Tech has yet to tear down that model.
Apple's decision to switch to a single 256GB chip for the base model MacBook Air in 2022 was controversial, even though the slower SSD speeds are unlikely to be noticed by the average MacBook Air user working on common day-to-day tasks. Nevertheless, customers who purchase an M3 model no longer need to worry about configuring the laptop with at least 512GB of storage in order to avoid the slower speeds.
Two 128GB storage chips in the new base model 13-inch MacBook Air (via Max Tech)
The new MacBook Air models with the M3 chip launched Friday. Apple continues to sell a 13-inch MacBook Air with the M2 chip and 256GB of storage for $999, so customers who want maximum SSD performance should avoid that model.
Thursday December 11, 2025 8:49 am PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple seeded the second iOS 26.2 Release Candidate to developers earlier this week, meaning the update will be released to the general public very soon.
Apple confirmed iOS 26.2 would be released in December, but it did not provide a specific date. We expect the update to be released by early next week.
iOS 26.2 includes a handful of new features and changes on the iPhone, such as a new...
Wednesday December 10, 2025 2:52 am PST by Tim Hardwick
Google Maps on iOS quietly gained a new feature recently that automatically recognizes where you've parked your vehicle and saves the location for you.
Announced on LinkedIn by Rio Akasaka, Google Maps' senior product manager, the new feature auto-detects your parked location even if you don't use the parking pin function, saves it for up to 48 hours, and then automatically removes it once...
Thursday December 11, 2025 11:28 am PST by Juli Clover
Apple today released new firmware designed for the AirPods Pro 3 and the prior-generation AirPods Pro 2. The AirPods Pro 3 firmware is 8B30, up from 8B25, while the AirPods Pro 2 firmware is 8B28, up from 8B21.
There's no word on what's include in the updated firmware, but the AirPods Pro 2 and AirPods Pro 3 are getting expanded support for Live Translation in the European Union in iOS...
Friday December 12, 2025 10:56 am PST by Joe Rossignol
Macworld's Filipe Espósito today revealed a handful of features that Apple is allegedly planning for iOS 26.4, iOS 27, and even iOS 28.
The report said the features are referenced within the code for a leaked internal build of iOS 26 that is not meant to be seen by the public. However, it appears that Espósito and/or his sources managed to gain access to it, providing us with a sneak peek...
Apple has ordered 22 million OLED panels from Samsung Display for the first foldable iPhone, signaling a significantly larger production target than the display industry had previously anticipated, ET News reports.
In the now-seemingly deleted report, ET News claimed that Samsung plans to mass-produce 11 million inward-folding OLED displays for Apple next year, as well as 11 million...
Thursday December 11, 2025 10:31 am PST by Juli Clover
The AirTag 2 will include a handful of new features that will improve tracking capabilities, according to a new report from Macworld. The site says that it was able to access an internal build of iOS 26, which includes references to multiple unreleased products.
Here's what's supposedly coming:
An improved pairing process, though no details were provided. AirTag pairing is already...
Friday December 12, 2025 10:10 am PST by Juli Clover
Apple today released iOS 26.2, the second major update to the iOS 26 operating system that came out in September, iOS 26.2 comes a little over a month after iOS 26.1 launched. iOS 26.2 is compatible with the iPhone 11 series and later, as well as the second-generation iPhone SE.
The new software can be downloaded on eligible iPhones over-the-air by going to Settings >...
Friday December 5, 2025 9:40 am PST by Tim Hardwick
Apple is about to release iOS 26.2, the second major point update for iPhones since iOS 26 was rolled out in September, and there are at least 15 notable changes and improvements worth checking out. We've rounded them up below.
Apple is expected to roll out iOS 26.2 to compatible devices sometime between December 8 and December 16. When the update drops, you can check Apple's servers for the ...
Thursday December 11, 2025 4:02 pm PST by Juli Clover
Apple is working on a smart home hub that will rely heavily on the more capable version of Siri that's coming next year. We've heard quite a bit about the hub over the last two years, but a recent iOS 26 code leak provides additional insight into what we can expect and confirms rumored features.
Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos.
Macworld claims to have access to an ...
I'm still using a (13-inch, Mid 2012) MacBook Air that came with 4 GB RAM, and 120 GB SDD. I have 59 GB of free space left. It just depends what you use your machine for. For me daily home stuff like email, browsing, etc. And yes, I'm definitely ready for an upgrade!!
Browsing the web and writing emails with less than 1tb HD and 48gigs of Ram? Brave man.
The MaxTech channel is on another level of cringe and baiting.
I certainly hope they're swimming in money from posting their garbage 'cause I sure ain't getting anything from watching their stuff.
Video title: “M3 MacBook Air Overheating - What was Apple Thinking?!” conclusion of video: the new MacBook Air is impressive. They literally called it “impressive” in the video, but you would never guess that by the title and the over exaggerated first 10 minutes. Literally, the conclusion was that yes, it throttles, but even when it throttles, it’s still faster than the M2. And (surprise surprise) it absolutely never overheated once in the video. It got hot, but overheated implies that it stopped working, which it absolutely did not.
