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iMac (24-inch, M3, 2023, Four ports) vs MacBook Air (15-inch, M2, 2023)

iMac (24-inch, M3, 2023, Four ports)1MacBook Air (15-inch, M2, 2023)2

Quick look

Quick look: iMac M3 against MacBook Air M2
FigureiMac M31MacBook Air M22
Price£1,5993launch price£1,3994launch price
ChipM3chipM2chip
CPU8-coreCPU8-coreCPU
GPU10-coreGPU10-coreGPU
Memory8GBunified memory, base8GB5unified memory, base
Storage256GBstorage, base256GBstorage, base
Battery life Not available6No batteryUp to18 hrsvideo playback, claimed
Released7 November 20233ReleasedIn Apple Stores; orderable online from 30 October 2023.13 June 20237ReleasedIn Apple Stores; orderable online from 5 June 2023.
Security updatesNot available8Security updatesNot available8Security updates
Price
The iMac M3 is £1,599 at launch, per Apple Newsroom (UK); the MacBook Air M2 is £1,399 at launch, per Apple Newsroom (UK).
Kind of Mac
The iMac M3 is an all-in-one; the MacBook Air M2 is a laptop. The MacBook Air M2 has a battery, whereas the iMac M3 has none.

True to scale

iMac (24-inch, M3, 2023, Four ports) · 547 × 461 mm frontMacBook Air (15-inch, M2, 2023) · 340.4 × 237.6 mm footprint

An all-in-one and a laptop are different shapes, so they stand side by side rather than superposed: the front face of one and the footprint of the other, from Apple’s published dimensions, at one scale. Corner rounding is our drawing convention, not a measurement.

Specifications

Each figure is from the source marked by its Mac’s name unless it carries its own small number, which links to where that figure was read.

Body

Body: Apple iMac (24-inch, M3, 2023, Four ports) against Apple MacBook Air (15-inch, M2, 2023)
SpecificationiMac M31MacBook Air M22
Dimensions461 x 547 x 147 mm11.5 x 340.4 x 237.6 mm
Weight4.48 kg1.51 kg
ColoursBlue, Green, Pink, Silver, Yellow, Orange, PurpleSilver, Starlight, Space Grey, Midnight
PortsTwo Thunderbolt / USB 4 ports, two USB 3 ports (up to 10Gb/s), 3.5 mm headphone jack, Gigabit EthernetTwo Thunderbolt / USB 4 ports, MagSafe 3 charging port, 3.5mm headphone jack
Thunderbolt ports22
Thunderbolt versionThunderbolt 3Thunderbolt 3
USB-A portsNot available9No USB-A ports.10
HDMINo HDMI port.11No HDMI port.12
SD card slotNo SD card slot.11No SD card slot.12
Headphone jackYesYes
MagSafeNot available13Yes
KeyboardMagic Keyboard with Touch IDBacklit Magic Keyboard with Touch ID
Touch IDYesYes

Display

Display: Apple iMac (24-inch, M3, 2023, Four ports) against Apple MacBook Air (15-inch, M2, 2023)
SpecificationiMac M31MacBook Air M22
Display size24 in15.3 in
Resolution4480 x 25202880 x 1864
Pixel density218 ppi224 ppi
Display type4.5K Retina displayLiquid Retina display
Brightness500 nits500 nits
Wide colour (P3)YesYes
Nano-texture optionNo nano-texture display option.11No nano-texture display option.12

Chip and memory

Chip and memory: Apple iMac (24-inch, M3, 2023, Four ports) against Apple MacBook Air (15-inch, M2, 2023)
SpecificationiMac M31MacBook Air M22
ChipApple M3 chipApple M2 chip
Apple siliconYesYes
CPU cores88
Performance cores44
Efficiency cores44
GPU cores1010
Neural Engine cores1616
Chip optionsM3 with 8-core CPU and 10-core GPUM2 with 8-core CPU and 10-core GPU
Memory (base)8GB8GB5
Memory (maximum)24GB24GB5
Memory options8GB, 16GB or 24GB8GB, 16GB or 24GB5
Memory upgradeable by userNo, as Apple documents14No, as Apple documents15
Memory bandwidth100 GB/s100 GB/s
Storage (base)256GB256GB
Storage (maximum)2TB2TB
Storage options256GB, 512GB, 1TB or 2TB256GB, 512GB, 1TB or 2TB
Media engineHardware-accelerated H.264, HEVC, ProRes and ProRes RAWvideo decode enginevideo encode engineProRes encode and decode engineAV1 decodeHardware-accelerated H.264, HEVC, ProRes and ProRes RAWvideo decode enginevideo encode engineProRes encode and decode engine

Battery and power

Battery and power: Apple iMac (24-inch, M3, 2023, Four ports) against Apple MacBook Air (15-inch, M2, 2023)
SpecificationiMac M31MacBook Air M22
Battery capacityNot available666.5 Wh
Rated charge cyclesNot available61,000 cycles16
Video playback (claimed)Not available618 h
Wireless web (claimed)Not available615 h
Included power adapter143 W1735 W
Fast chargingNot available6Yes

Connectivity

Connectivity: Apple iMac (24-inch, M3, 2023, Four ports) against Apple MacBook Air (15-inch, M2, 2023)
SpecificationiMac M31MacBook Air M22
Wi-FiWi‑Fi 6E (802.11ax)Wi‑Fi 6 (802.11ax)
Bluetooth5.35.3
EthernetGigabit EthernetNo Ethernet port.12
External displays (base)11

Camera and audio

Camera and audio: Apple iMac (24-inch, M3, 2023, Four ports) against Apple MacBook Air (15-inch, M2, 2023)
SpecificationiMac M31MacBook Air M22
Camera1080p FaceTime HD camera1080p FaceTime HD camera
SpeakersHigh-fidelity six-speaker system with force-cancelling woofersSix-speaker sound system with force-cancelling woofers
MicrophonesStudio-quality three-mic array with high signal-to-noise ratio and directional beamformingThree-mic array with directional beamforming

Platform

Platform: Apple iMac (24-inch, M3, 2023, Four ports) against Apple MacBook Air (15-inch, M2, 2023)
SpecificationiMac M31MacBook Air M22
Newest macOSmacOS 27 Golden Gate18macOS 27 Golden Gate18
Model identifierMac15,519Mac14,1520
Model year20232023

Benchmarks

Benchmarks: Apple iMac (24-inch, M3, 2023, Four ports) against Apple MacBook Air (15-inch, M2, 2023)
SpecificationiMac M31MacBook Air M22
Geekbench 7 (CPU, single-core)2,748212,34321
Geekbench 7 (CPU, multi-core)11,671219,58021
Geekbench 7 (Metal)48,0702142,67221

Sources

  1. Apple Support (UK) — iMac (24-inch, 2023, Four ports) - Tech Specs · Default for iMac M3 · Apple’s figure · read 15 Sep 2026

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  2. Apple Support (UK) — MacBook Air (15-inch, M2, 2023) - Tech Specs · Default for MacBook Air M2 · Apple’s figure · read 14 Sep 2026

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  3. Apple Newsroom (UK) — Apple supercharges 24-inch iMac with new M3 chip · Apple’s figure · read 15 Sep 2026

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  4. Apple Newsroom (UK) — New 15-inch MacBook Air, Mac Studio, and Mac Pro are available today · Apple’s figure · read 14 Sep 2026

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  5. Apple Support (UK) — MacBook Air (15-inch, M2, 2023) - Tech Specs · Apple’s figure · read 2 Oct 2026

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  6. Doesn’t apply: no battery

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  7. Apple Newsroom (UK) — Apple introduces the 15-inch MacBook Air · Apple’s figure · read 3 Oct 2026

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  8. Security updates: no end date published. Checked: endoflife.date. Read 22 Sep 2026

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  9. Not published by Apple. Pages checked: Apple Support (UK) — iMac (24-inch, 2023, Four ports) - Tech Specs; Apple Support (UK) — Identify your iMac model; Apple Newsroom (UK) — Apple supercharges 24-inch iMac with new M3 chip. Read 9 Oct 2026

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  10. MacBook Air (15-inch, M2, 2023): No USB-A ports. Checked: Apple Support (UK) — MacBook Air (15-inch, M2, 2023) - Tech Specs. Read 14 Sep 2026

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  11. iMac (24-inch, M3, 2023, Four ports): No HDMI port. No SD card slot. No nano-texture display option. Checked: Apple Support (UK) — iMac (24-inch, 2023, Four ports) - Tech Specs. Read 9 Oct 2026

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  12. MacBook Air (15-inch, M2, 2023): No HDMI port. No SD card slot. No nano-texture display option. No Ethernet port. Checked: Apple Support (UK) — MacBook Air (15-inch, M2, 2023) - Tech Specs. Read 9 Oct 2026

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  13. Doesn’t apply: MagSafe is a notebook charging port

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  14. Apple Support (UK) — Install memory in an iMac · Apple’s figure · read 18 Oct 2026

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  15. Apple Support (UK) — MacBook Pro: how to remove or install memory · Apple’s figure · read 18 Oct 2026

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  16. Apple Support (UK) — Determine battery cycle count for Mac laptops · Apple’s figure · read 15 Oct 2026

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  17. Apple Support (UK) — iMac (24-inch, 2023, Four ports) - Tech Specs · Apple’s figure · read 9 Oct 2026

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  18. Apple Support (UK) — macOS 27 Golden Gate is compatible with these computers · Apple’s figure · read 22 Sep 2026

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  19. Apple Support (UK) — Identify your iMac model · Apple’s figure · read 15 Sep 2026

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  20. Apple Support (UK) — Identify your MacBook Air model · Apple’s figure · read 14 Sep 2026

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  21. Geekbench Browser (Primate Labs) · third-party figure · read 11 Oct 2026

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Not published by Apple

iMac M3. Apple doesn’t publish for this Mac: refresh rate, storage upgradeable by user, maximum continuous power, the macOS it shipped with. Pages checked: Apple Support (UK) — iMac (24-inch, 2023, Four ports) - Tech Specs; Apple Support (UK) — Identify your iMac model; Apple Newsroom (UK) — Apple supercharges 24-inch iMac with new M3 chip, read 9 Oct 2026.

MacBook Air M2. Apple doesn’t publish for this Mac: refresh rate, storage upgradeable by user, the macOS it shipped with. Pages checked: Apple Support (UK) — MacBook Air (15-inch, M2, 2023) - Tech Specs; Apple Support (UK) — Identify your MacBook Air model; Apple Newsroom (UK) — Apple introduces the 15-inch MacBook Air; Apple Support (UK) — macOS 27 Golden Gate is compatible with these computers, read 9 Oct 2026.

If you own one of them

Whether to move is a different question from which is better. Each Mac has a page on it: what its successor changes (the newest Mac in its line where Apple sells one, otherwise the Mac this site treats as its replacement, which can be in another line), what it fetches and whether it still gets updates. Should I upgrade my iMac M3 (24-inch, 2023, Four ports)? · Should I upgrade my MacBook Air M2 (15-inch, 2023)?

The pairs a buyer of either Mac would also weigh. Any two Macs in the catalogue can be compared from the chooser.