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MacBook Air (13-inch, M3, 2024) vs iMac (24-inch, M3, 2023, Two ports)

MacBook Air (13-inch, M3, 2024)1iMac (24-inch, M3, 2023, Two ports)2

Quick look

Quick look: MacBook Air M3 against iMac M3
FigureMacBook Air M31iMac M32
Price£1,0993launch price£1,3994launch price
ChipM3chipM3chip
CPU8-coreCPU8-coreCPU
GPU8-coreGPU8-coreGPU
Memory8GB5unified memory, base8GBunified memory, base
Storage256GBstorage, base256GBstorage, base
Battery lifeUp to18 hrsvideo playback, claimed Not available6No battery
Released8 March 20243ReleasedIn Apple Stores; orderable online from 4 March 2024.7 November 20234ReleasedIn Apple Stores; orderable online from 30 October 2023.
Security updatesNot available7Security updatesNot available7Security updates
Price
The MacBook Air M3 is £1,099 at launch, per Apple Newsroom (UK); the iMac M3 is £1,399 at launch, per Apple Newsroom (UK).
Kind of Mac
The MacBook Air M3 is a laptop; the iMac M3 is an all-in-one. The MacBook Air M3 has a battery, whereas the iMac M3 has none.

True to scale

MacBook Air (13-inch, M3, 2024) · 304.1 × 215 mm footprintiMac (24-inch, M3, 2023, Two ports) · 547 × 461 mm front

A laptop and an all-in-one are different shapes, so they stand side by side rather than superposed: the footprint of one and the front face 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 MacBook Air (13-inch, M3, 2024) against Apple iMac (24-inch, M3, 2023, Two ports)
SpecificationMacBook Air M31iMac M32
Dimensions11.3 x 304.1 x 215 mm461 x 547 x 147 mm
Weight1.24 kg4.43 kg
ColoursSilver, Starlight, Space Grey, MidnightBlue, Green, Pink, Silver
PortsTwo Thunderbolt / USB 4 ports, MagSafe 3 charging port, 3.5mm headphone jackTwo Thunderbolt / USB 4 ports, 3.5 mm headphone jack
Thunderbolt ports22
Thunderbolt versionThunderbolt 3Thunderbolt 3
USB-A portsNo USB-A ports.8No USB-A ports.9
HDMINo HDMI port.10No HDMI port.11
SD card slotNo SD card slot.10No SD card slot.11
Headphone jackYesYes
MagSafeYesNot available12
KeyboardBacklit Magic Keyboard with Touch IDMagic Keyboard
Touch IDYesNo Touch ID.9

Display

Display: Apple MacBook Air (13-inch, M3, 2024) against Apple iMac (24-inch, M3, 2023, Two ports)
SpecificationMacBook Air M31iMac M32
Display size13.6 in24 in
Resolution2560 x 16644480 x 2520
Pixel density224 ppi218 ppi
Display typeLiquid Retina display4.5K Retina display
Brightness500 nits500 nits
Wide colour (P3)YesYes
Nano-texture optionNo nano-texture display option.10No nano-texture display option.11

Chip and memory

Chip and memory: Apple MacBook Air (13-inch, M3, 2024) against Apple iMac (24-inch, M3, 2023, Two ports)
SpecificationMacBook Air M31iMac M32
ChipApple M3 chipApple M3 chip
Apple siliconYesYes
CPU cores88
Performance cores44
Efficiency cores44
GPU cores88
Neural Engine cores1616
Chip optionsM3 with 8-core CPU and 8-core GPU or 10-core GPUM3 with 8-core CPU and 8-core GPU
Memory (base)8GB58GB
Memory (maximum)24GB524GB
Memory options8GB, 16GB or 24GB58GB, 16GB or 24GB
Memory upgradeable by userNo, as Apple documents13No, as Apple documents14
Memory bandwidth100 GB/s100 GB/s
Storage (base)256GB256GB
Storage (maximum)2TB1TB
Storage options256GB, 512GB, 1TB or 2TB256GB, 512GB or 1TB
Media engineHardware-accelerated H.264, HEVC, ProRes and ProRes RAWvideo decode enginevideo encode engineProRes encode and decode engineAV1 decode engineHardware-accelerated H.264, HEVC, ProRes and ProRes RAWvideo decode enginevideo encode engineProRes encode and decode engineAV1 decode

Battery and power

Battery and power: Apple MacBook Air (13-inch, M3, 2024) against Apple iMac (24-inch, M3, 2023, Two ports)
SpecificationMacBook Air M31iMac M32
Battery capacity52.6 WhNot available6
Rated charge cycles1,000 cycles15Not available6
Video playback (claimed)18 hNot available6
Wireless web (claimed)15 hNot available6
Included power adapter30 W143 W16
Fast chargingYesNot available6

Connectivity

Connectivity: Apple MacBook Air (13-inch, M3, 2024) against Apple iMac (24-inch, M3, 2023, Two ports)
SpecificationMacBook Air M31iMac M32
Wi-FiWi‑Fi 6E (802.11ax)Wi‑Fi 6E (802.11ax)
Bluetooth5.35.3
EthernetNo Ethernet port.10Gigabit Ethernet configurable
External displays (base)1171

Camera and audio

Camera and audio: Apple MacBook Air (13-inch, M3, 2024) against Apple iMac (24-inch, M3, 2023, Two ports)
SpecificationMacBook Air M31iMac M32
Camera1080p FaceTime HD camera1080p FaceTime HD camera
SpeakersFour-speaker sound systemHigh-fidelity six-speaker system with force-cancelling woofers
MicrophonesThree-mic array with directional beamformingStudio-quality three-mic array with high signal-to-noise ratio and directional beamforming

Platform

Platform: Apple MacBook Air (13-inch, M3, 2024) against Apple iMac (24-inch, M3, 2023, Two ports)
SpecificationMacBook Air M31iMac M32
Newest macOSmacOS 27 Golden Gate18macOS 27 Golden Gate18
Model identifierMac15,1219Mac15,420
Model year20242023

Sources

  1. Apple Support (UK) — MacBook Air (13-inch, M3, 2024) - Tech Specs · Default for MacBook Air M3 · Apple’s figure · read 14 Sep 2026

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

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  3. Apple Newsroom (UK) — Apple unveils the new 13- and 15-inch MacBook Air with the powerful M3 chip · Apple’s figure · read 14 Sep 2026

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

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  5. Apple Support (UK) — MacBook Air (13-inch, M3, 2024) - Tech Specs · Apple’s figure · read 2 Oct 2026

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  6. Doesn’t apply: no battery

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

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  8. MacBook Air (13-inch, M3, 2024): No USB-A ports. Checked: Apple Support (UK) — MacBook Air (13-inch, M3, 2024) - Tech Specs. Read 14 Sep 2026

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  9. iMac (24-inch, M3, 2023, Two ports): No USB-A ports. No Touch ID. Checked: Apple Support (UK) — iMac (24-inch, 2023, Two ports) - Tech Specs. Read 15 Sep 2026

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  10. MacBook Air (13-inch, M3, 2024): No HDMI port. No SD card slot. No nano-texture display option. No Ethernet port. Checked: Apple Support (UK) — MacBook Air (13-inch, M3, 2024) - Tech Specs. Read 9 Oct 2026

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

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

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

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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) — Determine battery cycle count for Mac laptops · Apple’s figure · read 15 Oct 2026

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

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  17. Apple Support (UK) — MacBook Air (13-inch, M3, 2024) - Tech Specs · Apple’s figure · read 11 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 MacBook Air model · Apple’s figure · read 14 Sep 2026

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

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Not published by Apple

MacBook Air M3. Apple doesn’t publish for this Mac: refresh rate, storage upgradeable by user, the macOS it shipped with. Geekbench 7: the Mac chart has no entry for this Mac, so no figures are shown (chart read 10 Oct 2026). Pages checked: Apple Support (UK) — MacBook Air (13-inch, M3, 2024) - Tech Specs; Apple Support (UK) — Identify your MacBook Air model; Apple Newsroom (UK) — Apple unveils the new 13- and 15-inch MacBook Air with the powerful M3 chip; Apple Support (UK) — macOS 27 Golden Gate is compatible with these computers, read 9 Oct 2026.

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, Two 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.

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 MacBook Air M3 (13-inch, 2024)? · Should I upgrade my iMac M3 (24-inch, 2023, Two ports)?

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