M3 MacBook Air is easy to take apart, but parts pairing is still a pain

A teardown of the M3 MacBook Air may as well be a teardown of the M2 model with some labels swapped.

Apple’s M3 MacBook Air is the second generation with the new case design. The 13-inch and 15-inch models are nearly identical in construction minus differences in speakers and other minor components.

A teardown video from iFixit shows the M3 MacBook Air, in either size, is simple enough to take apart with the right screwdriver. The lack of a lot of glue and tape is a nice change from Apple’s Intel era, and modular components show that times are changing.

If you watched the teardown video for the M2 MacBook Air, there won’t be much new to see here. Apple’s incredible attention to detail and numerous screws are still present.

The battery compartment is held in place by four stretch-release adhesive tabs. These are placed in a u-shaped formation to allow the repair person a chance to pull the tab twice if one side snaps.

The 13-inch MacBook Air is sporting a 52.6 Wh battery while the 15-inch MacBook Air has a 66.5 Wh battery. Both have the simple removal system with stretch-release tabs.

Users may be able to disassemble the M3 MacBook Air without much issue, but repairability is still a problem. Most of what a user would want to address, like RAM or storage, are not replaceable.

Parts pairing is also an issue. While Right to Repair bills have pushed Apple to supply manuals and select parts, other procedures like parts pairing are still illegal — unless a bill in Oregon passes.

The M3 MacBook Air is available to purchase starting at $1,099. It can be configured in a 13-inch or 15-inch size with up to 24GB of RAM and 2TB of storage.