The lightweight MacBook Air M3 is massively capable for music production, and two models just got a chunky Prime Day discount

For a long time, the MacBook Pro was the undisputed king of portable music production but with the introduction of the game-changing Apple silicon chips, its reign at the top is now under threat. The MacBook Air M3 is not only more than powerful enough to handle most production tasks, it’s also considerably cheaper with a tasty discount in the Amazon Big Deal Days event.

The new Apple silicon chips in the MacBook Air perform admirably at a multitude of production tasks, whether you’re working on the go or need a hub for your home studio. It’s slim, lightweight, ultra-quiet, and has more than enough power to run huge projects. With a MacBook Air M3, the only limitation will be the number of inputs on your audio interface. There are currently two models on sale at Amazon, but with the event ending soon, you’ll need to move quickly to snap one up.

MacBook Air M3 13-inch: Was $1,499, now $1,249
This smaller MacBook Air has a hefty $250 discount in the Amazon sale and is available in both 8GB and 16GB formats. I’d recommend getting as much RAM as you can afford as that’s really important for music production tasks. An 8GB will suffice, but if you’re handling really big projects with lots of plugins and VSTs, you’ll be thankful for the extra power if you can stretch to double the RAM amount.

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MacBook Air M3 15-inch: Was $1,699, now $1,424
The bigger MacBook Air M3 is more expensive, but if you’re going to be working on the road a lot or exclusively from the laptop itself, you’re going to thank yourself for that extra-screen real estate. It’s got a cool $275 discount at Amazon at the moment, and a powerful Apple machine for music production at less than $1,500 is a really good deal in my book. It’s also available in 8GB and 16GB RAM versions, but as always I’d go for the higher amount where possible.

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I’ve been debating between a MacBook Air and a Pro for my next laptop for music production, and despite initially being set on a Pro, I’m starting to err toward the side of the Air. The gulf in performance really isn’t that huge and as someone who mainly does home production with a touch of studio work, I don’t necessarily need all the extra features and power the MacBook Pro offers.

In our recent Apple MacBook Air 15-inch M3 review we noted it was right on the heels of the MacBook Pro in terms of performance, and of course, it’s much cheaper too. It means you really need to consider it as a contender for your next machine, particularly if budget is an issue. Rather than getting an older MacBook Pro M2 or M1, you could get an Air M3 and get that top level of performance and a newer machine.

A MacBook Air is much better for traveling thanks to its super light weight and ultra-skinny design. That means it will fit into a backpack leaving plenty of room for your headphones and audio interface. You’ll hardly feel it when you’re carrying it around. As with all MacBooks, it’s nice and sturdy too, so you don’t have to treat it with kid gloves when you’re engineering a busy session.