Apple just gave the MacBook Air a big performance upgrade - at no extra cost

Apple officially revealed the M4 MacBook series earlier today, but in the shadow of this announcement is other news that's arguably just as important. The company has increased the base memory of its M2 and M3 MacBook Air models to 16GB of RAM. The best part? The starting price for these laptops remains $999.

Also: Apple MacBook Air (M2, 2022) review: Sleeker, faster - and more expensive

The tech giant will not charge extra for the performance boost, which applies only to the 13-inch M2 MacBook Air and the 13-inch and 15-inch M3 MacBook Air models. The 15-inch M2 MacBook Air will not see any upgrades, as its base memory will remain 8GB of RAM. 

Also, there is now a configuration for the M3 MacBook Air housing 24GB of RAM. Prices for this new model start at $1,699, just like the previous high-end option. Beyond the hardware update, the series will remain unchanged. They'll keep the same storage options, Liquid Retina displays, and will be available in the same colors.

Extra memory makes these fantastic laptops even better and more enticing. More RAM means the computer will deliver faster internet browsing, smoother app operation, and better multitasking capability. 

Beyond simply improving user experience, I believe Apple has two other reasons for offering the extra memory. The first reason concerns Apple Intelligence. Generative AI typically demands a lot of resources from the device running it, so an upgrade may have been deemed necessary.  

Also: iOS 18.1 with Apple Intelligence is here. Try these 5 AI features first

Granted, recent iPhones, like the iPhone 16, can run the tech giant's AI features on just 8GB of RAM. Apple Intelligence on mobile may be a different build that isn't particularly taxing on the smartphone. Meanwhile, the MacBook version is more capable and powerful but needs extra resources to run smoothly.

The second reason is that Apple has no plans to launch an M4 MacBook Air -- at least not right now. It's only been about eight months since the M3 MacBook Air launched, and the company might have thought it was too soon to release a follow-up.

Launching a new laptop could eat into sales of the older model. There's a good chance we won't see an M4 MacBook Air until early 2025 -- perhaps next March or April.