The year was 2010. Lady Gaga made headlines for wearing her now-iconic meat dress to the MTV Video Music Awards. Samantha Jones was still the reigning queen of sex-forward screen confidence. Robert Pattinson returned as Edward Cullen in Twilight: Eclipse. Justin Bieber’s side-swept fringe ruled teenage hearts as “Baby” played on loop, and everyone wanted to feel “fly like a G6.” It was also the year I got my first Apple MacBook—and I haven’t looked back since.
I was 15, in secondary school, and mainly used it to stream Gossip Girl and check who wrote on my Facebook wall (flashbacks, anyone?). Schoolwork still meant pen and paper, but the MacBook was my first glimpse into a digital-first future.
Fast forward to 2024, when I became digital editor at ELLE Singapore and needed a new daily driver. I was deciding between the MacBook Pro and the MacBook Air. I needed something lightweight but capable—something that could handle Adobe Creative Cloud (Premiere Pro, Photoshop, and InDesign), a decent web camera for Zoom calls, and a high-resolution display for content checks and creative briefs.
At the time, I was using a 16-inch MacBook Pro with M2 Max—an absolute powerhouse, no doubt. But it was bulky. Lugging it to and from the office, or onto flights quickly became a hassle. So I made the switch to the 15-inch MacBook Air with the M3 chip, 16GB of memory, and 1TB of storage.
It’s less powerful on paper, sure. But in practice? It’s become my most reliable workhorse. If you work in media, publishing, or any kind of content-first environment, you know your laptop isn’t just a tool—it’s your office, your editing bay, your Zoom studio, and sometimes your sanity. One year in, the 15-inch MacBook Air (M3) has proven itself surprisingly capable across all fronts.
In this review, I’m sharing what’s aged well, what hasn’t, and why, despite newer models on the horizon, I haven’t felt the need to upgrade. Which isn’t to say I haven’t been tempted (because let’s be real, who doesn’t love new tech?), but the MacBook Air has held its own far better than I expected.
Writing, Planning & Admin
My day-to-day is a far cry from the glitz and glam David Frankel’s The Devil Wears Prada (2006) would have you believe—though that hasn’t stopped me from quoting it to death (but that’s not the point here). A good chunk of my time is spent replying to emails I’m CC’d on, writing and editing stories for web and social, staring at spreadsheets (content calendars, budgets, deliverables—you name it, I’ve stared at it), hopping onto video calls for a “quick catch-up” (that really could’ve been an email), Zoom interviews, creating mood boards, researching, uploading and formatting stories on WordPress, checking Google Analytics... and the list goes on.
It’s a very browser-heavy workflow—and the MacBook Air handles it like a pro (pun intended). The 15.3-inch Liquid Retina Display (2880×1864), whether it’s sitting flat on a desk or elevated on a stand, is just large enough to get through the day without straining my eyes.
In terms of battery life, I can get through most days on a single charge—it’ll comfortably last me from dawn to dusk. Officially, a single charge should last up to 18 hours. That said, I’m mostly deskbound, so battery life isn’t a dealbreaker. But on days when I bring it out for shoots or travel, it holds up just fine. I don’t foresee anyone running into major issues—just remember to charge it before you head out, which honestly applies to every device these days.
Creative Software Performance
We live in a digital age where it’s content, content, and more content—day in and day out. And behind every video you doomscroll past on social media is someone like me, who’s spent hours conceptualising, shooting, editing, and publishing it. While I have the privilege of working with a talented team of video creators, I still believe in the mantra: Use it or lose it.
As a digital editor, I don’t do heavy visual rendering, but I do work across Adobe Photoshop for light image resizing and retouching, InDesign for the occasional layout review, and Premiere Pro for quick, short-form edits—think social reels, teaser trailers, and BTS snippets. I’ve also taught myself DaVinci Resolve and After Effects for more advanced editing when needed, and CapCut for on-the-fly video content, especially when covering K-celebs at events.
I’ve cut 4K footage, batch-edited high-res images, and exported social graphics—all without the machine heating up or showing major lag. Scrubbing 4K footage on the Premiere Pro timeline also has little to no latency. You won’t get Mac Studio-level speeds, but for day-to-day creative work, it more than holds its own.
I might be biased towards the Apple ecosystem (which, let’s be honest, is probably obvious by now), but it really is a content creator’s dream. I can shoot 4K videos on my iPhone, AirDrop them to my MacBook, edit them in Premiere Pro, and send them back to my phone to publish. With Apple’s Continuity feature, I can even copy and paste my caption (usually pre-written in Google Docs to avoid last-minute writer’s block) from Mac to Instagram on iPhone with little to no latency.
Meetings, Calls & Camera Quality
The 1080p FaceTime HD camera is a much-needed upgrade from previous models—clear enough for video calls, even in less-than-ideal lighting. As for the Backlit Magic Keyboard and trackpad, they remain unchanged, and honestly? No complaints. They work, and they work well.
The same goes for the two Thunderbolt 3 ports and 3.5mm audio jack. By now, most of us have a drawer full of dongles, and chances are, whatever you need is already in there. Personally, I’ve never used the audio jack. I mostly switch between the Apple AirPods Max and the EarPods (USB-C). And I’ve never had any audio issues—whether I’m blasting KATSEYE’s latest track on Apple Music, on a video call, or replaying an audio clip for the nth time to check for edits.
Traveling With The MacBook Air
As someone who regularly travels for work, whether it’s covering fashion shows, attending press previews, or conducting a shoot halfway across the world, the MacBook Air has been a dream to travel with.
At just over 1.5kg—about the weight of a fully filled Stanley Tumbler or a well-packed handbag—the MacBook Air doesn’t add unnecessary weight to my carry-on. It’s slim enough to slide into most of my everyday bags (Coach’s Brooklyn Shoulder Bag 39, Goyard’s Saint Louis GM, Fendi’s Peekaboo, to name a few), and unlike my old 16-inch MacBook Pro, I no longer feel like I’m lugging a supercomputer through airport security or from gate to gate.
If I need to publish something on the go (which I have, while riding the MRT in Singapore), I can easily whip it out, do what I need to do while balancing it on my palm, and close it without breaking a sweat.
I remember once, at Hong Kong International Airport, our takeoff was delayed and we were stuck on the tarmac for about an hour. In that time, I managed to edit a video interview with a Thai celebrity, export it, and send it off to my team—without so much as a warning pop-up about low battery or performance lag.
Now, I rarely—if ever—write while flying. Writers come in all shapes, sizes, and temperaments, but if there’s one thing we share, it’s the need for specific conditions to feel inspired. And being 36,000 feet in the air, surrounded by a catalogue of 2000s-era films, plastic trays of food, a crying baby in row 21 and a snoring uncle in 24A? Not quite the ideal setup. But if I do decide to open up a doc mid-flight, the MacBook Air’s battery life genuinely holds its own.
So, Should You Buy A MacBook Air In 2025?
The short answer is yes. It’s powerful, portable, and handles everything I throw at it—whether I’m editing 4K videos, juggling content calendars, or publishing on the go.
That said, if I were buying one today, I’d go for the newly released 13-inch MacBook Air with M4, which starts at $1,499. And if screen real estate is non-negotiable, add $200 more for the 15-inch version. The base model will be more than enough for most users, unless you're planning to mine crypto, build games, or render 3D animation.
It’s a machine I trust so much, I even recommended it to my sister—and now it’s her daily driver, too.
13-inch MacBook Air, from $1,499, APPLE
All photos courtesy of Apple, unless stated otherwise.
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