M3 Air vs M2 Air for Final Cut Pro: M3 is faster but M2 is still fine for most edits

The M3 Air is noticeably faster on exports and timeline scrubbing with heavy effects, but the M2 Air isn’t slow for talking heads or light color grading. The M3 gains hardware-accelerated AV1 decode and a faster media engine, but both machines throttle under sustained loads because they lack fans. Export times are 20-30% faster on the M3 for 4K with effects, but real-world editing feels similar unless you’re stacking layers. If you own an M2 Air, don’t upgrade; if buying new and the price difference is small, get the M3.