16GB RAM has been standard in base model 15"/16" since July 2014

[Hexley]

Improvements made to the Macbook Pro 16" have been nearly perfect in all regard except for one.

Apple neglected to increase the lowest-end base model RAM from 16GB to 32GB.

16GB RAM has been standard in the lowest-end 15" (which the 16" replaced) for more than 5 years & 7 months.

By comparison previous increase of base model RAM was much more quicker.

16GB RAM on July 2014
8GB RAM on June 2012
4GB RAM on March 2009
2GB RAM on June 2007
1GB RAM on October 2006
0.5GB RAM on January 2006

If Apple did increase RAM to 32GB but kept to the same price of $2,399 for the Core i7 & $2,799 for the Core i9 then whining of Apple being overpriced would lessen.

 

[Rich74]

I've been using a 2012 non retina 2012 model that had / has 8 gig RAM.

Not entirely sure 32 gig is necessary for a base model? I mean, prove me wrong and all that...

 

[Hexley]

I've been using a 2012 non retina 2012 model that had / has 8 gig RAM.

Not entirely sure 32 gig is necessary for a base model? I mean, prove me wrong and all that...

This model? It isn't the lowest end base model.

Thanks for pointing it out.

 

[theluggage]

Not entirely sure 32 gig is necessary for a base model? I mean, prove me wrong and all that...

It's not exactly the base model - both the $2399 and $2799 only come with 16GB - and the whole 16" range is designed for "more demanding" users - Apple don't really make anything for people who just want a larger screen for office and 2D work.

The biggest problem is that it is non-upgradeable, so even if you're fine with 16GB today, you have to worry about what you'll need over the, hopefully, 3-5 year lifetime of the product.

Thing is, 32GB of RAM in 2020 isn't super-expensive. The difference in retail price (i.e. including a profit for the seller) between 16 and 32GB is about $70 - if you were building your own > $2000 computer (imagine it only had 2 RAM slots) that would be a no-brainer. When choosing components like RAM the trick is spotting the point beyond which you start paying a large premium for the latest high-density chips - and 32GB is certainly on the right side of that line today.

On a commercial basis, the extra logistics of one more permutation of mainboard configuration (remember: you have to guess how many of each to manufacture and ship to your distributors) wouldn't justify saving, maybe, about $40 on parts... unless, of course, you could get away with charging customers, ha ha, 10x that for the upgrade - cha ching! trebles all round! - but that would be ridiculous...

Apart from that, it is down to comparison shopping. You'll certainly find some ~$2000 laptops come with 32GB as standard (e.g. Dell XPS 15 for configurations above about $1600), MS Surface laptops continue the MS tradition of making Macs look cheap, and for Lenovo and others it depends which of their sprawling range of laptops you choose (...the 32GB upgrade from Lenovo varies from an almost reasonable $150, to a worse than Apple $450 depending on the model - I'm guessing that the $150 one is upgradeable and the $450 is soldered so they can charge what they like - Apple didn't invent upgrade gouging!).

 

[Rich74]

I didn't say that it was, I was merely suggesting that a 'base model / entry level' Mac doesnt need to have 32 gigs of RAM.

I apologise if I have somehow upset the hive mind by that.

 

[ascender]

How many users genuinely need 32GB RAM in their MBP though? I know a lot of people ask about it, but often, those who know they need more than the usual 8GB or 16GB RAM don't need to ask.

I also get the idea that you should go for as much storage and RAM as you can afford to prolong the life of the machine, but for a lot of people, unless they have a big career/personal change, that money spent on RAM might be wasted.

Apart from the cost of Apple RAM, the new 16" lets you configure as much RAM as you want or need - the base machine as it is is more than powerful enough for the majority of users. I remember the days where you would always spec as much RAM as you could afford because of inefficient software, OS, spinning disks etc, but these days its just not as much of an issue.

 

[Falhófnir]

Well remember the jump from 8-16GB base RAM was bigger in raw numbers terms than the staged jump from 512MB to 8GB between 2006 and 2014! Demand on RAM certainly doesn't seem to have caught up with it yet, outside of a few use cases. 16GB seems to be ample for editing 4K video (which seems to be one of the MBPs primary uses). If you need 32GB or 64GB you can specify it when you order, for most people it's not a necessary extra expense yet.

 

[Hexley]

Thing is, 32GB of RAM in 2020 isn't super-expensive. The difference in retail price (i.e. including a profit for the seller) between 16 and 32GB is about $70....

Exactly my point... it's just less than $70 from a wholesale point of view. It would make you stand out from everyone else if 32GB RAM was in the base model $2,399 Core i7 & $2,799 Core i9.

 

[Hexley]

I didn't say that it was, I was merely suggesting that a 'base model / entry level' Mac doesnt need to have 32 gigs of RAM.

I apologise if I have somehow upset the hive mind by that.

For the money being asked.... it should be the 'base model / entry level'.

 

[Hexley]

By comparison the 2017 iMac Pro & 2019 Mac Pro both have lowest end base models with 32GB RAM.

Yes, they're both desktops but these are "Pro" like the Macbook Pro 16".

Lost opportunity to do the right thing and make the lives of their customers better.

2020 would have the Macbook Pro 14" have the lowest-end base model have 16GB RAM.

Keep the 2020 Macbook Air at 8GB.

 

[AustinIllini]

They're not going to make the base model 32 GB until the software dictates it.

Why would they increase it just to increase it?