2024 MacBook Air still 8GB Unified Memory

[Algr]

I suspect that most of the people complaining about 8GB not being enough have never used a system with 8GB.

I've already said that I owned an iMac with 8GB ten years ago, and it wasn't enough. I upgraded it to 24 GB, and went on to use that iMac for 8 years. Maybe that is why Apple doesn't want people doing post-purchase upgrades anymore. They don't want Macs lasting that long.

work related and other important files in the cloud.
archived files and movie stash on external ssd.
8/256 is the sweet spot for me (and thousands of others)

Apple advertises video editing as a primary use for Macs. The cloud is unusable for that, because even some hard drives aren't fast enough to keep up with ProRes 422 LT.

In fact, a 256 GB drive can only hold 51 minutes of ProRes 422 LT 4k video. You have to convert all your footage to this in order to edit. Wedding videos typically run over two hours.

 

[AJB1971]

How much longer do people expect Apple to introduce new MacBook Airs and Pros with 8GB of RAM?

I’ve said before that I expect an increase with the M4, probably to 12GB of RAM, and that I’d rather buy the first generation with 12GB than the last generation with 8GB.

 

[Howard2k]

Everyone needs 500+ horsepower in their car. Everyone.

To be fair, some would argue that if there’s a delay between when you put your foot down and when you hit 100Km/h then there’s room for improvement.

 

[Howard2k]

How much longer do people expect Apple to introduce new MacBook Airs and Pros with 8GB of RAM?

I’ve said before that I expect an increase with the M4, probably to 12GB of RAM, and that I’d rather buy the first generation with 12GB than the last generation with 8GB.

I’m guessing we’re almost there too.

 

[darngooddesign]

How much longer do people expect Apple to introduce new MacBook Airs and Pros with 8GB of RAM?

I’ve said before that I expect an increase with the M4, probably to 12GB of RAM, and that I’d rather buy the first generation with 12GB than the last generation with 8GB.

I expected this with the M3s, but the fact that you can now spec M3s up to 24GB makes me think that Apple is soon going to bump the base up to 12GB.

 

[AJB1971]

I expected this with the M3s, but the fact that you can now spec M3s up to 24GB makes me think that Apple is soon going to bump the base up to 12GB.

Yes, I did as well. I wondered if supply chain issues could have played a part if they were going to use 6GB modules like they use in the 18GB M3 Pro.

The M2 was also available with 24GB of RAM.

 

[za9ra22]

Why are they entitled? What does this SoC do for ordinary users? If NVMe blades are too slow, then why isn't 8 GB too small?

'Ordinary users' don't care in the slightest. They buy and use what they think is the right thing. And Apple are entitled to charge what they think is the 'right' price. They are a public company, owned by shareholders - those are the people Apple are governed by and answerable to, not us.

 

[deaglecat]

I’m guessing we’re almost there too.

Apple is driven by money now…rather than an insanely good user experience.

It is not the old Apple and hasn’t been for some time.

I don’t expect that to change, the suits have taken over and accountants run the show. Products are needlessly crippled by port limitations, RAM limitations and restrictions on upgradability and repairability.

Look elsewhere if you seek something else…the old Apple is long gone. RIP.

 

[turbineseaplane]

They are a public company, owned by shareholders - those are the people Apple are governed by and answerable to, not us.

It’s like how the EU government answers to its constituents, and not the concerns of a US based multinational corporation

 

[Mike Boreham]

Why are they entitled? What does this SoC do for ordinary users? If NVMe blades are too slow, then why isn't 8 GB too small?

Silicon Macs excel in delivering high performance for low power consumption hence low heat. These are real benefits for ordinary users.

 

[turbineseaplane]

Silicon Macs excel in delivering high performance for low power consumption hence low heat. These are real benefits for ordinary users.

None of which would be impacted by socketed NVMe

 

[Algr]

Everyone needs 500+ horsepower in their car. Everyone.

Anyone who needs that can already tell you WHY they need that. And realistically, most people know that they don't need that. The use cases for a car are predictable: They are exactly the same as they were 40 years ago.

Knowing what computer you need is far harder than knowing what car you need, so computer design should reflect that. It would cost Apple pennies to put in a NVMe slot to accept more fast storage. Or a ram slot so that swapping could go to that and not an SSD that wears out. But they don't want to do that because they want shorter lifespans for their macs.

You can say that the Mac is Apple's product, and they can do what they want with it. True. But contract law, patents, copyright, and currency are the products that we taxpayers produce, so we have just as much right to manipulate them in our favor. Apple is far more dependant on us than we are on them. So if they want to selfishly manipulate, so should we.

 

[halledise]

I've already said that I owned an iMac with 8GB ten years ago, and it wasn't enough. I upgraded it to 24 GB, and went on to use that iMac for 8 years. Maybe that is why Apple doesn't want people doing post-purchase upgrades anymore. They don't want Macs lasting that long.


Apple advertises video editing as a primary use for Macs. The cloud is unusable for that, because even some hard drives aren't fast enough to keep up with ProRes 422 LT.

In fact, a 256 GB drive can only hold 51 minutes of ProRes 422 LT 4k video. You have to convert all your footage to this in order to edit. Wedding videos typically run over two hours.

hence, a fast external ssd - but for the kinda work you describe, you'd have MBPro with a faster chip and more memory, rather than MBAir.
Air = lightweight. Pro = grunt/heavyweight division
8TB OWC Mercury Pro

 

[Algr]

Edit: Evil Australians confused the issue with their currency that is not named after kangaroos.

Lightweight or pro, it's still the same abuse of customer lock-in to charge that much.

The mercury pro you link to costs $1999:

It contains two of these, $499 each:


So it is A Thousand Dollars for just the $??? Thunderbolt box that contains NVMe inside and thus can only be slower than NVMe built into the motherboard. I may be TRYING to make money, but Apple sure isn't helping.

 

[ric22]

You can look at it however you want, but the fact is you can’t upgrade the base model that comes with an 8-core GPU.

Well... clickedy click on the Apple website... looks like you can! Try it yourself. They just throw is the near irrelevant SoC bump for free.

 

[raythompsontn]

So if they want to selfishly manipulate, so should we.

So do it then. Don’t buy a Mac. You already did and thus supported the evil company. Why rail against a company you support with your purchase? As long as people buy, Apple will survive.

 

[Mike Boreham]

None of which would be impacted by socketed NVMe

Being only an armchair engineer I don't know enough to say otherwise. I have regarded Silicon Mac storage as part of the package which delivers the Silicon advantage. If you are an expert I'll accept what you say as fact.

 

[turbineseaplane]

the Silicon advantage.

...which is actually slower SSD speeds than what is currently possible with socketed NVMe, just an FYI

 

[ric22]

Being only an armchair engineer I don't know enough to say otherwise. I have regarded Silicon Mac storage as part of the package which delivers the Silicon advantage. If you are an expert I'll accept what you say as fact.

Soldering the SSD certainly didn't need to be part of the package. There are minuscule energy savings, and it saves Apple a few pennies, but it makes the whole system less repairable and isn't an environmentally friendly move.

 

[Algr]

So do it then. Don’t buy a Mac. You already did and thus supported the evil company. Why rail against a company you support with your purchase? As long as people buy, Apple will survive.

I don't mean myself as an individual. I mean the government changing laws about patents, copyrights and contracts to protect individuals from corporate abuse. The government is there to serve the people. Corporations don't die to protect freedom, people do. So the government should protect people from corporate tyranny, just like any other kind of tyranny.

 

[JitteryJimmy]

Insane! No one other than me will buy one with these with entry level specs!!!

 

[Bobbuilds69]

If you need more RAM, pay to upgrade or buy a MacBook Pro with 16GB of RAM. If the Pro is too heavy for you, work out. Problem solved.

 

[halledise]

Lightweight or pro, it's still the same abuse of customer lock-in to charge that much.

The mercury pro you link to costs $1999:View attachment 2356301

It contains two of these, $499 each:
View attachment 2356302

So it is A Thousand Dollars for just the Thunderbolt box that contains NVMe inside and thus can only be slower than NVMe built into the motherboard. I may be TRYING to make money, but Apple sure isn't helping.

that’s australian $ so obviously US would be less

 

[Yebubbleman]

Though actually it isn't even slightly beside the point. If - and by your expectation this is going to be a BIG if - users are happy, and they stay happy, that seems to be the only criteria that matters.

A diabetic with a sweet tooth will be happy with a candy bar or a Coca-cola. And depending on how well their diabetes is managed, having one of each of those may not affect them to any noticeable degree. But that does not negate that they're much healthier and better off without those two.

In the exact same respect, can someone use an Apple Silicon Mac with only 8GB of RAM and never notice the degree to which 8GB of RAM is subpar under the hood? Assuming Apple drops support M1-M3 Macs before they increase the minimum system requirements to 16GB of RAM, absolutely. And, again, that's point that everyone CLINGS to as though it's the only thing that matters. But, it's not. Also, the aforementioned IF is a pretty big IF (a) at the current rate of bloating and (b) considering how much RAM macOS uses TODAY even when idle.

Cool. You can't feel it today, and therefore it's not a problem TODAY. Who is to say it won't be down the road?

 

[spcopsmac21]

8GB Memory is still good enough for students and grandma to use it to browse the web and use Microsoft Word. That's probably not going to change any time soon.

Most students and grandma are using $200-500 PCs and Laptops. In fact the vast majority of them are. $1200 isn’t entry level pricing for 95% of humanity