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8gb v 16gb M1 for Five Years and a Few OS's?

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dizmonk

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Nov 26, 2010
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So I've got a little bit of a different question on the 8 v 16gb issue. I plan on keeping this MBA for 5 years. I'm guessing by that time there will be 2-3 more major OS upgrades. I know none of us can predict the future (esp. tech and Apple) but I'm wondering the chances are that 8GB M1s will be able to support major OS upgrades 4-5 years in the future?

It seems like Apple kinda cuts off older machines from new major versions of OS's after like 5 years or so...

What do you think?

Will the 8gb last 5 years with new OSs or will it get cut off and I would need 16gb? Thanks.
 
OS support is based on MacBook release dates somewhat, rather than RAM amount. If M1 MacBook air loses support, 8GB and 16GB will both be dropped off support.
You just need to buy the RAM based on your need, but I think 16GB is better overall cause more browser tabs and more applications opening in the background.
 
dizmonk said:
So I've got a little bit of a different question on the 8 v 16gb issue. I plan on keeping this MBA for 5 years. I'm guessing by that time there will be 2-3 more major OS upgrades. I know none of us can predict the future (esp. tech and Apple) but I'm wondering the chances are that 8GB M1s will be able to support major OS upgrades 4-5 years in the future?

It seems like Apple kinda cuts off older machines from new major versions of OS's after like 5 years or so...

What do you think?

Will the 8gb last 5 years with new OSs or will it get cut off and I would need 16gb? Thanks.
Click to expand...
If you are a casual use user, 8GB should be fine. My 2015 MBA with 4GB of RAM runs Big Sur fine and I can do anything I need on that MBA. Don't fall victim to overbuying.
 
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Apple_Robert said:
If you are a casual use user, 8GB should be fine. Don't fall victim to overbuying.
Click to expand...
^^^This x100...

What is your usage for the machine and do you anticipate that usage changing over the life of the machine?

MR is full of future proofer's.. Many will never need the specs they push others to buy.. 8GB RAM is fine for most users who'd opt for the fanless MacBook Air..

If you don't think you are going to batch process large photos, do a lot of video editing ect then you'll be fine with 8GB RAM...

Save the cash or put it toward an SSD upgrade..

If you think you might need 16GB RAM then get it now because it's not upgradeable down the line..
 
M1 Macs available to purchase today should definitely be supported for 5 years. 8 GB RAM should be enough.
 
dizmonk said:
So I've got a little bit of a different question on the 8 v 16gb issue. I plan on keeping this MBA for 5 years. I'm guessing by that time there will be 2-3 more major OS upgrades. I know none of us can predict the future (esp. tech and Apple) but I'm wondering the chances are that 8GB M1s will be able to support major OS upgrades 4-5 years in the future?

It seems like Apple kinda cuts off older machines from new major versions of OS's after like 5 years or so...

What do you think?

Will the 8gb last 5 years with new OSs or will it get cut off and I would need 16gb? Thanks.
Click to expand...
Although the OS will be upgraded, your usage will probably about the same 5 years from now. So I would simply look at your current machine. If you currently have 8GB of RAM and you've been fine with it for 5 years, you will be fine with 8GB five years in the future. However if you already feel 8GB is limited on your current computer, then get 16GB.

Example, myself. I have a Windows laptop with 8GB of RAM. For my current usage, it's borderline limiting. If I buy a new laptop, it has to have 16GB (and my target is 10 years of usage).

So what computer you use today, how much RAM it has, and how do you feel it works on your daily tasks?
 
I
dizmonk said:
Yea I did... I had the 8gb and it seemed fine..... I'm into the futureproofing thing... Thanks,
Click to expand...
I told you so 'cause I am in the same boat and since I buy a new laptop every seven or more years, I like to be on the safe side. Needs change and you cannot predict what software you will be using some years from now, so I prefer to be prepared.
 
That’s what I would’ve done too as someone who very infrequently buys a new laptop. Everyone is so impressed by M1 now, but everything new becomes old, and I would rather pay more now for a little insurance it’s still going to run as smooth as butter in 5+ years than be forced into buying a new computer earlier.
 
Depends on your use case, 8gb is plenty fast still. I feel I shouldn't invest so much in the first gen hardware, so I got a base model instead.
 
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I think 8GB M1 Airs will do fine in the next 5 years,

I would get the 16GB if you sincerely want the most and powerful of your MacBook Air I know 16GB would be a sweet spot for most

(16GB is 'very' powerful for me, hehehe) *owns 8GB M1 MBA
 
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Conversely to others in this thread, I got 16GB for my M1 MBA. In retrospect it's way too much for my current and foreseeable future needs. All it did was delay my delivery at the time.
 
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I bought the 8GB version and so far it hasn't hitched once. I routinely have PS open along with LR at times and 5+ tabs of Safari with multiple YT vids running at times. This machine is just awesome.
 
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The Simpleton said:
Conversely to others in this thread, I got 16GB for my M1 MBA. In retrospect it's way too much for my current and foreseeable future needs. All it did was delay my delivery at the time.
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I watched many YouTube videos and read too many blogs and forum posts before making my decision to go with the 8 gb Air. Your post was the one that settled it for me. I picked up an 8 gb Air today.

I'm coming from a late 2013 MacBook Pro 13 that I special ordered with 16 gb... and waited for delivery. Despite knowing I've never needed 16 gb for my use, I've had a heck of a time being OK with going with a lesser amount this time.

While I didn't think I had any complaints with the 2013, this new machine is spectacular. Thanks for your help!
 
MacOS on the M1 chip with the fast SSD hard drive is excellent at swapping out information between the hard drive and RAM. Basically 95% of power users will notice zero different between 8 and 16 GB.

RAM isn't needed like it used to be when we were using HDDs.
 
Similar situation here... went back and forth between the 8GB and 16GB ram option and waiting for the new Pro's, but decided to just get 8GB. This thing runs super well and feels worlds better than my only 2-year old 13-inch MBP. The keyboard, battery life, and overall speed are just incredible for this price point (education discount + free AirPods+ trade in of my cracked screen MBP).

Call me crazy but if this base model M1 Air was a few hundred more expensive, I would still think it's worth it. Very happy so far.

I've made a decision to not run iStat menus or anything. No point in chasing specs and numbers and overspennding when it just works.
 
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I'm not a power user, but I always have more than 10 Safari windows open and some smaller apps open at the time time. Even with restarts every few days the system would drag - exposé and transitions weren't smooth anymore. Opening Photoshop and Lightroom together also made it feel slower. The RAM management was good, it was never red for long, but I definitely noticed a difference in the UI experience. So I'm thinking of going to 16GB next time.
 
sahni130 said:
Call me crazy but if this base model M1 Air was a few hundred more expensive, I would still think it's worth it. Very happy so far.

I've made a decision to not run iStat menus or anything. No point in chasing specs and numbers and overspennding when it just works.
Click to expand...
Absolutely agree. Perfectly happy with 8gb MBA M1 and keeping away from the activity monitor.

We should start an anonymous movement:
"Hi, I'm Steve and I overspend on tech."
"Hi Steve!"
 
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Look at it this way, if 16GB weren't helpful then Apple wouldn't have put 16GB in the iPad Pro.

In terms of macOS support, it'll come down to the processor, not the memory.
 
To be honest. These computers are pretty cheap to begin with. And I know everyone have different finances.

But my days of spending $2500-3000 on laptops is over. You can get MacBook Air on sale for $800 easy these days base 8gb ram. (I just picked on up $750 no sales taxes (back to school promo)

the amount to spend on ram up etc. it’s just not really worth it for me.
To answer the op. 5 years down the road. Unless you are doing heavy intensive stuff. You likely don’t need 16gb ram on a Mac. Windows is different. 8gb is a little rough for windows laptops if you are taxing the laptop. But Apple is tightly integrated and 8gb is fine for 90% of people out there.

I got a 64gb ram kit I haven’t open up for almost one year on my supped up desktop windows pc cause 16gb ram
runs fine ok windows
 
It's $200 extra. Will you sit around every day for the next 5 years complaining how much better your life would be if you had the $200 you spent on 16gb of ram?
 
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