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Neither 8GB of modern RAM nor 256GB of modern nVME storage is worth $5. Also, upgrading RAM on these MacBooks essentially means that a whole different chip with that amount of RAM is installed, as the memory is now unified in the SoC.

I agree, the upgrade prices are still overpriced, but at least there’s some reasoning behind it.
I know people also make the comment that RAM decreases in price. I spent over $1,000 for 32GB of DDR5 RAM when it first came out.
 
I need to see what world RAM upgrade is for $5. Microsoft, Dell, Lenovo, and others all charge in the 200-250$ range for RAM upgrades in Laptops comparable to Macbook Air/Pros.

Making a profit is fine. Making a windfall profit tends to draw the ire of consumers and bring in regulators.

Today regulators are shutting the app store monopoly and the lighting port. Maybe soon regulators will require Apple to use standard RAM and SSD.

Anyway people can be angry if they want. And in my opinion it is absolutely reasonable for people to be angry about Apples RAM pricing.
 
I spent $2700 on an Apple IIgs with 256K of RAM and no hard drive, and $5500 on a Mac IIci with 8MB of RAM AND 170 MB hard drive.

I have no complaints about the price of any computer I would buy today.
 
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spent over $1,000 for 32GB of DDR5 RAM when it first came out.
I spent $250.00 for 16K of memory when computers first came out. Yes, 16K of memory so I could max out my system with 64K of memory.

My current desktop is W11 based. I have 64 Gig of memory and two 2 TB M.2 SSDs. The SSDs when I bought them were $350.00 each. They can now be had for about $200.00.

The Microsoft Surface Laptop base configuration is 8 GB, same as Apple. Windows arguably is not as efficient with memory as Apple, so I have been told. To double that ram to 16 Gig is $200.00 more. Surface laptops cannot be upgraded as everything is basically glued into the machine. Thus Microsoft is charging the same amount as Apple to double the ram. Seems to be an industry thing.

I have 16 Gig in my M2 Air as I do much photo editing and Photoshop and Lightroom like memory, especially when dealing with 20+ layers in 20 images at the same time. I am currently using about 163 Gig of the 1 TB drive. My needs are probably more than the average user.
 
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Making a profit is fine. Making a windfall profit tends to draw the ire of consumers and bring in regulators.

Today regulators are shutting the app store monopoly and the lighting port. Maybe soon regulators will require Apple to use standard RAM and SSD.

Anyway people can be angry if they want. And in my opinion it is absolutely reasonable for people to be angry about Apples RAM pricing.
Yeah. Regulators should be designing computers. Makes sense.

When are they going to address the price and profit margins on popcorn and soda at movie theaters?
 
8gb is reasonable for people that use the machine in an office environment or general use.

Microsoft Office or iWork stuff, browsers, etc. Don't code, don't develop, don't do audio production.
Okay, this is getting silly.

I code, I do audio production – used to own a studio – and I do video production. The 8Gb M2 eats this stuff for breakfast, while simultaneously running Numbers; financial software; Pages, Mail; Firefox, with ten maybe twenty tabs; and other stuff. You don't need 16Gb for this. 16Gb won't hurt, but you won't notice the difference because everything is immediate; there's zero lag; ever.

Now, back to dev. I have an 8Gb 2013 MBP that can run six or seven VMs to emulate a production set-up. The only difference with the 2013 MBP is that it gets hot. Obviously, if you're running six or seven Windows VMs, then your experience will be different. Most people don't do that.

An 8Gb M2 is a powerhouse. It isn't a power-limited machine that's only good occasional or light use. It's more than powerful enough to meet the needs of 99% of folk.
 
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Neither 8GB of modern RAM nor 256GB of modern nVME storage is worth $5. Also, upgrading RAM on these MacBooks essentially means that a whole different chip with that amount of RAM is installed, as the memory is now unified in the SoC.

I agree, the upgrade prices are still overpriced, but at least there’s some reasoning behind it.

Bloomberg did a teardown and component cost analysis of the 2017 (or maybe it was the 2018) MacBook Pro. Prices were based component manufacture published prices. The 16 GB of RAM in that MacBook Pro was listed as $10 based on the published price. And you know a company the size of Apple is able to negotiate that lower.
 
Yeah. Regulators should be designing computers. Makes sense.

When are they going to address the price and profit margins on popcorn and soda at movie theaters?

Maybe you should write a letter to your EU representative, complaining about popcorn/soda prices? Start a public campaign?

I doubt people consider popcorn/soda to be as vital to their lifestyle as their smartphone - but hey, if it is an important issue to you, go for it!
 
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I can see the MacBook Air and Mac Mini product line staying with the 8GB/256GB configuration for sometime, while everything else getting doubled.

I’m really hoping the next M3 iMac has 16GB/512GB standard — my next machine.
 
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I can see the MacBook Air and Mac Mini line staying with the 8GB/256GB configuration for sometime, while everything else getting doubled. At least, here’s to hoping…

Its weird. The iPhones are approaching 8 GB of RAM….and that is for hardware that runs iOS and only allows one open app at a time…
 
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No issue for me with the memory or storage. Probably average user doesn't.
Do think maybe Apple Store should have bigger models in stock for sale
 
I think you should go look up what "monopoly" actually means.

Hint: It doesn't mean being very popular with certain segments of the population.
I was trying to be consistent with the wording used by the OP. But you are correct that it has been used incorrectly. I meant “dominance” and im sure OP meant the same. There is no absence of competition in laptops so the term monopoly should not be used at all. Pretty sure regional monopolies exist though.
 
No, she's not. 256GB is more than enough storage for the average user, home and corporate. Heck, I'm only using 220GB on this MBP, and I've got 75GB+ of ALAC files in that mix, which the average user absolutely does not have.




Because they wouldn't. They might page out to disk occasionally, but with fast SSDs they won't notice it.
Unless you sync iphone or iPad to it. That sucks a ton of space.

But you're on point, there are a lot of users for whom 8/256 is fine. My niece in high school does most everything online and it’s plenty. It’s up to the user to do research and estimate what they need.
 
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lol, i have started using a old hp probook due to apps that i need to use not able to be supported by mac/im having rlly storage issues on my base m1 air too
 
Making a profit is fine. Making a windfall profit tends to draw the ire of consumers and bring in regulators.

Today regulators are shutting the app store monopoly and the lighting port. Maybe soon regulators will require Apple to use standard RAM and SSD.

Anyway people can be angry if they want. And in my opinion it is absolutely reasonable for people to be angry about Apples RAM pricing.
Don’t buy, if it makes you angry. Be happy with your purchases. There are lot of options outside Apple.
 
I now make Apps for the Apple App Store. I was expecting it to be ultra memory efficient, but I was wrong...

Last Friday, I was using a whopping 18 GB of Swap, and I got the "Out of Memory" error on my MacBook.

As my app got more and more complex and had even more stuff, the Memory issues started getting a lot worse.

8 GB RAM will never be enough for Xcode.

Developers buy the RAM options above 8 GB (16 GB, 32 GB, 64 GB, 128 GB, etc.) because it’s a requirement, not because they are trying to be cool.

When you got into Xcode you should have considered buying a Mac with more memory.
 
It's sad to see how many people here are ok with getting so little in return for their money. "Just pay for the upgrade" as though spending an extra $400 on $5 worth of parts is seen as reasonable. Boy oh boy what it must be like to live life as comfortably as the rest of you.
It’s not a matter of being ok with it.
I don’t think that anyone would disagree that an M3 MacBook Air at $999 with 16GB of RAM and 512GB SSD wouldn’t be an absolute steal, an immediate recommendation, a no question buy.
But the facts are simply the facts, Apple doesn’t make a machine like that, and they don’t get as big as they are now by doing those types of moves.
And for some of us, macOS is a non-negotiable, and the Apple Silicon transition has been absolutely incredible, so the prices can be justified.
What’s the alternative, move to windows? Because I’d rather be stuck with 8 GB of RAM on a Mac than have unlimited RAM elsewhere.
Also, even a $1800 windows computer, no matter the RAM or SSD, isn’t going to get you anywhere close to the battery life and efficiency of an Apple Silicon machine
 
Even 32GB of memory looks like it’s not enough for me. This MacBook is the M1 Touch Bar version with 16GB and 1TB.
I’m saving for 16” m3 max with 64GB and maaaaybe 2TB. We’ll see.
 

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Not true, Apple dropped prices when they redesigned MacBook Air with Apple silicon compared to the Intel 2019/2020 Models. M2 hike is more inflationary, hopefully the prices can come down when CPI cools off.
This wasn’t a complete re-work of the model like the M2 MacBook Air. The last Intel MBAir and the M1 MBAir actually share quite a few components and look identical from the outside. The M2 was a completely new model.
 
Greetings!

I got my M1 MacBook Air in May of 2021. While I was very satisfied with it, there was one huge problem I didn't think about at the time...

The future...

It's April of 2023, I have had this MacBook for almost 2 years (Longest out of any other laptop btw), and I have changed my lifestyle a lot.

I now make Apps for the Apple App Store. I was expecting it to be ultra memory efficient, but I was wrong...

Last Friday, I was using a whopping 18 GB of Swap, and I got the "Out of Memory" error on my MacBook.

As my app got more and more complex and had even more stuff, the Memory issues started getting a lot worse.

Another complaint I have about my MacBook is that my hands have grown a lot (This is a me problem tbh), and I am very excited for the 15 Inch MacBook Air. Probably something I will upgrade to once I can figure out how to bring it around.

HOWEVER!​

I do not like Apple's shady practices of starting with 8 GB and 256 GB of Storage for this reason. First, my sister runs out of her storage a lot... and she is just an average user. I also see her with multiple different apps opened, treating her MacBook as if it had 16 GB of Ram.

What's even worse is that you cannot get the M1/M2 MacBook Air with 16 GB of Ram at an Apple Store without pre-ordering it... It's like Apple doesn't think the average user would use it. I have seen otherwise, a ton...

I wanted to get 16 GB of Ram back then, but needed a new laptop very fast. Being very satisfied with my M1 MacBook Air at the time, I cannot say I am very satisfied anymore, and I thought I was one of the biggest Apple Sheeps on this forum...

I am literally using 5.61 GB of Ram right now, with only 2 browser tabs opened.
View attachment 2190142

I am no longer 100% Apple sheep because of Apple's shady practices of Ram Management.

The 15 Inch M3 Air sounds like a dream machine to me, AS LONG AS IT HAS 16 GB OF RAM STANDARD...
I am not willing to spend $1,899 on a consumer level machine. Thats probably how much the 16 GB 15 Inch M3 Air is going to cost tbh.

All these M1/M2 Airs in circulation will probably become obsolete in like 3 years time because of how slow Apple is.
Mark my words!

And then most people will see how important 16 GB of Ram is for their everyday tasks, and possibly switch to Windows because iMessage exists there now.

When do you think Apple will make 16 GB Standard? Thanks in advance!
Guess what?I have 16gb and a Mac will “use whatever ram it has available.
For instance I have a Mac with 4GB RAM and it can open more than two tabs……… more like 30
 
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