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and possibly switch to Windows because iMessage exists there now.
Uh, not really, I have a Surface Pro 8 and while there is a Microsoft OS hack that lets you relay iMessages to you Windows device, it ONLY works while it is open and only give you access to messages that arrive while your Windows device is open. No access to your iMessage prior to the start of the current session, and all incoming iMessages during the session are flushed out when you sleep or shut down your Windows device. I know these are limitations of the Apple security system but it doesn't matter whose fault it is, it is the reality. That's why I ordered a $1599 base model M1 MacBook Pro with 1tb ssd this morning - enough trying to tie together my Apple and Microsoft existence with paper clips and Elmer's glue.

PS - not going to link to the special but you should be able to find it...;)
 
Uh, not really, I have a Surface Pro 8 and while there is a Microsoft OS hack that lets you relay iMessages to you Windows device, it ONLY works while it is open and only give you access to messages that arrive while your Windows device is open. No access to your iMessage prior to the start of the current session, and all incoming iMessages during the session are flushed out when you sleep or shut down your Windows device. I know these are limitations of the Apple security system but it doesn't matter whose fault it is, it is the reality. That's why I ordered a $1599 base model M1 MacBook Pro with 1tb ssd this morning - enough trying to tie together my Apple and Microsoft existence with paper clips and Elmer's glue.

PS - not going to link to the special but you should be able to find it...;)
i use paper clips and elmer's glue to keep my life together, but definitely doesn't work with windows/mac issues... 😔
 
I am in fact serious. I think the M1/8/256 base is now so good, that design and color should be and are the deciding factors for a purchase decision. In the past the design helped to put up with the limitations of hardware and the premium price. But now design has a more important role than specs. What happened with iPhones and iPads, namely that even previous generations are more than powerful enough, is now happening to Macs. The problem is not that the M2 is only a minor upgrade over the M1. The problem is that the M1 was already too good. You can not feel the speed difference anymore, if the slower computer already reacts instantaneous. So the 8GB RAM is really a non-issue for the vast majority of users. And the rest can just pay up for more. But the fingerprints on that damn Midnight color, they are real. 😆
Agree. If they could bring out that config on the MBA15 to bring the price down more, I would be pumping F5 on the site at launch time.
 
so, humor and non-humor? not sure how that works... 🤔
German humor always works! We take our fun seriously.
If they could bring out that config on the MBA15 to bring the price down more, I would be pumping F5 on the site at launch time.
The dictation key?

MK2A3.png
 
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My 2011 MacBook Air with 4 GB Ram was the go to machine for my kids for virtual school over the crappy school provided dell/Thinkpads. Never thought they would fight over using an ancient MacBook Air. They sure are enjoying the 8 GB M2 MBA. I am not recycling nor disposing it yet.
 
No it isn't. Some of us do really intensive stuff but don't have a lot of money.
Buy more if it is intensive and makes you money or helps you in career/study or any productive activity. I run out of memory on my 64 GB M1 Max MBP at times, hopefully my next upgrade is. 128 GB MBP. You get what you pay for.
You can always buy a Windows laptop if there is a better deal and can perform more intensive tasks. I have an AMD thread ripper/4090 GPU linux/windows workstation. I love the upgradability of my Work station, which Apple doesn’t offer.
 
My two cents, though just reflecting on already made arguments.

First, the discussion often focuses on the question that instead of 8GB Apple should default to 16GB. Probably there is a middle ground like 12 GB. Apple already provides a similar 'half' upgrade in the built-to-option form of 24 GB. I forever postponed upgrading my laptop to 16 GB because I did not and do not need it. However, 8 GB was a bit short. While I am doing my 'high workflow stuff' the computer uses around 11-12 GB - so the upgrade really helps but still, the 16 GB is not and will not be required anytime soon. So I can imagine that the share of customers whose workload is memory starved would be considerably diminished by only defaulting to 12 GB. Of course, we do not have quantitative estimates - it would be gripping to look into Apple data that it for sure has about the distribution of memory usage across customers and workloads.

Second, the discussion rightfully points out that the upgrade pricing is outrageous. When I upgraded my laptop from 8 GB to 16 GB it cost me about 25 €. I can imagine that it is quite costly for Apple to provide all the memory upgrade options, but in its current pricing, the margins are greedy (anecdotally, in some configurations, Dell XPS 13 with 16GB is cheaper than 8 GB :) at least in UK). I can imagine that the willingness to pay for the upgrade would be more palatable for a lot of customers around 100 €. The other side is that after the purchase the memory upgrade is not accessible for customers, although there are videos on youtube where skillfully persons de-solder and re-solder memory chips and upgrade the memory after the purchase. In my dreams, Apple and its certified service providers would provide the memory upgrade to customers willing to pay about the current price of 200 €.
 
Correct me if I'm being naive or wrong but are Apple's prices for ram and storage kinda high?
It's not like one can go to OWC or Crucial anymore.
Yup and it takes a second to see there is no fraud at work hence we can cut the drama and the name calling and all the nonsense. It is an expensive product. The fact that you don’t see the value in it doesn’t make it a scam.
 
apple ram & drive updates are pricey; raise your hand if you don't think so. (i don't see any raised hands 🤔) the pricing is what it is.

apple is a (gasp) corporation that is out to make money (another gasp). we're here (or most of us) because we like their hardware & software (maybe not always 😉). so, in the real world, we have to accept the costs and do what we need to do.

or we can come to the forum and whine about it (which always makes for a fun read 🙄)
 
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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!
Words marked, but I disagree. I got my wife an M1 Air recently. It'll last well more than 3 years (absent any catastrophic hardware failures).

Intel Macs on 8 GB RAM definitely are unacceptable. I think Apple Silicon manages RAM better than Intel chips, though, so I do think it's less of an issue. You should have more than 8 if you're a software dev for sure, but your sister isn't going to run into RAM shortages (256 GB storage is another issue, but one fairly easily remedied).

Most Mac users are not Mac users because of iMessage, though, so not sure why that's even mentioned here. If you like Mac, you aren't going to be switching to Windows because of RAM issues. And not sure how you're going to develop Apple apps on a Windows machine…

At any rate, I would say 2026 we'll see 16 GB become standard.
 
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