Buying a MBA, will the base configuration be enough for me?

[ab2c4]

I keep looking at the base configuration for a 15" MBA with 8gb/256gb. This computer will strictly be a "sitting on the couch surfing the internet while watching tv" type computer. I will be looking up sports scores, posting on forums, shopping on Amazon, random google searches, Youtube videos, and reading the occasional email (gmail). I use Safari for my browser fyi. Normally I do this stuff on my Iphone 15 Plus but it would be nicer to do it on a laptop with a 15" display and with a real keyboard to type on.

I will probably install Adobe Reader to look at the occasional PDF. I may or may not install MS Office for Word, but this won't be a work machine at all.

I will never use it for anything more than what I listed. With that said, is the base configuration enough for me and should last me 5 or more years? I have been reading on the topic of RAM and so many people are saying "you need 16GB of RAM, you never know what you will want to do on the machine in the future, and you need 16gb for this and that, etc". All the stuff people mention doing, video stuff etc I will never do.

I just want a laptop that I can have at most 5 tabs of Safari open and that's pretty much it, and the computer run smoothly.

With that said, should I spend the extra money for 16gb of RAM for the sake of Safari web browsing, or in my situation is that literally a waste of money?

 

[RokinAmerica]

I think you would be fine with the base model.

 

[russell_314]

It’s more than enough.

You’re going to get at least ten replies saying you need to a least spend $400 on upgrades to make it usable. If you’re making this post so when you spend the $400, you won’t feel like you wasted money then you’ll definitely succeed here.


I’ve probably seen 20 threads on this topic

 

[August West]

Should be fine for what you want to use it for. I have a 13" M1 MBA that I use almost identically and the 8GB of RAM hasn't been a problem. I run Brave with a lot more tabs always open and the memory pressure can get into the yellow but I've never seen it to be an issue. That being said, when it comes time to replace it years down the road I'd get 16 GB if Apple is still stuck at 8 on their base machines.

 

[ab2c4]

I appreciate the replies. This will be my first Mac. Will the only thing I need to worry about that might slow the laptop down in the future be OS upgrades? If so, can I just not do the OS upgrades to keep the machine from slowing down?

I have been a Windows guy since the 90's but I'm tired of Windows and want a change. My wife has a MBP so Mac isn't totally new to me from a basic users standpoint.

 

[Mainsail]

I have the 13" base M2 MBA (8/256). Never a stutter or problem. Smooth as butter. I use typical office/student type applications: Mail, Safari, iMessage, Photos, Calendar, Contacts, iWork, MS Office, Notes, ChatGPT, etc.. Occasionally, I make a simple iMovie video, but these are largely glorified slide shows.

BTW - Best computer I have ever owned!

 

[ab2c4]

I have the 13" base M2 MBA (8/256). Never a stutter or problem. Smooth as butter. My usages is what I will call typical office/student type applications: Mail, Safari, iMessage, Photos, Calendar, Contacts, iWork, MS Office, Notes, ChatGPT, etc.. Occasionally, I make a simple iMovie video, but these are largely glorified slide shows.

This is good to hear, thank you. You are using your computer for more than I plan to use mine so I should be ok with the base configuration.

 

[raythompsontn]

If anyone says you need more memory or more storage, ask if they will give you the money for the extra cost. For your needs the base machine is more than enough. Others really like to spend other people’s money by recommending expensive upgrades.

 

[ab2c4]

I appreciate everyone's responses, now I can buy the base laptop config and not have to worry that I'm underbuying.

 

[ab22]

I have a base M2 13 Air - it's been excellent used much as you plan to. Do look Apple .edu discount & gift card - either online or instore

Buy 15-inch MacBook Air with M3 Chip

Trade in an eligible Mac for credit toward a new 15-inch MacBook Air laptop with the Apple M3 chip. Select a model or customize your own.

www.apple.com

 

[HobeSoundDarryl]

I'll counter the crowd here since you yourself are thinking about the future not only about right now. You are correct in doing so because when you buy a Silicon Mac, you are not buying for 2024 needs but for up to 2032 or so needs too. Unlike Intel Macs where we often had an ability to add some RAM or more storage later, what you buy in this Mac is all it can EVER be internally. If 4 years from now, you absolutely need more RAM, there's no adding it then.

So, I agree with all posts for what you've described you need right now, base specs will be fine.

I'll disagree with all by then asking: "what will you need it to do in 2028? 2030? 2033?" Or are you ready to buy a whole replacement Mac in those years... because that's the answer when needs evolve: replace the entire thing instead of only evolve the one you already own with more RAM or more SSD inside.

This crowd around here always pushes what Apple has for sale now. It's like it's some kind of rule to "help" the richest company in the world sell more of what is for sale now. "We" also are quick to put down anything & everything Apple does NOT have for sale right now... but then flip flop as soon as Apple launches whatever it is. In other words, "we" are quite the biased bunch with regards to helping Apple sell what they want people to buy now.

My best advice is to do your best mental time traveling and ask yourself what you need from this computer in at least 2029 (only 5 years from now, when you'll likely still have whatever Mac you buy in 2024). Will base specs do THAT well? If not, buy the 2029 specs you need and they'll probably be overkill for your 2024 needs but then be there for you when you get to what 2029 needs your Mac to do.

Find one of them perfectly healthy 70-year-old smokers of "3 packs a day" and ask him if smoking is bad for you. He'll probably laugh at the concept and offer himself up as evidence. A biased crowd always answers questions with their biases. Apple fans are fans of Apple. If Apple believes base specs are enough... they are enough.

There are strong rumors that the very next generation of Macs is going to raise base specs to 12GB (possibly 16GB). That M4 iPad just released has 12GB of RAM inside of it with half of it disabled. As soon as Apple bails on 8GB as base specs, "we" will then put down 8GB RAM in support of the great need for at least 12GB (must help Apple drive all of them Mac upgrades from under-powered 8GB Macs).

See iPhones when 4" was the "perfect" screen size and phablets were collectively deemed "abominations"... until Apple embraced phablet sizes and some of the very same people then referred to the old "perfection" as "how did we ever get by with those puny screens?" Soon that will be "how did we ever get by with a puny 8GB of RAM?" When will that be? As soon as Apple evolves base specs... possibly- maybe probably- with M4 Macs about to be launched.

"Think different" and buy wisely.

And one more thing: with such simple 2024 needs, if money is driving your thinking here, consider a PC or Chromebook or similar. They can easily do what you need and will cost a fraction of a MBair. Kick the can for a few years and when your needs get beyond such basics, maybe buy yourself an M7 Mac with specs that can last for the life of the device.

 

[ab2c4]

I have a base M2 13 Air - it's been excellent used much as you plan to. Do look Apple .edu discount & gift card - either online or instore

Buy 15-inch MacBook Air with M3 Chip

Trade in an eligible Mac for credit toward a new 15-inch MacBook Air laptop with the Apple M3 chip. Select a model or customize your own.

www.apple.com

I agree, I work for a university and I'm planning to go to our local Apple store and get the educational discount along with the $150 Apple gift card. Seems too good of a deal to pass up.

 

[TechnoMonk]

I'll counter the crowd here since you yourself and thinking about the future. You are correct in doing so because when you buy a Silicon Mac, you are not buying for 2024 needs but for up to 2032 or so needs too. Unlike Intel Macs where we often had an ability to add some RAM or more storage later, what you buy in this Mac is all it can EVER be internally. If 4 years from now, you absolutely need more RAM, there's no adding it then.

So, I agree with all posts for what you've described you need right now, base specs will be fine.

I'll disagree with all by then asking: "what will you need it to do in 2028? 2030? 2033?" Or are you ready to buy a whole replacement Mac in those years... because that's the answer when needs evolve: replace the entire thing instead of only evolve the one you already own with more RAM or more SSD inside.

This crowd around here always pushes what Apple has for sale now. It's like it's some kind of rule to "help" the richest company in the world sell more of what is for sale now. "We" also are quick to put down anything & everything Apple does NOT have for sale right now... but then flip flop as soon as Apple launches whatever it is. In other words, "we" are quite the biased bunch with regards to helping Apple sell what they want people to buy now.

My best advice is to do your best mental time traveling and ask yourself what you need from this computer in at least 2029 (only 5 years from now, when you'll likely still have whatever Mac you buy in 2024). Will base specs do THAT well? If not, buy the 2029 specs you need and they'll probably be overkill for your 2024 needs but then be there for you when you get to what 2029 needs your Mac to do.

RAM in Intel Mac Laptops hasn’t been upgradeable for long time. Same goes for the SSD. In fact it was never an option on Intel MBA for users to upgrade RAM.

 

[ab2c4]

I'll counter the crowd here since you yourself and thinking about the future. You are correct in doing so because when you buy a Silicon Mac, you are not buying for 2024 needs but for up to 2032 or so needs too. Unlike Intel Macs where we often had an ability to add some RAM or more storage later, what you buy in this Mac is all it can EVER be internally. If 4 years from now, you absolutely need more RAM, there's no adding it then.

So, I agree with all posts for what you've described you need right now, base specs will be fine.

I'll disagree with all by then asking: "what will you need it to do in 2028? 2030? 2033?" Or are you ready to buy a whole replacement Mac in those years... because that's the answer when needs evolve: replace the entire thing instead of only evolve the one you already own with more RAM or more SSD inside.

This crowd around here always pushes what Apple has for sale now. It's like it's some kind of rule to "help" the richest company in the world sell more of what is for sale now. "We" also are quick to put down anything & everything Apple does NOT have for sale right now... but then flip flop as soon as Apple launches whatever it is. In other words, "we" are quite the biased bunch with regards to helping Apple sell what they want people to buy now.

My best advice is to do your best mental time traveling and ask yourself what you need from this computer in at least 2029 (only 5 years from now, when you'll likely still have whatever Mac you buy in 2024). Will base specs do THAT well? If not, buy the 2029 specs you need and they'll probably be overkill for your 2024 needs but then be there for you when you get to what 2029 needs your Mac to do.

I came into making this thread with this exact thinking. I just wanted to know the probability of if in "2029" or whatever year if I will be able to use a base spec machine that I'm buying now to run 2-5 Safari tabs. I think the answer is yes. If it doesn't work out that way in 5-6 years then I trade the MBA into Apple and put the money towards a new one.

 

[TechnoMonk]

8GB should be ok, but if you may need Apple intelligence or other features in future 16 GB can be an option. Really depends how long you plan to keep the laptop. If some one upgrades every 3-4 years, it doesn’t really matter. If you are planning to keep it for 5-8 years, and can afford extra RAM, go for it.

 

[HobeSoundDarryl]

I came into making this thread with this exact thinking. I just wanted to know the probability of if in "2029" or whatever year if I will be able to use a base spec machine that I'm buying now to run 2-5 Safari tabs. I think the answer is yes. If it doesn't work out that way in 5-6 years then I trade the MBA into Apple and put the money towards a new one.

If your 2024 needs will remain your 2029 needs, then base 2024 specs will likely be fine. But what if your 2029 needs go beyond some Safari tabs?

For what you are describing, a PC or Chromebook can easily do all of that. Or a base iPad with a keyboard if you want an Apple-based device. You could save some money on a more expensive purchase to put towards a future Mac when perhaps your needs from a computer have become more demanding.

Else, if you are VERY confident that 2024 needs will be 2029 needs, then sure, base 2024 specs will likely still work fine in 2029... just as 5+ year old Intel MBairs work fine in 2024.

I read "first purchase" and that implies youth and computing needs throughout your 20s??? is probably going to dramatically evolve in even 5 years. But if you are very confident they will not, then about ANY computer- Apple or not- you buy today will suffice for those needs... in 2024 and 2029.

 

[iObama]

Here's my recommendation as an IT guy who manages a pretty large MacBook fleet: If the $200 to upgrade the RAM is going to affect you in a negative way financially, don't hesitate to buy the base model. If it won't, futureproofing (especially with RAM) is never a bad thing.

Enjoy your new MacBook!!

 

[chmania]

Should be fine for what you want to use it for. I have a 13" M1 MBA that I use almost identically and the 8GB of RAM hasn't been a problem. I run Brave with a lot more tabs always open and the memory pressure can get into the yellow but I've never seen it to be an issue.

What if you use Safari with the same amount of tabs you open with Brave, instead of Brave, would your MBA get that yellow memory pressure? Or, do you have other memory intensive apps on at that moment?

 

[mcled53]

I keep looking at the base configuration for a 15" MBA with 8gb/256gb. This computer will strictly be a "sitting on the couch surfing the internet while watching tv" type computer. I will be looking up sports scores, posting on forums, shopping on Amazon, random google searches, Youtube videos, and reading the occasional email (gmail). I use Safari for my browser fyi. Normally I do this stuff on my Iphone 15 Plus but it would be nicer to do it on a laptop with a 15" display and with a real keyboard to type on.

I will probably install Adobe Reader to look at the occasional PDF. I may or may not install MS Office for Word, but this won't be a work machine at all.

I will never use it for anything more than what I listed. With that said, is the base configuration enough for me and should last me 5 or more years? I have been reading on the topic of RAM and so many people are saying "you need 16GB of RAM, you never know what you will want to do on the machine in the future, and you need 16gb for this and that, etc". All the stuff people mention doing, video stuff etc I will never do.

I just want a laptop that I can have at most 5 tabs of Safari open and that's pretty much it, and the computer run smoothly.

With that said, should I spend the extra money for 16gb of RAM for the sake of Safari web browsing, or in my situation is that literally a waste of money?

Yes, up RAM to 16. You can't add it later. I have a 16 GB MBP and have a similar usage footprint. My current memory usage shows approx. 11 GB used, 5 GB cached files, swap 2GB.

 

[HobeSoundDarryl]

RAM in Intel Mac Laptops hasn’t been upgradeable for long time. Same goes for the SSD. In fact it was never an option on Intel MBA for users to upgrade RAM.

First, you might note that I referenced Macs not specifically MB. And second, just because Apple decided to lock them down in the past doesn't alter the advice at all. If this was 8 years ago and another OP was asking the same question, my advice would be the same then too: just because your 2016 need will be met by this base spec Mac available now, you should try to imagine your 2021 needs, 2023, 2025 too... because you may be trying to still use this purchase then.

We've all been where OP is: hungry for a new Mac, not wanting to pay the (relative) ripoff upgrade prices for Apple RAM & SSD, so trying to rationalize the "cheapest" option as probably being enough for our needs. We want to buy a new Mac more than we want to really think about the future, so we WILL find a way to rationalize anything. A great option for this particular conundrum is ask Apple fans if buying Apple stuff now is a good idea. It always gets a ton of YES answers.

And then we can all read those countless posts about old Macs purchased with "too little" specs years ago having problems in the present tied to being under specced. And what's our advice to those people: you need a new Mac. Buy! Buy! Buy!

IMO: OP should "think different" or be ready to buy a replacement Mac in 2029 or so when what they want their Mac to do overruns what 2024 base specs CAN do. Also IMO: Apple has clung to these base specs for too long. Apparently, they themselves are going to finally up the base to 12GB or maybe 16GB in the M4 Macs about to be launched. I wonder how many of us will argue that 8GB is plenty once Apple is pushing 12GB as minimum. Guess: probably as many arguging for 4" perfect iPhone screens once Apple went phablet.

 

[sleeptodream]

I appreciate the replies. This will be my first Mac. Will the only thing I need to worry about that might slow the laptop down in the future be OS upgrades? If so, can I just not do the OS upgrades to keep the machine from slowing down?

I have been a Windows guy since the 90's but I'm tired of Windows and want a change. My wife has a MBP so Mac isn't totally new to me from a basic users standpoint.

This changes my answer, if it’s your first mac get the 16gb of ram in my opinion, if you can afford it without financial strain.

I don’t think you’ll need it right this moment, but 5 years down the line you’ll probably feel the difference, and if it’s your first I have a feeling you’ll get attached to it and want to keep it long term

 

[sw1tcher]

I will never use it for anything more than what I listed. With that said, is the base configuration enough for me and should last me 5 or more years? I have been reading on the topic of RAM and so many people are saying "you need 16GB of RAM, you never know what you will want to do on the machine in the future, and you need 16gb for this and that, etc". All the stuff people mention doing, video stuff etc I will never do.

If you know for sure your use case won't ever change over the course of the next 5 years, then yes, you'll be fine with 8/256 config.

Are you looking at the M3 15-inch MBA 8/256?

How about an M2 15-inch MBA 16/256 from Apple's refurb store? None are in stock at the moment, but they do pop up from time to time. A refurb M2 15-inch MBA 16/256 might not be much more than a M3 15-inch MBA 8/256 and certainly less than a M3 15-inch MBA 16/256.

 

[chmania]

Here's my recommendation as an IT guy who manages a pretty large MacBook fleet: If the $200 to upgrade the RAM is going to affect you in a negative way financially, don't hesitate to buy the base model. If it won't, futureproofing (especially with RAM) is never a bad thing.

I have a feeling that RAM in an Intel Mac is somewhat different to RAM in a silicon Mac. I am not sure, and as you are an IT guy, hope you can explain. I am using a 15" Intel 2018 (made in April 2019), and it is still doing well after 5+ years. Sure, it has 16GB Ram, but with an older 8th gen i7. I'm doing more than what the OP has mentioned he'd do, and that MBP is running about 15 hours a day. The memory pressure never been to yellow. The MBP gets heated up, only when an OS update is going on, and after that it cools down, sometimes the palm rests are too cold. At that time, this MBP was manufactured, there were no silicon Macs. Of course, it was supposed to be quite high-end then.

Anyway, one day, I'd have to buy a silicon Mac. Not because this Intel MBP would die, but because of curiosity, just to try one out. Let's say, if I buy one in 2025, I'd be still doing the same work, and leisure use of that machine. I find the 16GB RAM Intel MBP is still too much for what I do with it. Because it has 16GB RAM, sometimes macOS would use ~12GB of that. If I do the same work on a Windows 11 laptop with 8GB RAM, that Windows laptop won't use even 6GB of it. I have 2 of them, a Lenovo and a Dell, which has 10gen and 11gen intel processors. When I use Linux on those laptops, they work even better.

I don't do any video editing ever. Some image editing, either with Preview or GIMP. I use Excel, Word and Skype, which maybe the biggest memory hoggers, not being native macOS. So, would 15" MBA with the M2/M3 chip 8GB RAM would be enough? Would the RAM on a silicon chip works differently than RAM with an Intel chip?

 

[jz0309]

I just replaced my M1 MBA with a 13 iPad for this (couch) use case,plus the occasional photo download from DALR while traveling…
I’m perfectly happy with that, does everything OP seems to be wanting…
Think different

 

[Basic75]

I will probably install Adobe Reader to look at the occasional PDF.

What's wrong with looking at PDFs in Preview.app that's included with macOS?