Considering upgrading to new M1 MBP Pro 13 - do I need 16 gig RAM?

[nph]

I saw the announcement of M1 MBP and was really impressed. Being able to run Baldurs Gate on a MBP 13 beats my expectations and gaming needs.
Normally I have a bunch of programs running, Mail, Safari, WhatsApp, Notes, News, an Office app now and then. I do dabble a bit in programming as well but not much. I do some photo mgmt and occasional video editing.
Today have a MacBook 8/256 and I love the tightness and up until now battery life has been great but now with Catalina I get maybe 8 hours and would love to get double that!
The "low' end MBP is sufficient for me since I don't need more than 2 USB ports and prefer battery life over a super powerful machine. Plus I actually like the Touch Bar and miss it after giving my previous 2016 MBP to my son. Butterfly keyboard was noisy but I repaired it myself the few times a key got stuck.

Question is do I need 16 Gig? I want 512gig SSD so I am looking at the $1.499 model. On one hand I am a bit skeptical to first gen but it looks so tempting and I honestly am fine with the horsepower of this first model. No interest or need of a bigger laptop. Nor do I want to pay more for something even more powerful Only question is should I go for 16gig due to wanting to run a lot of programs in parallel but few activities that would on their own require 16Gig.

Thoughts?

 

[felixuta]

Well, after hearing your intended purpose of use for the MBP, I think the principal decision criterion you should take into consideration is how future-proof you want your MBP to be.

For 4-6 years from now and your plans, I'd say 8GB are more than enough.

However, if you plan on selling your MBP after -OR- you want to use it more than 6 years, I can hardly see 8Gigs to be enough in 2028.

I, for my part, own a 2014 rMBP 1TB with 8Gigs and it's still more than enough. When Apple will release the 14" MBP next year or in 2022, I'll go grab one once I find a great offer, but I would opt for the 16GB version. Still hoping they'll increase the base model to 16GB by then.....

 

[nph]

Thanks, I would expect not to get more han 4 years out of it. Given the development of the AS I would want to upgrade by that time anyway.

 

[4sallypat]

I'd wait if you are speccing an upper end M1 for that much money.

I'd wait for a new chassis like the rumored 14" or wait for the 16" MBP.

If you are dabbling, using it lightly and not very demanding, then these entry level M1 are perfect.

 

[nph]

I decided on a base model (although 512 to have space) from Costco. Great price and fantastic returns and an extra year of warranty. Only drawback is no configuration you have to choose a standard set up. I picked the Pro with extra space since that is a selling point if I upgrade down the road.