Is 128GB Enough For MacBook Pro/Air?

[sorintrifu]

I know this questions has been asked several times before but I was wondering if there are any other insights on the topic.

Also, I know that one of the questions you may have is "What are you planning to use your MacBook for?" but let's assume I want to keep my new MacBook for the years to come and have no idea whether or not I may get into programming, gaming, etc. by that time.

What's the safest decision here to make sure you won't have a storage capacity issue in the future?

 

[canuckRus]

I know this questions has been asked several times before but I was wondering if there are any other insights on the topic.

Also, I know that one of the questions you may have is "What are you planning to use your MacBook for?" but let's assume I want to keep my new MacBook for the years to come and have no idea whether or not I may get into programming, gaming, etc. by that time.

What's the safest decision here to make sure you won't have a storage capacity issue in the future?

Not a chance. 256GB is now a bare minimum

 

[usagora]

Isn't this a moot question at this point, since all of those models now come standard with at least 256GB SSDs? Or are you thinking of people buying used/refurbished older models?

 

[sorintrifu]

Isn't this a moot question at this point, since all of those models now come standard with at least 256GB SSDs? Or are you thinking of people buying used/refurbished older models?

I just posted another thread a few hours ago.
Yes, I'm looking into used/refurbished models as well, that's basically why I was curious to hear more on the topic from people that have used or still using the 128GB model.

 

[usagora]

I just posted another thread a few hours ago.
Yes, I'm looking into used/refurbished models as well, that's basically why I was curious to hear more on the topic from people that have used or still using the 128GB model.

Got it. I'd advise sticking with 256GB SSD models at minimum, but if you find a killer deal on a 128GB SSD model that you can't pass up, then you could always add external storage or use cloud storage (iCloud Drive, OneDrive, Google Drive, etc.).

Really this all comes down to money, because if money is no object (within reason), then obviously it's never a bad thing to have more storage than less.

 

[Bandaman]

No. I use more than 128 GB just for my apps. 128 GB might be okay for a phone, but it’s ridiculous for a computer these days.

 

[sorintrifu]

Got it. I'd advise sticking with 256GB SSD models at minimum, but if you find a killer deal on a 128GB SSD model that you can't pass up, then you could always add external storage or use cloud storage (iCloud Drive, OneDrive, Google Drive, etc.).

Really this all comes down to money, because if money is no object (within reason), then obviously it's never a bad thing to have more storage than less.

Thank you for your answer. This is helpful.
I'm trying not to spend more than I can afford, but at the same time I'm investing in a MacBook so if I do that I'd rather keep it for at least 5 to 7 years.
Upgrading to a new model every other year may be an option for many people, but I'd rather not have to do that.
Also, I always prefer having all my files [even the ones I only use once or twice per year] in one place so I can easily access them anytime I want or need.
I realize I may have to work on adjusting the budget now since it seems like I want a lot within a very low budget. haha.

 

[sorintrifu]

No. I use more than 128 GB just for my apps. 128 GB might be okay for a phone, but it’s ridiculous for a computer these days.

I now realize that as well. Thank you.

 

[estabya]

I now realize that as well. Thank you.

It really depends on use case. I got by with 128GB with no issues until I upgraded to an M1 MBA early last year. Keeping my photos in the cloud kept all my apps and files on the computer under 20GB.

That being said, if you can afford 256GB it seems like a no brainer to me to skip the 128GB options.

 

[Bandaman]

It really depends on use case. I got by with 128GB with no issues until I upgraded to an M1 MBA early last year. Keeping my photos in the cloud kept all my apps and files on the computer under 20GB.

That being said, if you can afford 256GB it seems like a no brainer to me to skip the 128GB options.

It is far less stressful if you have a bit of room to spare than needing to start deleting things from the drive to make space for things. You can’t run apps from the cloud on a Mac, so there are limitations for offsetting storage with iCloud. I just can’t with a good conscience recommend 128 regardless of budget. It will come back to bite later on. It’s just not worth it.

 

[sorintrifu]

It is far less stressful if you have a bit of room to spare than needing to start deleting things from the drive to make space for things. You can’t run apps from the cloud on a Mac, so there are limitations for offsetting storage with iCloud. I just can’t with a good conscience recommend 128 regardless of budget. It will come back to bite later on. It’s just not worth it.

I have come to realize that as well.
I've asked the same question on another forum and 33 people replied.
Only one of them said 128GB was enough and even that person was referring to his girlfriend who is in college and only uses her laptop for homework.
So thank you, it is clear to me now that I need go at least 256GB on storage.

 

[Sunshower]

In terms of lower storage tiers: 128 is very tight today and will only get harder. 256 is an ok minimum on a budget, you’ll likely still need to manage your storage going forward. 512 is roomy enough to store a fair few applications and files locally with some flexibility for the future. Of course it’s down to your budget, but aim to go for 256 minimum if you can - you’ll thank yourself later. You can of course live with 128, but it will limit the scope of what you can do with the machine, at least locally. Cloud storage will be essential.

Edit: I just saw your reply - I think that’s a good call - 256 is a good base storage.

 

[splitpea]

It’s been a decade since my hard drive had less than 200GB on it, though it’s been relatively stable since then (mostly due to offloading videos to an external drive). I treat 512GB as an absolute minimum disk size, and will probably up that to 1TB with the next purchase.

 

[Internaut]

If it’s just cloudy and you’re only doing basic productivity stuff (especially if you're tied to the Apple suite) then yes. An annual factory reset would probably be healthy.

 

[Mike Slayer]

This is my thought process when thinking about upgrading my Computer. First I think how long I will keep it as my main computer that get's used everyday. Generally for me it is 3-5 year's so I ask myself if the specs will do what I want them to do in year 3, 4 or 5. In late spring early summer of 2020 when I bought this 13" MacBook Pro I asked myself this question. I maxed out the CPU, Ram and got the 1TB SSD. For me this computer will easily go to year 5 and then some while still doing what I do with it or will do with it in the future. The next MacBook Pro I buy will probably have the CPU and Ram maxed out again and probably 1-2TB SSD. If you can I would get a 512GB if you can and buy a external SSD and/or cloud storage to help save space on the internal drive. I have been told you should never fill a SSD all the way up and should leave a minimum of 15% free space at all times. Personally I think 512gb is bare minimum at the moment.

 

[EugW]

Depends how you use your machine. I got my daughter a 2015 MacBook Pro last year with 128 GB SSD, and then promptly updated it with an OEM 256 SSD. Because the SSD is Apple OEM, it reserves hidden space so only 251 GB is available to the user. (I think that hidden space is the recovery partition, etc.)

She still has 216 GB available, meaning she has only used about 35 GB, including the OS and applications. However, that’s because she’s in grade school and all of her data is in the cloud. However, I figured this computer will stay with her for many more years so she may start to accumulate some photos and videos over time, so it's nice to have the extra space. That said, since she's on our iCloud family account anyway, it actually likely still wouldn't take up that much space, similar to what you see here:

Last year I also gave my wife a 2017 MacBook Air, with 128 GB SSD. 121 GB is available to the user and she still has 79 GB left, meaning she has only used 42 GB, and most of that is Photos.

She has way more Photos than that, but I've set it so that iCloud and macOS manage it. All the photos are accessible on her MacBook Air directly from the Photos application, but the only some of the full-sized images are local. (I do periodically backup her photos on hard disk elsewhere though.)

Both my daughter and my wife are running Monterey 12.2.1.

BTW, a couple of years ago I sold an acquaintance a MacBook Air 2019 with 128 GB drive. She was concerned because she had about 200 GB of photos, but after setting up iCloud, she only uses a fraction of her drive. The rest is stored in the cloud (and backed up too), but again, this iCloud setup always gives her access to all her photos. It's been about 2 years now, and she has no regrets.

 

[MultiFinder17]

For my school computers, 128GB would likely suffice for most of them. Though I do have 256GB in the majority of them, because I like to keep a number of ripped movies on them in case I need to leave my classroom for whatever reason. My school apps total about 25GB, and my school data is about another 5, so yea I could live well enough at 128GB. I do like keeping my iTunes library on each computer though, so that 20GB or so makes things a tad tight.

 

[jenelemond]

Isn't this a moot question at this point, since all of those models now come standard with at least 256GB SSDs? Or are you thinking of people buying used/refurbished older models?

Agreed! So many new versions out there!

 

[MBAir2010]

I have a 128GB ssd drive that gets swapped into the macboook air
the runs Mountain Lion with a full iTunes and all my Art work and have 38GB free.
i also have a 128GB ssd thumb drive

the answer is how much GB you can live with