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Is it likely that apple will update MBP 13'' base model with 16gb ram very soon?

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chchchttt123

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Original poster
Dec 12, 2019
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Is it likely that apple will update MBP 13'' base model (2 fans, 4 TB) with 16gb ram very soon (in next 2 years)?
Is it reasonable? How likely is it?
Almost 4x markup from 8gb to 16gb right now compared to ram sold on Amazon.
 
Last edited:
Define very soon. I wouldn't expect any updates before early-to-mid 2020. There's no guarantee that they will increase the minimum to 16GB, although it wouldn't be a bad bet.
 
Why would they do that? They'd be cutting into their profits if they did. What Apple wants is for you to PAY for the upgrade. That's how they're a billion dollar corporation with a stock price of $271. You want more memory? Pay us. You want a bigger hard drive? Pay us. You want a faster CPU? Pay us. You want to parade around the world showing off your shiny new Apple gadget? Of course you do. So pay us! That's Business Fundamentals 101.
 
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I think we're done seeing any updates to the MBP in 2019 and it won't see anything 2nd qtr 2020 - just my $.02
 
lambertjohn said:
Why would they do that? They'd be cutting into their profits if they did. What Apple wants is for you to PAY for the upgrade. That's how they're a billion dollar corporation with a stock price of $271. You want more memory? Pay us. You want a bigger hard drive? Pay us. You want a faster CPU? Pay us. You want to parade around the world showing off your shiny new Apple gadget? Of course you do. So pay us! That's Business Fundamentals 101.
Click to expand...
They do occasionally increase the minimum config such as disk, count of cores, ram etc.
If they can attract more customers and convince current customers to update their devices by doing so, it’s more likely to yield more profits than relying on ram or other hardware upgrade.
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maflynn said:
I think we're done seeing any updates to the MBP in 2019 and it won't see anything 2nd qtr 2020 - just my $.02
Click to expand...
Yeah, I’m thinking such update in 2020 and 2021.
 
Apple will do what they can while still holding the entry price the same. I suspect this will be a 14" screen and bigger SSD first since they want to continue to move people that want more memory into the 16" family.
 
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I would expect to see an "upgraded" 13" MacBook Pro with the scissors keyboard and possibly a slightly larger display in mid-2020.

But not before then.
 
The base model 13 inch MacBook Pro doesn't actually need 16GB of RAM. My 2017 13 inch MacBook Pro, with 8GB RAM, is still chugging along just fine. And I edit videos on that laptop.. with 8GB RAM and no dropped frames. I do web surfing, with multiple tabs open, on that laptop.. with 8GB RAM. I typically have a dozen apps open simultaneously and I don't seem to have any problems.. with 8GB RAM. macOS is based on BSD, and BSD uses as much RAM as it can get its hands on whether it needs it or not (unused RAM is wasted RAM).

Now, other people are going to fabricate excuses to justify the need for 16GB RAM on the base 13 inch MacBook Pro, but that doesn't mean the machine actually needs it. If you actually need 16GB RAM, then do a special order. But I don't think it's fair to increase the machine price for everyone (and you know Apple will if they make the base system 16GB RAM) who doesn't really need that much RAM.
 
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chchchttt123 said:
Is it likely that apple will update MBP 13'' base model (2 fans, 4 TB) with 16gb ram very soon (in next 2 years)?
Is it reasonable? How likely is it?
Almost 4x markup from 8gb to 16gb right now compared to ram sold on Amazon.
Click to expand...

You can buy 16GB now if you like. Most people don’t need more than 8, so it is unlikely that Apple will up the base model and price people out.
 
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||\|| said:
You can buy 16GB now if you like. Most people don’t need more than 8, so it is unlikely that Apple will up the base model and price people out.
Click to expand...
Even a single website, such as this one https://www.apple.com/macbook-pro-16/
Can cost you more than 1gb ram

Screen Shot 2019-12-16 at 12.11.42 AM.png
 
chchchttt123 said:
Even a single website, such as this one https://www.apple.com/macbook-pro-16/
Can cost you more than 1gb ram

View attachment 883031
Click to expand...

That‘s pretty insane, and on my 8GB system I saw it momentarily up to 1.7GB for that one page. Still, everything works fine. I opened up another 24 or so tabs (other tabs that I had closed in order to do a "clean" test) and my memory pressure is still green. Not every webpage takes as much memory as the Apple website. Yeah, if every tab needed 1.7GB then that would be an issue. It's not the case though. With compressed memory and fast SSDs most people don't need more than 8GB on the 13", and for those that do need (or want) it, Apple offers the option of 16GB.
 
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I suspect they'll stay with 8GB RAM which is more than enough for a whole load of people out there, especially when combined with the super-quick SSDs these laptops now have.

I used a 2015 MBA with 4GB RAM last week and it was absolutely fine on Catalina for general productivity stuff.
 
chchchttt123 said:
Yeah, hopefully more updates come with it
Click to expand...

They will likely go with the latest processor and larger SSD, IF they can keep the price the same and maintain profit margins. With the entry level configurations, price is a driving factor. As for any other changes look at the 16". The only thing that may hit by the middle of the year would be support for 802.11ax aka "Wifi 6".
 
revmacian said:
Now, other people are going to fabricate excuses to justify the need for 16GB RAM on the base 13 inch MacBook Pro, but that doesn't mean the machine actually needs it. If you actually need 16GB RAM, then do a special order. But I don't think it's fair to increase the machine price for everyone (and you know Apple will if they make the base system 16GB RAM) who doesn't really need that much RAM.
Click to expand...

This is flawed thinking, they don't increase the price due to a component upgrade at base, they upgrade the base specs when the whole performance tier shifts up in spec at the same price point and therefore profit margin.

Furthermore, I see a lot of people saying what others don't need on this site and I have to ask, what does that do for you personally? How do you feel after you belch out this self serving non-sense? Does it make you now taller or grow a beard?

In the course of 5 years I used 13" MacBook Pro's because they were a lot easier to use on long airline flights when the person in front of me would recline their seat back. But the specs always lagged for what I was trying to accomplish and a couple of those tasks are ram intensive. So I now use both a 16" laptop and an iMac Pro with the ram pretty much maxed out and actually use it.
 
Macshroomer said:
This is flawed thinking, they don't increase the price due to a component upgrade at base, they upgrade the base specs when the whole performance tier shifts up in spec at the same price point and therefore profit margin.

Furthermore, I see a lot of people saying what others don't need on this site and I have to ask, what does that do for you personally? How do you feel after you belch out this self serving non-sense? Does it make you now taller or grow a beard?

In the course of 5 years I used 13" MacBook Pro's because they were a lot easier to use on long airline flights when the person in front of me would recline their seat back. But the specs always lagged for what I was trying to accomplish and a couple of those tasks are ram intensive. So I now use both a 16" laptop and an iMac Pro with the ram pretty much maxed out and actually use it.
Click to expand...
You conveniently omitted the first paragraph of my post, which shows the word "base" in bold type.. speaking of the base model. Do think that since you need to max out the RAM then that is what everyone needs? Why did you mention that? I ask because it sounds like self-serving nonsense to me.

If you need to max out the RAM, then do a special order. But, the base model doesn't need 16GB RAM.
 
revmacian said:
You conveniently omitted the first paragraph of my post, which shows the word "base" in bold type.. speaking of the base model. Do think that since you need to max out the RAM then that is what everyone needs? How do you feel after you belch out this self serving nonsense? Does it make you now taller or grow a beard?

If you need to max out the RAM, then do a special order. But, the base model doesn't need 16GB RAM.
Click to expand...

When Apple decides to make the base model of the 13" have 16GB of ram as the entry point, it will not increase the price of the machine, that was my point. This is how tech works, period.
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chchchttt123 said:
Is it likely that apple will update MBP 13'' base model (2 fans, 4 TB) with 16gb ram very soon (in next 2 years)?
Is it reasonable? How likely is it?
Almost 4x markup from 8gb to 16gb right now compared to ram sold on Amazon.
Click to expand...

I think it is fairly likely, as the price of components drop they upgrade the base models, it's how we got from 4GB of ram to 8GB of ram on the base model to begin with and it is how like any tech company, they stay competitive.
 
chchchttt123 said:
They do occasionally increase the minimum config such as disk, count of cores, ram etc.
If they can attract more customers and convince current customers to update their devices by doing so, it’s more likely to yield more profits than relying on ram or other hardware upgrade.
[automerge]1576266557[/automerge]

Yeah, I’m thinking such update in 2020 and 2021.
Click to expand...

Sorry but this does not fall into business 101. The only people base spec upgrades will attract are forum lurkers and techies. Neither of these consumers make up even less than 1% of Apple's customer base. While I will agree (because I'm a forum member 😀) that more base ram would be great the majority of consumers buying computers are interested in only two things. They want what's within their budget and they want to be sure the computer they are buying will run the software they need. That's it. People are not walking into retail stores being concerned if the base model has 16GB of ram or 512GB SSD or if the MacBook comes with Nvidia graphics rather than AMD.
 
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