What you see are people who do development work, use VMs, and do graphics work who claim that 8GB is too low. For them it probably is. MR members are not typical of the general populace. For someone doing basic computing who is working with a budget, 8GB may be just fine. We all would like Apple to increase the default configs but could they do it without increasing the base prices, too? A lot of people buy those base models because of the price.
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MacBook Supplier Ramping Up Production as 15-Inch MacBook Air Rumored to Launch at WWDC
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Yes, the 15” Air is likely to be similar in weight to the 14” MBP but with a larger screen. A 15” Air would be still be noticably lighter than a 16” MBP.
That base model 14” MBP has 16GB/512GB so the comparison gets more tricky.
That $1400 price estimate is based on the $200 difference between equally spec’d 14” and 16” MBPs. Once you do that, you are left with $200 for two more inches of screen size. With a base price of $1199 for the 13” M2 MBA that gives $1399 for a 15” MBA with 8/256GB. Apple should cut that back to a $150 difference since this is the plain LCD screen and not a miniLED but they probably won’t.
If you spec up that 15” Air to match the 14” MBP you are getting up to about $1899 Which is high enough that they really should keep to the $150 premium.
Yes and no. The M2 Air uses the same design language as the MBPs which is why I was surprised that it didn't have the name debossed on its bottom.
Not comparing cheapest. Comparing 14 vs 16 with
12-Core CPU
19-Core GPU
16GB Unified Memory
1TB SSD Storage¹
Comparing similar configurations the larger screen is $200 more.
There was the year that the iPad got the new chips before the iPhone. Not saying it is typical but Apple can do what they want regardless of what we think is set in stone.
Earlier this year there was a time when it seemed possible that an M3 might come out before the iPhones but since then reports about slow ramp up for TSMC 3nm have made that seem less likely.
I’m just doing photo editing nothing more, just basic stuff, I’m sure anything made in the last couple years would be light years faster than my Mac mini from the Stone Age. 😅
95% of the people don't need anything more powerful than M2 SOC for like 5 years.
I don't buy it with the way this Apple and this economy works. New product gives lots of room for changes.
I get what you're saying, just IMO 90hz+ is the standard in all laptops/phones these days (unless ultra budget). But apple does this for guys like me to be forced to buy Pro Models
You have actually confirmed my point! Consumer led would in all likelihood mean customers would PREFER more than 8GB, whether they need it or not! You've even suggested the same "We would all like Apple to increase the default configs".
I wounder if it will be up for pre-order or available to buy as soon as the WWDC keynote is over.
Sure. Without regard to price, I would PREFER 128GB of RAM but don’t want to pay for that, nor do I really need it. As you said “whether they need it or not”, our preferences do not always match our pocketbooks.
