Why do all these new 2020 Macs only have 8gb ram?

[lewchenko]

But would 8GB last another 5 years ++ ? Thats a few MacOS updates to take on board.

When I got my previous Apple laptop (2013 Macbook Pro) I specced it with 16GB/512GB SSD. It served me well but was ultimately held back by its dual core CPU.

Could never imagine, 10 years later buying a laptop with just 8GB of memory.

 

[Tagbert]

But would 8GB last another 5 years ++ ? Thats a few MacOS updates to take on board.

When I got my previous Apple laptop (2013 Macbook Pro) I specced it with 16GB/512GB SSD. It served me well but was ultimately held back by its dual core CPU.

Could never imagine, 10 years later buying a laptop with just 8GB of memory.

the RAM requirements only increase relatively slowly these days if you are doing the same kinds of tasks. it's not like back in the 80's and 90's when the tech was changing rapidly.

Having said that, I expect anyone with a tech background is outside the norm and likely needs much more RAM than your average user. If you are here and commenting, there is a high likelihood that you are a self-selected variant from the norm.

 

[eyeseeyou]

As my excellent 2014 Macbook Pro with 16 GB of ram continues to age and ride the OCLP experience to maintain some relevancy, I know that the clock is ticking and have been shopping around. I was also surprised that many people are okay with 8GB on these modern MacBooks.

After watching a youtube video or two, the larger amount of ram isn't needed as much due to the apple silicon and more efficient programming of apps, or at least that was my understanding. That being said, in my line of work, I'd still rather have more ram and not need it than to need it and not have it, especially since these macs are not upgradeable.

 

[Technerd108]

As my excellent 2014 Macbook Pro with 16 GB of ram continues to age and ride the OCLP experience to maintain some relevancy, I know that the clock is ticking and have been shopping around. I was also surprised that many people are okay with 8GB on these modern MacBooks.

After watching a youtube video or two, the larger amount of ram isn't needed as much due to the apple silicon and more efficient programming of apps, or at least that was my understanding. That being said, in my line of work, I'd still rather have more ram and not need it than to need it and not have it, especially since these macs are not upgradeable.

I agree but we are talking about your casual user not Pro user. You get a Pro and base model has 16gb ram. So base model air is 8gb. Seems reasonable. If someone just wants a low cost Mac notebook then 8gb is sufficient but if you know you are somewhere in the middle you can choose to upgrade.

Despite all the magnitude of whining that you here on these forums the midrange M2 MBA is reasonably priced for the performance and battery life you get. And if you need more the Pro models are not too far off, specially if you get an older model M1 MBP.

 

[Closingracer]

see

M1 vs. M2 Chip Buyer's Guide: How Much Better Really Is M2?

In 2022, Apple introduced the M2 chip – the second-generation custom silicon chip for the Mac. After the M1 chip revolutionized the Mac starting in...

www.macrumors.com

• 68.25GB/s memory bandwidth. (M1)

Most that work with videos use at least 16GB, but you can certainly edit videos that more simple track wise, and not as long duration with 8GB on a M1 Mac as a example.

You can't upgrade RAM on AS Macs so you need to buy for what you expect to use the Mac for mainly.

You weren't able to upgrade RAM OR storage on Mac's way before Apple silicone. Nothing new

 

[Yebubbleman]

I am regularly running into yellow memory pressure on 8GB of RAM on a base model 2020 M1 MacBook Air when I have 10 Safari tabs, Mail, Facebook Messenger, and Preview with three PDFs open. Even by Apple's own guidelines, yellow memory pressure on a regular basis means that you do not have enough RAM.

You weren't able to upgrade RAM OR storage on Mac's way before Apple silicone. Nothing new

You have not been able to upgrade RAM in a MacBook Pro since the last unibody MacBook Pros came out in 2012. You have not been able to upgrade storage in a MacBook Pro since the final 2-port non-Touch Bar version of 13-inch MacBook Pro was discontinued in 2019 (or in 2016 for all other MacBook Pro models). Otherwise, the drive has been fully replaceable on all other Macs until the advent of the T2 chip. I wouldn't say T2 Macs are "way before Apple Silicon".

 

[JustAnExpat]

Honestly, Im' calling your post into question.

1. Per Apple,
" Yellow memory pressure: Your computer might eventually need more RAM." (source: https://support.apple.com/guide/activity-monitor/check-if-your-mac-needs-more-ram-actmntr34865/mac) It does not say you do not have enough RAM

2. What are you running in Safari with 10 tabs? Different websites use different amounts of memory, and knowing if you're reading 10 text based news source (with add blocking enabled), or 10 SaaS applications, would make a huge difference.

3. What are these PDFs that you have open in Preview? What are their size? How many pages? Graphics?

I am regularly running into yellow memory pressure on 8GB of RAM on a base model 2020 M1 MacBook Air when I have 10 Safari tabs, Mail, Facebook Messenger, and Preview with three PDFs open. Even by Apple's own guidelines, yellow memory pressure on a regular basis means that you do not have enough RAM.

 

[okkibs]

I can get my Mac to pretty much stall and die within the yellow memory pressure. My new M2 doesn't even make it to the red pressure because it will completely freeze before that when it's still in the yellow. And it is similar on my Intel Macs. Yellow can be barely noticeable, or it can be a showstopper. In any case, yellow means there is no longer sufficient memory available for all the open apps. Whether you resolve that by closing apps or making a hardware change is up to you.

 

[Yebubbleman]

Honestly, Im' calling your post into question.

1. Per Apple,
" Yellow memory pressure: Your computer might eventually need more RAM." (source: https://support.apple.com/guide/activity-monitor/check-if-your-mac-needs-more-ram-actmntr34865/mac) It does not say you do not have enough RAM

If you experience yellow memory pressure once in a blue moon, you arguably WON'T need more RAM. That's perfectly normal. You're arguably just taxing your computer at that given point in time. It stands to reason that if you have yellow memory pressure ALL THE FREAKIN' TIME, you do not have enough RAM. It also stands to reason that this article is not talking about "ALL THE TIME".

2. What are you running in Safari with 10 tabs? Different websites use different amounts of memory, and knowing if you're reading 10 text based news source (with add blocking enabled), or 10 SaaS applications, would make a huge difference.

MacRumors, a couple of Apple.com webpages, news articles, maybe a couple of eBay pages. No ad-blocking. No SaaS. Nothing intensive.

3. What are these PDFs that you have open in Preview? What are their size? How many pages? Graphics?

We're talking a service manual or two (~40MB each) and my resume (~400KB).

 

[curnalpanic]

Your computer might eventually need more RAM

Too bad there is no way to give it more RAM then.

 

[unrigestered]

just consider to upgrade your CPU, or it's cooling system too if you happen to frequently run it "in the yellow" (meaning something like >80C )

yes, "in the green" surely is more optimal, but personally, i wouldn't worry too much either unless you are actually feeling too much unresponsiveness, which of course can be subjective too, as to some even the system itself at 0.5% load can already feel unresponsive.
what do you do on an iPad with no such analytics?
or, if you need or want to do ultra intense work that will bring even the fastest (super) computer to it's knees?
no, this is suicide, since my activity monitor is showing me some yellow?

the yellow in a traffic light means, that you should prepare to brake or accelerate should the light switch to red or green, not that you need to perform an emergency stop the (mili)second the light is switching from green to amber

your car will also survive quite fine if you frequently drive it in the yellow temperature or rev zone.

 

[Yebubbleman]

just consider to upgrade your CPU, or it's cooling system too if you happen to frequently run it "in the yellow" (meaning something like >80C )

yes, "in the green" surely is more optimal, but personally, i wouldn't worry too much either unless you are actually feeling too much unresponsiveness, which of course can be subjective too, as to some even the system itself at 0.5% load can already feel unresponsive.
what do you do on an iPad with no such analytics?
or, if you need or want to do ultra intense work that will bring even the fastest (super) computer to it's knees?
no, this is suicide, since my activity monitor is showing me some yellow?

the yellow in a traffic light means, that you should prepare to brake or accelerate should the light switch to red or green, not that you need to perform an emergency stop the (mili)second the light is switching from green to amber

your car will also survive quite fine if you frequently drive it in the yellow temperature or rev zone.

Occasional yellow is fine, if not expected. Even occasional red is fine. Consistent yellow is suboptimal. Whether it's enough to notice is a different topic of discussion altogether.

 

[unrigestered]

i thought unused RAM is wasted RAM? 🤓

 

[JustAnExpat]

i thought unused RAM is wasted RAM? 🤓

It is

 

[maxoakland]

I am regularly running into yellow memory pressure on 8GB of RAM on a base model 2020 M1 MacBook Air

No surprise there! 8GB is like 2016 amounts of RAM. There are phones with that much RAM in 2023. I don't know how Apple convinced people 8GB is reasonable in 2020, but it's even worse in 2023 and it'll be better for Apple overall if they stop acting like the RAM miser because the user experience will improve for all their users