Adam Kos On Monday, Apple introduced a duo of its MacBook Airs, both of which offer a basic RAM memory of 8 GB. Isn't it a rather outdated value for the year 2024, when even some mobile phones have more?
And we don't need to do such demanding work on a mobile phone as on a computer, one would like to add. On the one hand, we see an effort to improve and bring better and better performance, including the graphics, but we can still be limited by the fact that we only have a basic 8GB of RAM. The problem is that the vast majority of customers will go for the basic configuration, only a fraction will want the additional one. The fact that additional RAM is really expensive is also to blame.
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You can expand the M3 MacBook Air to 16 or 24 GB of unified memory - but only in the case of a new purchase, not additionally, because this memory is part of the chip. But you have to pay 16 CZK for 6 GB, and 000 CZK for 24 GB. As if Apple itself knew that it was annoying people. Therefore, when buying a new M12 MacBook Air, when choosing 3GB or more memory, or 16GB or more SSD storage, it gives as upgrade included M3 chip with 10-core GPU. If you wanted it without larger memories, you would pay + CZK 3 for it.
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By the way, the iPhone 8 Pro also has 15 GB of RAM, and that's the only one so far. iPhone 14 Pro, 14, 13 Pro and 12 Pro have 6 GB, iPhone 13, 12 and 11 series only 4 GB. Even some cheap Android has more RAM memory, when the better models usually offer 12 GB, gaming phones even 24, and it is speculated that the first 32 GB model will arrive this year. By the way, Samsung should soon introduce the Galaxy A55 model at a price of around CZK 12, which should have 12GB of RAM.
Apple defends itself
MacBook Airs are not the only ones that start with 8GB of RAM. When Apple introduced the new MacBook Pros last fall, they were also criticized for their RAM. Even here, the basic 14" MacBook Pro with the M3 chip only has 8 GB of RAM. And yes, it is a Pro model, from which more would be expected after all.
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Of course, there are premium versions here as well, where you are required to pay CZK 6 for each additional level. At that time, Apple also began advising in its Online Store what requirements you should have for a given memory size:
- 8 GB: Suitable for browsing the web, streaming movies, chatting with friends and family, editing personal photos and videos, playing games and using common work applications.
- 16 GB: Great for running multiple memory-intensive applications at the same time, including professional video editing.
- 24 GB or larger: Ideal if you routinely work with huge files and content libraries on more demanding projects.
He describes it the same way now with the MacBook Air. But if you look at the description of 8 GB, Apple mentions not only very basic things, but also gaming, which is rather bold. In one of the interviews, Bob Borchers, Apple's vice president for worldwide product marketing, responded to the criticism surrounding the size of the basic RAM. It simply mentions that 8GB on a Mac is not the same as 8GB on a PC.
This comparison is said not to be equivalent because Apple Silicon has a more efficient use of memory and uses memory compression. In fact, the 8GB in the M3 MacBook Pro is probably meant to be analogous to the 16GB in other systems. So when you buy an 8GB RAM MacBook from Apple, it's like 16GB RAM elsewhere.
He himself added to Apple's MacBooks: “People need to look beyond the specs and really understand how the technology is being used. That's the real test.” We can trust him, but we don't have to. Although the numbers usually speak clearly, it is true that even Apple iPhones use an order of magnitude less RAM, but you can't really see it when the device is running. But we can probably agree that the company should already provide at least 16 GB of RAM as a base, or fundamentally lower the price of the premium versions.
Yes, of course it is a problem. Fortunately, I have an M2 16/512, but a colleague with 8/256Gb of RAM often runs out. The surcharge is too much. If I didn't have the company's 16Gb version of air, I wouldn't have bought it in that configuration. And considering whether to pay extra for a larger SSD or RAM is one of humanity's most complicated questions :-D
16 GB is not standard even in the premium class Thinkpad T series:
https://www.alza.cz/lenovo-thinkpad-t14-gen-3-thunder-black-d7382655.htm?o=23
It's not a premium
Yes, there is 8GB installed, but how much do you buy 16 or 24 GB?! I will pay a thousand for 16 GB, Apple is for 6 thousand. That is the essential difference.
I use Deník and I was really looking forward to this application.
Although it is 8GB of RAM, it is still a noble RAM. :D
Indeed, for those Pro models, 8 GB of unified memory is seriously cheap. I would really take at least 16 GB there. I would add that once you start working with virtual machines, even the 16 GB may not be enough.
It's a bit confusing, because MB Pro is installed with M3, M3 Pro and M3 Max. And only those with M3 can be bought with only 8 GB of ram, which is really small. I think that M3 should not be an option in Pro models of notebooks, at most in iPads and MB Air.
It's funny nowadays. 8GB means that you immediately swap to sdd for anything more demanding, and if you have a 256GB base, you still have half the write speed (at least it was like that on the M2 Air), so it's great that you have a fast CPU and are artificially limited like this. I went for 16/512GB and I don't regret it from the point of view of future proofing.
I have a WIN notebook at work and it is enough for everything, it doesn't suffocate in anything, even in large tables. I don't just do office work with video. air at home and I don't have a problem either.
It's enough to cause trouble...
Or that's enough for other stupid articles on Apple websites, like this one and the other LSA garbage website :D :D :D