2021 and still only 256 GB in Apple Laptops

[Christopher Kim]

...but in 2021, 16GB RAM/512GB isn't too much to ask for in a $1300 laptop. Look at all the people in this forum asking whether they need 8GB or 16GB or how much storage they should get... at current RAM/storage prices that just shouldn't be an issue unless you're buying cheap - and even Apple's "entry level" systems can't reasonably be called cheap.

I hear your point, but this is more around Apple's "premium" product and pricing strategy. Obviously we as the consumers can ask for whatever we want (and getting more for less is always better for us), but realistically, I don't think Apple wants (or needs) to price their laptops so competitively (and "offer 16/512 in a $1300 laptop" as you put it).

And as @Abazigal said, given there are plenty of users out there where 8/256gb is enough, part of it is intentional to not "overserve" the market and force those who don't need 16/512 to "overpay" for something they don't.

I also admittedly don't know Dell/Lenovo/HP offerings and whether their "premium" laptop lines include 16/512 as the base option in 2021. But my gut would say that they also don't offer that in the base option either, although their upgrade prices may be more reasonable than Apple's.

 

[guzhogi]

Waiting for 8K, 16-bit HDR, 480Hz screens on MBAs as well.

 

[GiantKiwi]

I also admittedly don't know Dell/Lenovo/HP offerings and whether their "premium" laptop lines include 16/512 as the base option in 2021.

That would still be a big fat nope. Latest order of Dell 7000 series Latitudes were 11th gen i7's but still only had 8/256 in the standard configuration, and that's on laptops in the $1500 region if sold to normal consumers.

 

[Ethosik]

I really don’t understand the constant complaints about the pricing. This happens for ANY PRODUCT in existence.

Why buy Red Baron pizzas for a few dollars more instead of the Totinos pizza? Some people find the price of the more expensive product worth it, others would rather get the cheaper one. This has been an on going complaint for Apple from the beginning of time. If you don’t like the price, don’t buy it. Other than Gaming and Visual Studio, Windows IMO sucks so bad I’m fine buying Apple products, even if they are $1,000 more expensive. I really hate Windows for anything else.

 

[telo123]

Given how slow SSD is on M1 I'm glad I didn't pay the excessive premium over the base 256GB. Apple charges $800 for 2TB upgrade while it costs me $315 for 2TB 980 Pro nVME PCIe 4.0, $250 for 2TB 970 Plus nVME PCIe 3.0 and $100 for 2TB WD SA500 SATA then throw in external enclosure.

Tell me how exactly 2-3 GB/s read/write speeds are slow? It might not be as fast as the SSDs you cited, but its still hella damn fast for most use cases. Any faster than 2-3 GB/s will not be that noticeable. Handling/transferring large files (> 40 GB) with these speeds will be fast enough to most users without complaints.

 

[Ethosik]

Tell me how exactly 2-3 GB/s read/write speeds are slow? It might not be as fast as the SSDs you cited, but its still hella damn fast for most use cases. Any faster than 2-3 GB/s will not be that noticeable. Handling/transferring large files (> 40 GB) with these speeds will be fast enough to most users without complaints.

And honestly, unless you are a uber pro, SATA3 speed SSDs are good enough. Even for 1080p/4K video editing.

If you are one of those pro types, you probably have a TB 3 NAS set up instead anyway.

 

[Yebubbleman]

But the majority of Apple customers is actually personal users nowadays.

If that's true, it certainly won't be for long. They're making serious inroads with business and enterprise customers. Not enough to unseat Windows. But it's definitely commonplace enough for there to be a need for that particular "sweet spot" product configuration across lines from Dell, HP, Lenovo, and, yes, Apple too.

 

[theluggage]

I also admittedly don't know Dell/Lenovo/HP offerings and whether their "premium" laptop lines include 16/512 as the base option in 2021.

Once you get into the 4k models in the £1200 - £1400 price range with 4K displays and i7s then, yes, 512GB SSDs, 16GB of RAM or sometimes both are common (e.g. here). To be fair, that was an easier comparison when matching Intel Macs with Intel PCs - the M1 is offering considerably more performance for the money -but I'd say the (just) sub-£1000 Air gets away with 256GB, but that's looking mean on the > £1000 MBPs.

(£/$ doesn't make much difference since all £ prices include 20% tax so the numbers are in the same ballpark).

 

[snorkelman]

256GB SSD on 2012 retina MBP got me 5 Parallels VMs for various access control systems, Eagle PCB design/schematics, Android Studio, MS Office suite, plus various tools, utils, guides, walkthrus and component datasheets. Still has approx 70GB free, 8 and half years on

for 2020 M1 MBA I was perfectly happy to opt for same 256GB SSD and 8GB RAM config as before - For a daily carry its more than sufficient in terms of onboard storage and at home I'd still rather plug it in, back it up and sit in front of an imac anyway