Sort of a moot point when it comes to Mac notebook computers released after 2017 where the SSD is not upgradeable...
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256GB ssd is bull
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And it is one the biggest downsides of MacBooks in comparison to Windows laptops.
At this point I'd probably say 256 is ok at the base level, it's not generous by any means, but neither is it like the 128GB machines that really fell short of the sort of experience Apple should be offering at the prices they charge. I'd feel comfortable recommending a 256GB base MBA when I absolutely wouldn't have recommended the Intel retina MacBook Airs. Yes, you'll likely need external storage for media libraries, but most probably would even with 512GB, given the need to leave at least 20% of the drive free ideally. Unlike with 128GB I think you have enough flexibility with 256 to have everything on the computer you might need without constant micro management of files.
I would say it's a little less forgivable when the storage is soldered, and it costs $200 to go up to 512 (or realistically $250 for the higher tier stock model, extra GPU core into the bargain or no). I'm just glad we're past the point of $2,399 256GB machines, now that was just banditry.
I would say it's a little less forgivable when the storage is soldered, and it costs $200 to go up to 512 (or realistically $250 for the higher tier stock model, extra GPU core into the bargain or no). I'm just glad we're past the point of $2,399 256GB machines, now that was just banditry.
Why people keep repeating this cringey logical fallacy is beyond me. It's not like Apple have never increased base storage without increasing the price, to give better value, or in recognition the base storage is no longer adequate to offer the experience they want their customers to have. As yet I don't think we're at that point with 256GB devices for around the $1,000 mark but it's certainly debatable.
If they made 512GB standard it would cost Apple 10$ more and they would think hard about to raise entry prices above psychological limits.
In short it will happen, maybe with a redesign to hide a price jump, maybe without both, maybe this year maybe next.
(and of course soon after people will start lamenting Apple for gouging users by charging xxx to turn that "unusable" &"pathetic" config into one with "bare minimum" of 1TB)
The 2015 rMB had a base of 256GB while the no-touchbar 13" pro was available with just 128GB for 2 more years.
I don’t use a lot of space on my computers at all. I’m happy streaming music and only a own a small music library of tracks that are meaningful to me. Pictures take up a decent amount of room, but I don’t work as a creative or in tech, so I don’t use any large applications with corresponding large files. My largest files are ripped dvds, it’s not really going to grow beyond its present size though. 256GB seems generous compared to my 2017 MBA where I only have 128! I think for more typical users like me, these drive sizes are fine.
With the early 2020 Air if I recall, they cut the price to $999 from $1,199 and doubled the base storage from 128Gb to 256 all in one go... I think we're a way off of 512GB for $999 though. In fact I think the colourful MacBook Prosser leaked (if real) will probably start at $1,199-$1,299 again to start with and take 2-3 years to be trimmed back down to $999.
Might be, but.....
If Apple does ship these with "M2" (AKA A15x) they will create a new logic board for (instead of just changing the size/layout of an existing M1 board) at which point the will look into the supply chain for chips to form the SSD. If supporting a 256GB version of these would create any complication they will just drop that size. IMO that might have been the reason why there was no 128GB for the rMB.
Yeah it might end up being that the M1 MacBook Air gets left on sale in its current base configuration for $999, while the new model comes in at $1,299 for 512GB & 8GB RAM (effectively replacing the higher tier of Air) with the price being trimmed back over 2-3 years/ generations until it can replace the M1 model at whatever price they feel adequate. I do wonder if at some point soon the $999 price point will no longer be viable with inflation?
In the long run yes, in the short only if Apple wants to....
They could still something with the performance of the M1 Air till the end of the decade only on tech getting ever cheaper (just as with the 2 core FullHD iMac) and it would be more then enough for many costumers. Such a device would be profitable even at 500 of today's $ so there is a lot of headroom for inflation.
Or the decide that even the base Air needs to gain >15% / year even if most people just don't need it.
I use 256 gigabytes. I occasionally use Xcode on my Mac. 256 is plenty, it’s just that darned other storage that takes up all my space!
So is your problem that the 512gb is too expensive then? If, for example the 512gb was $999 and the 256gb $799 would you still have an issue with 256gb being the ‘base’?
You could trade it in with “macmeanoffer,” I think. For me, when I configured my 2017 27-inch iMac, 512GB was the default, actually. With higher-end SKUs, the default storage amounts have always been higher I think. I own the 256GB M1 Air and have about 50GB free, so yeah, I'm feeling the burn a little. It wasn't too long ago, however, that 128GB was the default for these kinds of low-end models: now that was intolerable. The M1 MBA is targeted at low-end, first-time Mac users, and to them, coming from an iPhone, 256GB won't seem like that small as a default. And for $1k, I'm not sure if the value is too bad either. I'm not trying to defend them: I would love 512 as the default. Just doubt it will be a thing for the low-end during this stage of the "power creep," if you know what I mean. The default storage tiers always has to go up with time, but this rate of growth is commensurate with how much bigger files and things have gotten. We probably won't get 512 as the default for several years.
I work with One Drive and iCloud, I don't keep anything on my computer besides some local iPhone backup... But that's me I guess.
Check my print below this is my M1 Air base model.. I have 178GB free.
I do some photo editing on Lightroom, however I do it from an external drive to not keep things within my computer SSD.
Check my print below this is my M1 Air base model.. I have 178GB free.
I do some photo editing on Lightroom, however I do it from an external drive to not keep things within my computer SSD.
It's a good value. I mainly used the trade-in deal to get rid of my ticking time bomb 2017 macbook pro. The air was supposed to be a short tierm use until the new macbook pro arrived. that has not gone as planned.
Not my problem as such - as I pointed out I don't think currently 256GB is unreasonable on the base MBA. Circa 2018-2019 I did think 256GB was unreasonable for the base MacBook Pros (starting at $2,399) but several people suggested, similar to you above, that the only alternative was Apple discontinued the 256GB model and started the lineup with the 512GB model for $2,799. Shortly thereafter Apple introduced the 16" and proved them wrong by not only upping base storage on the $2,399 model without a price increase, but also putting in a larger display, more powerful graphics and better cooling solution into the bargain... ergo no, the only solution never was to just chop the lowest configurations out of the lineup. Apple always could make 512GB base work, they just chose not to.
So to bring it back round to the current MBA, at the moment I think the base storage is proportionate for the package at the price they offer it. It's not so little that it makes using it punitive as I would argue 128GB did before the 2020 models, but we will probably come to a point where it will get to be that restrictive again, in which case I would expect Apple to re-evauate the package that they offer at the $999 price point and make 512GB work there like they did with the MacBook Pro.
We went with 1 TB for my daughter as she thought that she might want more space in the future. I got 512 for my Mini. I had the same concerns about 256. It would be easy to add an external to the Mini which is why I didn't go bigger. I also have a lot of space on a home NAS. 256 GB seems to be the industry floor though.
Well, it's part of the SoC these days.
I'm a bit puzzled by this one. $1,600 for a laptop that comes with only 8 GB of RAM and 256 GB SSD.
I was running the Monterey Developer Beta off a 120 GB External SSD (wasn't using the internal SSD at all - it was walled off by encryption). I did not run into any problems with space as I was using cloud storage and home NAS storage.
Going by Apple's consumer-facing price logic, that's roughly what the 16" Pro would cost with equivalent specs:
$2,399 equipped with 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD, i7 CPU.
8-16GB of RAM costs $200 according to Apple, so that's -$200
256-512GB of SSD also costs $200
i5-i7 also costs $200
That brings us to $1,799, but Apple also gives you a dGPU (which I don't think the Lenovo has?) so that's probably worth at least another $200 or so.
Apple's ram and SSD upgrade prices have always been a ripoff. Thats why I miss the days of user upgradable ram and storage. I bought the base 13" MBP Core 2 Duo in 2010 (4GB ram, 250GB HDD) and when I stopped using it, it had a 1TB SSD, and 16GB ram.
At least with the 2014 13" MBP I bought used, I threw in a 512GB SSD shortly after getting it. I did but it with 16GB though.
256GB is enough for most folks though. My mom only uses 170GB right now, and that's how she's always been. My brother also doesn't have a bunch of stuff (like high res music, 4K video, etc) on his MacBook Air either.
The MBA coming with 256GB is fine, but the MBP should start at 512GB imo, and the price difference between 256GB and 512GB shouldn't be more than $100.
At least with the 2014 13" MBP I bought used, I threw in a 512GB SSD shortly after getting it. I did but it with 16GB though.
256GB is enough for most folks though. My mom only uses 170GB right now, and that's how she's always been. My brother also doesn't have a bunch of stuff (like high res music, 4K video, etc) on his MacBook Air either.
The MBA coming with 256GB is fine, but the MBP should start at 512GB imo, and the price difference between 256GB and 512GB shouldn't be more than $100.
