Looks good. MacOS gave the browser a lot of memory at some point (code on tabs). My prediction is if you run more processes you will eventually see the new processes get memory and the browser memory size decrease. But with 16 GB you have put this off for a while.
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256GB ssd is bull
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... Except for iOS and its derivatives... when memory its tight, the OS begins to force-stop applications not holding the screen, then sends a warning to to the applications on the screen (an iPad can have three), then forcibly stop the foreground application(s) and leading you to think it had crashed.
At any rate, a better indicator to determine “do you have enough RAM" for operating systems capable of overcommitting memory would be to look at multi-day history of swap storage use. In macOS, iStats can track the swap file use for the last 30 days. One rule of thumb is, if macOS swaps to more than 50% of your RAM more than 15 days for the past 30 days, then you badly need more physical RAM for your typical workload.
My daughters (10 and 12) have no problem filling that amount of space with the videos they shoot alone. And if you add games on top of that….
They hate it when their videos and photos get shuffled off to iCloud btw, and we have true 1Gbit up and down internet access, typically 300-400Mbit/s over WiFi.
But that’s not accurate according to me. It’s no point today to have videos or photos on local storage. iCloud with photos are fast. Really fast!
I have about 75 GB free on my hd because I tote a 1TB Samsung T7 (with 300GB avail). The stuff on my internal ssd taking up the most space is Adobe Creative Suite, LuminarAI, Microsoft Office, Logic Pro (data on external), Steam with 1 game, Planet Coaster, Final Cut, Motion, lots of miscellaneous normal sized apps.
The T7 has Logic Pro data, iCloud Photos, Crossover pc games, Parallels with windows 11 + Steam and pc games, misc videos, etc.
256GB is probably plenty for the average user. It just cramped my style because I don't like toting external drives. I regret not getting the 1TB.. if I had, I probably wouldn't even consider the Macbook Pro. But since I need to upgrade the ssd by changing computers, I am considering it.
That’s true, and I’ll also buy the next one with 512 or 1tb but even if I do so I still can work with a 256 as I don’t really need more but I’ll keep the next one for 3 years so then I’ll go to 512 at least or 1tb
No.
It’s only fast if you’re old. They’re not.
Their generation simply don’t want to wait for things to happen, (I don’t either tbh) if they start a film and it starts loading from iCloud, they groan and typically move to something else within three seconds.
I mostly shoot stills, and more importantly have been dealing with load times for decades (got the girls when I was pretty old). In this particular case, I think expectations and usage patterns matter more than metrics.
AFAIK iOS is a modern operating system (created circa 2008 and due for a new release in the coming months). However it "asks for memory back” (have a look at the memory warning API) and not just “give them all the memory they need” (have a look at how much RAM does iPadOS provides to apps even on iPad Pro with 8-16GB of RAM).
My point is that iOS does not overcommit memory and shove them into flash drive — despite being a modern operating system.
I agree with the OP.
I have just purchased my father his first new computer in about 9 years. He is currently using a 2008 iMac, which has a 512GB SSD. I was going to get him the M1 iMac with base 256GB SSD - but I'm glad I checked first, as he is using half of the 512GB. Sure, we could probably clean up enough stuff to make it fit the 256, but it's not worth having him complain every other day that the OS is complaining his disk is full...
This is a 74yo barely computer literate user, just doing emails, web browsing, writing notes for the various committees he sits on, and some photos. Nothing major.
I have just purchased my father his first new computer in about 9 years. He is currently using a 2008 iMac, which has a 512GB SSD. I was going to get him the M1 iMac with base 256GB SSD - but I'm glad I checked first, as he is using half of the 512GB. Sure, we could probably clean up enough stuff to make it fit the 256, but it's not worth having him complain every other day that the OS is complaining his disk is full...
This is a 74yo barely computer literate user, just doing emails, web browsing, writing notes for the various committees he sits on, and some photos. Nothing major.
as apple does with phones their team observes what most people need or want on average then go one step below it for the base. 512gb is about the right space for most consumers
On the higher end machines they give you 512gb since most in that space would upgrade to 1tb at a minimum.
In the end it allows both apple to set a lower base price and at the same time the "true" base price is higher than indicated, i.e. a base air is really $1200 but they can advertise it at under a grand.
On the higher end machines they give you 512gb since most in that space would upgrade to 1tb at a minimum.
In the end it allows both apple to set a lower base price and at the same time the "true" base price is higher than indicated, i.e. a base air is really $1200 but they can advertise it at under a grand.
Your father can't fit "emails, web browsing, notes and some photos" on the same footprint on which I'm able to do everything your father does AND do my job, run three full-blown virtual machines, one of which is a Windows one, and have Steam installed with a couple of games?
200 GB of files is 20 thousand (!) photos from a consumer-grade camera or 50 feature films in FullHD.
I'm not saying that 256 GB MacBooks have plenty of storage for everyone, but I'm saying that a person who needs to store more than say 200 GB of files on their personal computer, rather than in their long-term digital storage (external hard drive, NAS, cloud), has above-average storage needs and needs to realize that and shop accordingly.
Yeah, 128GB iPhone 12 Pro and it’s just fine but I can get around with 32Gb also.
but still as you say 512GB should bee the base model.
But as you know 256GB is business standard.
I’m just glad Apple offers 2TB option with these machines, or I wouldn’t even consider them.
To be honest, I'm interested to see what is taking up all of the room, but the point is - my dad represents people who use a computer but don't know how to manage storage. Whilst he is dead keen on deleting emails as soon as they are no longer required, I'm sure there is probably other things dating back in time many many years that can probably go - but unless he has someone helping him, at very best he would be following Apple's instructions which are to use the Migration Assistant to move stuff over - so everything would be getting moved over.
How many new users poke the display of their MacBook Air anyway?
I start with a 1 TB drive now but I also want a gaming GPU.
And this is another core issue.
Most computers bought today replace a previous one. Which had stuff on them that the user wants/has to bring along.
(Of course there are a few babes-in-the-woods who get a Mac as their very first computer, but even these typically has stuff on phones and iPads that they want to access on their Macs.)
This. You don't have 256GB of accessible storage, you have what is left over.
Most of the posts describing the base storage as adequate either describe use cases that look like cell phone or tablet use in this day and age, or presupposes that you already have additional storage outside the box - which says that the included storage is so insufficient that an external storage tier is implicit.
External storage is implicit whether you can fit everything on the computer or not, because any data not backed up is lost data.
Secondary storage is different from backup. You access data on secondary storage. Backup is a safety measure. Even external secondary storage needs to be backed up if you value your time and data.
256GB of secondary storage is a very sub-premium experience, and the prices Apple charges for flash memory leaves a decidedly sour taste.
We all know that they do it to boost profit margins, but there comes a point where it just gets ugly.
My parents are well aware of "secondary storage" in so far as a backup.
But, if my parents had to start using 2 hard drives for day to day use - I'm leaving the country, so it's too expensive for them to ring me for tech support!!!
It's hard enough of a concept for people to understand that when someone sends them a Word Doc attached to an email.... and they open that doc... and make changes.... and click Save.... That when they go back to the email, and open the attachment again - On No - the changes are gone?! I hear people other than just my father dealing with this one.
Yes - the more computers we've had, the more data we likely are carrying. But most people probably don't have the couple dozen floppy disks, half dozen ATA HDDs, and bucket load of CD/DVDs like a lot of us have. Even so - 256GB in the modern world is not much. Even macOS apparently needs between 20GB to 40GB of space. I have 70GB of photos, and the same of iTunes media. I don't know if that's big or not for the "average" user, but that's a huge chunk of space gone.
But, if my parents had to start using 2 hard drives for day to day use - I'm leaving the country, so it's too expensive for them to ring me for tech support!!!
It's hard enough of a concept for people to understand that when someone sends them a Word Doc attached to an email.... and they open that doc... and make changes.... and click Save.... That when they go back to the email, and open the attachment again - On No - the changes are gone?! I hear people other than just my father dealing with this one.
Yes - the more computers we've had, the more data we likely are carrying. But most people probably don't have the couple dozen floppy disks, half dozen ATA HDDs, and bucket load of CD/DVDs like a lot of us have. Even so - 256GB in the modern world is not much. Even macOS apparently needs between 20GB to 40GB of space. I have 70GB of photos, and the same of iTunes media. I don't know if that's big or not for the "average" user, but that's a huge chunk of space gone.
I would say you were right to speak in generalisations like this before M1 Macs came along, but i’m pretty sure Apple is doing something very different on these most recent Macs with regards to memory management and seems to be purposefully swapping to disk much more aggressively than previously because of the ridiculously high disk speeds.
So in the case of these new Macs, I believe that more swap utilisation isn’t necessarily an indication that more physical memory is “needed” to keep the system performant - although of course in some cases it will mean you need more RAM, it’s no longer just as simple as seeing how much swapping is occurring. I think it’s more complicated than that now.
The fact that you cannot upgrade the hard drive in M1 Macs is an even bigger reason that Apple should be starting higher with their offerings. Again - yes - members of this site are savvy enough to plan ahead, buy big, and/or deal with external options - but we are not your average computer user.
Nah, sure it uses swapp when needed but it’s not like it rather use swapp then ram