4gb RAM on next MBA?

[MrXiro]

I've heard some people say that 4gb RAM will be standard on the next Macbook Air.

EDIT: Most of you keep saying Lion needs 4gb... it doesn't I have DP 3 running on my MBA 1.4, 2gb right now just fine... and it's just as buggy as on my MBP.

I kind of doubt this... First of all by having 2gb on all base models all resellers are stuck with selling the 2gb ones... thus giving the Apple Stores and website the advantage of being the only place to get it with 4gb.

Why would they give that up?

Second, not the entire user base for the MBA needs the 4gb... though it would be nice... but I'm sure the public does not want to pay more and to keep Apple's bottom line high they won't give it to you unless their OS can't run on it and Lion is running on the MBA with 2gb just fine.

I'm no expert but I'd love to hear what some of you think.

 

[brand]

First of all by having 2gb on all base models all resellers are stuck with selling the 2gb ones... thus giving the Apple Stores and website the advantage of being the only place to get it with 4gb.

Second, not the entire user base for the MBA needs the 4gb... though it would be nice... but I'm sure the public does not want to pay more and to keep Apple's bottom line high they won't give it to you unless their OS can't run on it and Lion is running on the MBA with 2gb just fine.

Neither of those reasons are why Apple would or would not include 4GB of RAM as the base configuration on the next MacBook Air.

Apple doesn't care about the resellers having to get rid of the last generation models, they have already sold the computers to the resellers so it is their problem. The resellers will just discount the older models like they have in the past. Looking at the what has happened in the past this is nothing new.

If 4GB of RAM was the new base model the price would not go up so the customers would not have to pay more. Again nothing new here

 

[CHSeifert]

I've heard some people say that 4gb RAM will be standard on the next Macbook Air.

I kind of doubt this... First of all by having 2gb on all base models all resellers are stuck with selling the 2gb ones... thus giving the Apple Stores and website the advantage of being the only place to get it with 4gb.

Why would they give that up?

Second, not the entire user base for the MBA needs the 4gb... though it would be nice... but I'm sure the public does not want to pay more and to keep Apple's bottom line high they won't give it to you unless their OS can't run on it and Lion is running on the MBA with 2gb just fine.

I'm no expert but I'd love to hear what some of you think.

Price difference from 2-4 gb ram is 40$ tops......so price is not the reason - the reason is the average Mac Apple user who thinks the difference is 100-200$ ;-)

 

[MrXiro]

Neither of those reasons are why Apple would or would not include 4GB of RAM as the base configuration on the next MacBook Air.

Apple doesn't care about the resellers having to get rid of the last generation models, they have already sold the computers to the resellers so it is their problem. The resellers will just discount the older models like they have in the past. Looking at the what has happened in the past this is nothing new.

If 4GB of RAM was the new base model the price would not go up so the customers would not have to pay more. Again nothing new here

I never brought up the previous gen models in any way shape or form. Been talking about the SnB models in this whole post. I'm saying that places like Amazon and Best Buy will be stuck selling the the 2gb "base" models and if any users want 4gb they have to go to Apple for the upgrade and the extra 100 dollars charge for the BTO MBA and we as the consumers have no where else to go for it because it's not upgradeable. Kind of like a monopoly on the MBA 4gb versions.

Price difference from 2-4 gb ram is 40$ tops......so price is not the reason - the reason is the average Mac Apple user who thinks the difference is 100-200$ ;-)

I'm not sure what your point it is...

The average Macbook Air user if they want 4gb HAS to pay the 100 extra dollars to Apple for the extra 2gb because there is nowhere else to upgrade.

 

[PraisiX-windows]

I think those are reasonable arguments.

However, since the SB model won't be having 320m Apple will probably have reduced production costs - a way for them to "give this back" to the consumer they could either lower the price of the MBA even further or opt for the 4gb base, they could obviously also just put it in their pockets

 

[lasuther]

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I think with Lion coming, 4GB will be standard. I imagine the cost savings from the SSD will offset cost increase in memory. Also, the Intel integrated graphics uses more memory than the 320.

 

[glen e]

with the Dell MBA-type unit coming out and having better specs (on paper) for less money, I'll bet we see a 2 GB model.

 

[brand]

I never brought up the previous gen models in any way shape or form. Been talking about the SnB models in this whole post. I'm saying that places like Amazon and Best Buy will be stuck selling the the 2gb "base" models and if any users want 4gb they have to go to Apple for the upgrade and the extra 100 dollars charge for the BTO MBA and we as the consumers have no where else to go for it because it's not upgradeable. Kind of like a monopoly on the MBA 4gb versions.

I misunderstood your original post but now that you clarified it further I understand what you are saying. If they do make 4GB the new base configuration they would very likely still have BTO options on their website for either 6GB or 8GB of RAM. As far as I remember Apple has never made the base configuration the maximum amount of RAM possible in a computer without an option to BTO additional RAM. That would cut out all of the additional money they can make from BTO configurations and just not good business on their part.

 

[KnightWRX]

with the Dell MBA-type unit coming out and having better specs (on paper) for less money, I'll bet we see a 2 GB model.

Which Dell MBA type unit ?

 

[glen e]

I know purists here will not see it as a worthy competitor, but many non - macrumor people will:

It's "all silver" for a reason:

Dell XPS 15z Laptop

 

[MrXiro]

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I think with Lion coming, 4GB will be standard. I imagine the cost savings from the SSD will offset cost increase in memory. Also, the Intel integrated graphics uses more memory than the 320.

Lion runs on 2gb just fine. I have it installed on my 1.4ghz MBA. It's a tiny bit buggy but still totally useable.

 

[KnightWRX]

I know purists here will not see it as a worthy competitor, but many non - macrumor people will:

It's "all silver" for a reason:

Dell XPS 15z Laptop

That's a MBP competitor. It weights as much and is as thick as a MBP. If anyone mistakes this for an Air competitor, they are seriously not understanding the concept of the MBA.

 

[Peteman100]

I think 4GB will be standard so that Apple can move to a 64-bit version of Lion as standard

 

[glen e]

Price alone will make it a competitor...

 

[MrXiro]

I think 4GB will be standard so that Apple can move to a 64-bit version of Lion as standard

Is the current developer's preview of Lion not 64-bit? Cause it runs perfectly fine on the base MBA.

 

[Kavrocks]

Price alone will make it a competitor...

I don't usually post here but this is so wrong I felt the need to point out the major selling points of the MBA (for somebody who has spent 3 months looking for the right laptop for me) its size, weight and SSD storage. The cheapest Dell XPS 15Z is also the same price as the cheapest MBA.

The Dell XPS 15Z does not have and SSD storage as an option. It weighs 1.9 times the weight of the MBA 13" and 2.3 times the weight of the MBA 11" and it is bigger in every dimension too.

 

[glen e]

believe me guys, I am happy you are disagreeing with me. I bought the MBA because of those things too. But at the Best Buys of the world, the Dell will sell very well when put on the same table just because of it's similar look and it's a lot cheaper than the 13 MBA with lots more GB of memory. And you next door neighbor who does not care a whit about Apple will snap it up. Just saying...

I watched Lexus eat BMW's lunch for about 3 years because the Germans did not consdier any Japanese car to be worthy of being called "competition" and it cost them dearly . Now instead of looking at just MB and Audi, they look to the east as well.

let's try to keep this discussion going without the personal attacks of what I know or don't know....

 

[torbjoern]

I've heard some people say that 4gb RAM will be standard on the next Macbook Air.

It better be. For those who would buy the Air with only 2 gigs after Lion is out, I wonder how long they expect it to last anyway.

 

[alust2013]

I would hope it would be. 4GB is pretty cheap, so I think if they do make it standard, the price would stay the same. They'll have to bite that bullet sometime, and with the currently low RAM prices, now is the time to do it. However, they could potentially add an 8GB upgrade option, which they would charge probably $200 for. Likely only half as many people would choose the option, but they wouldn't lose any money that way.

 

[jdavtz]

Surely if Apple wanted people to be pulled/pushed to the Apple Store to make their purchases they could just choose to not use any resellers?

Designing a product with the intention that it DOESN'T sell but rather pushes people to buy another product in the Apple Store sounds a bit unlikely (and would make all the resellers abandon selling them, if they don't sell).

That said, 2GB is probably still okay for lots of people (and 64-bit Lion shouldn't affect that) especially with SSD for virtual memory. It would IMO be a pretty poor offering though (especially as it's not upgradable).

 

[EspressoLove]

I've heard some people say that 4gb RAM will be standard on the next Macbook Air.

I kind of doubt this... First of all by having 2gb on all base models all resellers are stuck with selling the 2gb ones... thus giving the Apple Stores and website the advantage of being the only place to get it with 4gb.

Why would they give that up?

That's entirely off-base and moot - no reseller is limited to 2GB/base versions at all.
Research a bit please before you post, let alone create a thread.

 

[MrXiro]

That's entirely off-base and moot - no reseller is limited to 2GB/base versions at all.
Research a bit please before you post, let alone create a thread.

So you see the 4gb model at Best Buy and Amazon then? I've looked... don't see it... where outside of Apple have you seen stores selling the 4gb model?

Please enlighten me...

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olstemplatemapper.jsp?id=pcat17080&type=page&qp=cabcat0500000%23%230%23%23205~~cabcat0502000%23%230%23%233f~~cpcmcat196200050015%23%230%23%231~~f510||4170706c6526233137343b~~q70726f63657373696e6774696d653a3e313930302d30312d3031~~nf534||31342671756f743b20616e6420556e646572&list=y&nrp=15&sc=abComputerSP&ks=960&usc=abcat0500000&sp=-bestsellingsort+skuid&list=y&iht=n&st=processingtime%3A%3E1900-01-01
http://www.microcenter.com/search/search_results.phtml?Ntt=macbook+air&N=0&submit.x=0&submit.y=0

I don't see any options for me to go out and pick up a 4gb here...

 

[nebulos]

i've never seen any BTO Macs at Best Buy. i don't know about Amazon, but certainly, there are other resellers that have them, MacConnection for one.

 

[EspressoLove]

So you see the 4gb model at Best Buy and Amazon then? I've looked... don't see it... where outside of Apple have you seen stores selling the 4gb model?

Please enlighten me...

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olstemplatemapper.jsp?id=pcat17080&type=page&qp=cabcat0500000%23%230%23%23205~~cabcat0502000%23%230%23%233f~~cpcmcat196200050015%23%230%23%231~~f510||4170706c6526233137343b~~q70726f63657373696e6774696d653a3e313930302d30312d3031~~nf534||31342671756f743b20616e6420556e646572&list=y&nrp=15&sc=abComputerSP&ks=960&usc=abcat0500000&sp=-bestsellingsort+skuid&list=y&iht=n&st=processingtime%3A%3E1900-01-01
http://www.microcenter.com/search/search_results.phtml?Ntt=macbook+air&N=0&submit.x=0&submit.y=0

I don't see any options for me to go out and pick up a 4gb here...

@ Amazon
@ Powermax
@ MacMall
to name the few ...
which proves that none of the resellers is limited by Apple (which you implied) only by their marketing departments ...

 

[KnightWRX]

believe me guys, I am happy you are disagreeing with me. I bought the MBA because of those things too. But at the Best Buys of the world, the Dell will sell very well when put on the same table just because of it's similar look and it's a lot cheaper than the 13 MBA with lots more GB of memory.

That's the point, it doesn't look similar. It looks similar to a MacBook Pro. The 15z has about the same look as a MacBook Pro.

Again, same thickness, same weight as a MacBook Pro. Repeat after me : Pro.

Now that that is cleared, let's get back to the topic.