This...And Apple now also realized it, especially with the development of AI and resulting memory usage. Luckily you can now just point him to the base MBPs and MBAs since it now comes with 16GB without added costs.
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8GB RAM in M3 MacBook Pro Proves the Bottleneck in Real-World Tests
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It would for 24 GiB. Or for giving them a 1 TB SSD.
But for 16? Since Apple has now changed the base config to 16, I feel vindicated in my assumption that it's reasonably for almost anyone to have that much RAM nowadays.
Having said that, I don't have data on what his memory pressure would be like if he only had 8. It's possible he'd rarely run into orange. But why give him a device that's already reaching its limits on day one?
Not according to slippery slope “I don’t think it costs x amount more to use x higher spec, and anything less than that is “useless” or a “bad value”, so base models should be equipped with it, and if they aren’t then Apple’s just being mean and greedy”, arguments…
And since Apple is going to release an M5 chip later this year or early next year, I feel vindicated in saying that the M4 isn’t good enough for anyone, and they shouldn’t buy an M4 chip… Apple changes specs occasionally, that doesn’t mean the prior models were useless or are a “bad value”. For the vast majority of people, 8GB continues to be a good choice, and plenty sufficient for their needs…
I think a large part of the problem here is that many of the people here claiming that an 8GB Apple Silicon Mac is “useless” or a “bad value” have never actually used one… And it shows. I proved that an 8GB M1 Mac can run several heavy apps simultaneously, apps that you’re average person would never run in the first place, and never expect to run on a base spec of just about anything… There’s no way that someone who just uses a dozen web apps is going to be running into problems when I can run a dozen web pages in Safari, plus several projects open in Affinity Photo, Designer, a project open in Blender, and several other open apps.
An 8GB Apple Silicon Mac is not “reaching its limits on day one”. Not unless you have an extremely taxing workflow. For most average users, they would be nowhere close to reaching its limits. And there’s no point in paying more for excess RAM that won’t be needed…
Which is why all Apple Intelligence features run great on my 8GB M1 Mac, and why iPhones designed for Apple Intelligence shipped with 16GB instead of 8GB, because it really needs so much more RAM…. Right? I didn’t think so…
The added cost of new vs buying an even better value refurbished or pre-owned 8GB Apple Silicon Mac that will continue to provide great value for many people for many years to come…
The 6GB iPhone 15 would like to have a word
a year old phone cannot run the main feature of the next os release.And you assume the only limit there is the RAM. If RAM were the only limit, I’m sure that Apple could provide a more limited version of it for older iPhones. But there are also other considerations to take into account, such as battery runtime, Neural Engine (which is significantly improved on newer iPhones), CPU efficiency and power, etc. You assume that RAM is the only differentiator, but it is not.The 6GB iPhone 15 would like to have a word
And that is beside the point, because you are trying to claim that Macs need 16GB RAM in order to run AI. But this simply isn’t true. Apple’s iPhones specifically designed for AI have 8GB RAM. And 8GB Macs can run every Apple Intelligence feature. So no, AI does not require more than 8GB of RAM… All of Apple’s AI features run on the 8GB models, and since Apple just put out their iPhones specifically designed for AI with 8GB RAM, that tells me that more RAM is not required for Apple’s AI plans…
Except that it does run on M1, with the identical CPU and NPU of the A14. Thus, it’s evidently the RAM.
Could they have shipped a limited version with less RAM? Yes, in the same way they could’ve shipped a version that relies more heavily on PCC.
They didn’t, because
- it would take more engineering effort,
- it would lead to fewer sales,
- and all that to give people a worse user experience.
For me the question to ask is “would 8gb performed satisfactorily?” Memory pressure and swsp file use that doesn’t impact real world performance and not valid measures in that case, IMHO. YMMV.
Sorry but memory pressure certainly impacts performance. As said: if my m1pro seems somewhat sluggish it is because my memory runs into yellow (I first notice the sluggishness and then check the activity monitor). It’s never the CPU that is struggling. And this is with 16GB…Safari and web outlook for work do apparently not like each other and eats ram like candy after a while.
And I do like Macs (MBP m1p 16gb/1tb and a iPhone 13 mini). But a fan? I just in general like Macs. Definitely more than windows. I like the simplicity, while it still allows you to go into the terminal and do technical stuff. The Apple silicon was a fantastic leap. But that does not mean you cannot critique Apple. And there is a lot to criticize lately I feel.
For me it is the standard apps that are starting to get worse: Photos in particular has just gotten more of dedicated app for iPhone than anything that is useful with a real camera. But that is off-topic.
The M1 is not identical to the A14. And there’s also the considerations of battery runtime, etc. There is not definitive evidence that RAM is the only reason older iPhones didn’t get Apple Intelligence. And the point is that iPhones with 8GB RAM can run every Apple Intelligence feature, and will likely do so for the foreseeable future since they were specifically designed to do so. And so will 8GB Macs…
And many people’s workflows don’t cause high memory pressure on an 8GB Apple Silicon Mac. I already proved several heavy apps that most people wouldn’t even try to run on a base spec computer can all run simultaneously on an 8GB M1 Mac without issue, and without any “sluggishness”…
I don’t believe there’s much to criticize. I think it can seem like it when following content creators who prop up artificial clickbait scandals to keep engagement up, but this is merely the result of spin. Some content creators can try to find anything to spin as a scandal.
So why would Apple up the ram to 16GB? If 8GB is enough to do all these heavy apps at the same time without sluggishness? Again, I even notice it with 16GB doing multitasking with several apps at the same time. But you already have the answer:
Oh come on….
Because they chose to? We don’t really know why they did. But what we do know for a fact is that 8GB Apple Silicon Macs can run every Apple Intelligence feature, so it clearly isn’t that… Perhaps it’s part of their push into AAA gaming, who knows… Maybe it was to stop the complaining from some content creators. We simply don’t know.
I shared the photographic evidence. 8GB Apple Silicon Macs can do quite a bit beyond what the average user likely needs or expects to do on a base spec. Of course some should go with higher configurations, but many should be fine with 8GB Apple Silicon Macs for the foreseeable future…
And I don’t believe there’s much to criticize, unless some content creators are looking for things to twist and blow out of proportion into an artificial scandal…