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Not really. This video shows exactly why.

Apple is not wrong, as the thumbnail suggests. In fact, it is good that memory is the bottleneck. Otherwise, I would be buying extra memory for no gain, e.g. the chip is the bottleneck.
So the chip, that can run faster with more ram is the bottleneck? Uhhhhhhhhh no.
If your cars engine can run faster on 4 wheels than 2. It’s the wheels.
 
I'm saying buy the $200 upgrade of more RAM if you think that's what you need. And if that $200 is too expensive for you, the "Pro" then perhaps you need to analyze your chosen profession.
Gatekeeping who is or isn't a pro based on what one can afford doesn't necessarily invalidate the opinions of those who feel that $1600 for an 8GB computer is overpriced.
 
Okay, is this really surprising to anyone? Also it tells you CLEARLY on Apple's website what the different GB are good for. They aren't lying or trying to scam anyone. Right where you select your memory Apple gives you this information:

"8GB: Great for browsing online, streaming movies, messaging with friends and family, editing photos and personal video, casual gaming, and running everyday productivity apps.

16GB: Great if you will be multitasking across a large number of memory-intensive apps, including professional video editing.

24GB or more: Best if you typically work on advanced projects that require enormous files and content libraries."


When I saw this article, I wanted to be like, "Yeah, no shi* Sherlock."
There are too many people that just don't care and want to complain about something.
I enjoy Max Tech reviews at times. They go back and forth WAY too much though, even within the same review video.
This one is misleading, and doesn't provide the typical user with a valid reason as to not go with 8GB. Since most will not be using those apps tested.

They do have to cater to those that DO use said apps. But, that should be the disclaimer. What is recommended "minimum" for these types of apps. Have a review about using it for basic apps and situations. And then one leveling up, and so on. Find the sweet spot for price and performance for each segment.
 
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Apple once pushed the computer industry forward, but decisions like this keep them languishing in the past. It really does seem that Apple enjoys punishing their customers and themselves. Making 16GB RAM standard would probably cost them about $15/unit, their customers would be thrilled, and they'd be rockstars for finally doing it. Meanwhile they decided they'd rather take a humiliating beating from Mac bloggers, p*ss off early adopters, and anger their long-time customers -- all to save 1% on a $1500 sale.
This. 8GB of ram make the longevity of these devices crash and burn. In 2 or three years these systems will be crawling with pro software. I guess it’s how apple keeps its entry level consumers in a constant upgrade loop.
Where as people who spend a little extra get more time with their devices as demands increase.
 
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8GB is not enough for running applications like that.

It is though. Test it. I use my buddies M2 Air (base model) for Blender, Final Cut (4k video), Logic and Xcode when I house sit at his place. Everyone keeps popping off with untested opinions. If you test it, you'll see it works.

EDIT: And before anyone @s me sure, ideally you'd want more ram, but this absolutely works just fine. I do stuff with 16 gigs just fine that I'd struggle with having 64 gigs on my i9 intel machine.
 
The arrogance of Apple is really incredible, but so many people lap it all up
 
There are too many people that just don't care and want to complain about something.
I enjoy Max Tech reviews at times. They go back and forth WAY too much though, even within the same review video.
This one is misleading, and doesn't provide the typical user with a valid reason as to not go with 8GB. Since most will not be using those apps tested.

They do have to cater to those that DO use said apps. But, that should be the disclaimer. What is recommended "minimum" for these types of apps. Have a review about using it for basic apps and situations. And then one leveling up, and so on. Find the sweet spot for price and performance for each segment.
Then by your arguments people don’t need to buy pro machines anymore. Only pro level consumers. That’s the message apple wants to send to people I guess. Which I bet it isn’t, but with things like this is sure feels like it.

You buy a pro machine to use those types of programs. If you’re doing spreadsheets and browsing them an air device is more than enough.
 
Yes, 16GB is better than 8GB in an Apples to Apples test (Shock, horror)

A test that properly reflects Apples statement would be comparing a base model M3 with 8GB of unified memory compared to a i7 14th gen with 16GB of ram.
 
I've been waiting a long time to replace my mid-2010 17" mbp. I upgraded memory to 8G and storage to 1TB ssd a decade ago. It still does 90% of what I need it to do. But the disk is full and it swaps like mad when i have more than 40 or 50 browser tabs open. Memory and disk are the problem

Now, 13+ years later, the idea of "upgrading" from a 8G/1TB machine to a 8G/1TB machine is an idiot idea. Yes, i obviously can see that there have been other improvements over the past 13 years. But holy heck, apple, moore's law didn't die with steve.
 
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Apples ram is essentially identical to PC ram. Same chips everything. Just soldered directly next to the chip on a bus going directly to the cpu. It’s not fancier ram. It’s just ram.
You get way more bandwidth with on Apple's SoC than on any PC I've seen.
 
It's the classic Cook-era tactic of making the base model worse to upsell rather than making the top one better. See also the lack of VRR or zoom lenses on the iPhone 15.

The only Apple product to offer a proper good/better/best lineup is the iPad.
 
I've been waiting a long time to replace my mid-2010 17" mbp. I upgraded memory to 8G and storage to 1TB ssd a decade ago. It still does 90% of what I need it to do. But the disk is full and it swaps like mad when i have more than 40 or 50 browser tabs open. Memory and disk are the problem

Now, 13+ years later, the idea of "upgrading" from a 8G/1TB machine to a 8G/1TB machine is an idiot idea. Yes, i obviously can see that there have been other improvements over the past 13 years. But holy heck, apple, moore's law didn't die with steve.
How much did you pay for that 2010 17" MBP?
 
I've been waiting a long time to replace my mid-2010 17" mbp. I upgraded memory to 8G and storage to 1TB ssd a decade ago. It still does 90% of what I need it to do. But the disk is full and it swaps like mad when i have more than 40 or 50 browser tabs open. Memory and disk are the problem

Now, 13+ years later, the idea of "upgrading" from a 8G/1TB machine to a 8G/1TB machine is an idiot idea. Yes, i obviously can see that there have been other improvements over the past 13 years. But holy heck, apple, moore's law didn't die with steve.
The CPU improvements are nothing short of absolutely massive. When it's not bottlenecked by the RAM, the M1 is an absolute screamer compared to those unibody Macs.

It's still an upgrade, but I'd agree, get 16GB if you can. Particularly if you do a lot of heavier multitasking, this is where the difference starts to become noticeable.
 
…really? We are stunned that double the ram is faster? This has got to be the most pointless video I have ever seen. That’s the whole point behind upgrading, IT’S FASTER. Now compare an 8gb m2 to an 8gb m3 and see the benchmarks or an 8gb m3 vs a 16gb m2 and those would be interesting comparison. But ANY computer with double the ram IS GOING TO BE FASTER.
5x faster? A bit stunned…
 
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Apple really needs to stop being petty like this in 2023 and make 16 the base. Reminds me of the 16gb base model iPhone days. Come on.
Were it not for Cook’s stingy pettiness, I’d be 2500 short
He still spoke on the behalf of a company.

It means that either Apple endorses this kind of misinformation, or somebody needs to lose their job or at least be reeducated, or at least a rectification needs to come out.

But we all know the correct answer to this dilemma.
there have been no official apologies ever since and hundreds of fans are cringing or grinning worldwide. So they are pushing this bs for real
 
It's the classic Cook-era tactic of making the base model worse to upsell rather than making the top one better. See also the lack of VRR or zoom lenses on the iPhone 15.

The only Apple product to offer a proper good/better/best lineup is the iPad.
The base model is 8GB of RAM. The top spec model has up to 128GB of RAM.
The base model has 100GB memory bandwidth. The top is 400GB.
The base model has 4P/4E cores. The top has 12P/4E cores
The base model has 8GPU cores. The top has 40GPU cores.

The base is the base and the top is WELL spec out. Past most other laptop options out there except VERY high end ones that still can't provide you with up to 128GB ram on the GPU. Not one exists.
 
Are we allowed to focus on the $1600 price tag then? Would that satisfy you more?

A $1600 laptop no matter what it is branded as should not have 8GB RAM.

The fact it is branded as "pro" adds more fuel to the fire, but it isn't necessary to make the point.
I was specifically referring to those who are using the label of pro as their exclusive point of contention - of which there are many.
 
As a non-pro user of MacOS I must say I've been pleasantly surprised by my M2 Mac Mini with 8gb. I purchased it to replace a i7/16gb Intel Macbook Pro which ran Ventura like complete crap, I was astounded by how terrible it ran, the same hardware which would run Windows 11 without batting an eye. But I only paid $399 on sale for my M2 mac mini, I'd be pissed if $1600 didn't get me 16gb RAM, but I suppose that's the Apple tax in effect.
 
Did a BestBuy filter for all laptops over $1200:

All had at least 16GB RAM + dedicated VRAM except Apple

While some had 256GB SSD, most had 512GB or more.

8/256 may be acceptable for some users, but at the price it surely isn’t. It’s laughable.

But the problem then becomes ALL the versions would have a $300 or more lower price to be competitive and Apple’s margins go to heck…
 
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The horror.
Yes get everyone to grab those 8gb models that will never be enough let them even be sold by third parties on sale. Then when you realize you need more you can only go one place that will never offer a discount and is going straight to the big pockets with no middleman. But yes please defend it.

There is no magic in Apple memory chips. They lock the higher memory and storage to themselves with massive markup of pure profit because they can.

Anytime a new Mac comes out no one should talk about the base model price just skip it and add the 400 bucks or so to get a usable machine then talk about price and affordability.
 
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