Buying a MBA, will the base configuration be enough for me?

[henkie]

They will and I suspect Microsoft & Dell learned it from Apple. But there are PLENTY of PC makers in that vast sea and others don't "rob" their customers. For example, when I embraced Silicon, I needed 100% Windows too... so the only real choice was to pick up a PC too (old fashioned bootcamp). No, ARM Windows is NOT full Windows.

Base price was FARRRRRRRRR below Mac pricing and then I could shop around for both RAM and SSD storage. I decided to go gaming PC to scratch a little itch there too. I picked up a (NOT Microsoft or Dell) gaming PC with good graphics card, 32GB of RAM and 10TB of fast SSD (8TB + 2TB) for LESS than only the Apple upgrade price for 8TB of SSD, NOT including the Mac. THAT's competition at work FOR us consumers.

As consumers, we shouldn't care about shareholder maximization and/or be justifying "robbing" us because <other player> does it too. Instead, we should covet competition-driven pricing to get commodities like RAM and SSD at market prices instead of 3X-5X pricing because of the "company store" model in which ONE seller has total control of any RAM or SSD one desires. Why? Because no consumer wins by far overpaying for RAM & SSD because our favorite company has a Company Store model... and a few other PC companies are trying to copy the exploit. Our Macs would be just as good if Apple charged market rates for RAM & SSD upgrades. We consumers would get just as much out of our Macs at 1X market vs. 3X-5X market for such commodities.

If one wants a Mac, they have no choice. Apple could make it 10X-15X and there is still no choice. But when one buys a PC there are hundreds of vendors and much competition making all internal parts. As a result the price of a single Apple upgrade to max SSD or max RAM can buy a LOT of PC... which translates into customers wanting a PC getting more value for their money.

For a while, we had that ability with our Intel Macs too: buy base specs and then upgrade RAM & storage at market-driven prices instead of Company Store pricing. And then modern Apple decided to "fix" that "problem"... and some of us fall right in line rationalizing it. I'm mostly an Apple guy with LOTS of Apple stuff in my household and office... but I don't care for this part of things at all... because I'm a consumer FIRST... not working for the Corp for free and/or focused on maximizing for shareholders at our own expense. Both of those are doing just fine no matter what "we" write here... we're simply the one's heavily paying for that "just fine."

This, so much! For the price of a ps5 which carries a faster ssd and 0.8TB than a MBP, for less than the upgrade price to 1TB. Buying a 1TB ssd yourself is dirty cheap. Yes, economics bla bla. But if Mercedes would charge extra for having an airco at a 30,000 dollar surcharge, you would find it ridiculous as well. I mean, do you really need an airco? Not everyone, you can live in a Nordic country or just like to leave the screen open, but would benefit loads of people. If Porsche would do the same, this is still not ok. It is not illegal, but the consumer has the right to complain and buy second hand car or a refurbished 1tb/16gb for a fraction of the price

 

[cheesygrin]

The simple fact is, no one can really answer this question, because you are trying to project ahead 5 years. No one knows (maybe not even Apple themselves) how well a base spec laptop will run a modern operating system 5 years from now. It would be sufficient for your needs NOW, and that’s all you can really base your decision on.

That said, Apple devices hold their value well, so I would say go for it, but be prepared to sell it and trade up later on if you have performance issues in later operating systems.

 

[Richu]

I keep looking at the base configuration for a 15" MBA with 8gb/256gb. This computer will strictly be a "sitting on the couch surfing the internet while watching tv" type computer. I will be looking up sports scores, posting on forums, shopping on Amazon, random google searches, Youtube videos, and reading the occasional email (gmail). I use Safari for my browser fyi. Normally I do this stuff on my Iphone 15 Plus but it would be nicer to do it on a laptop with a 15" display and with a real keyboard to type on.

I will probably install Adobe Reader to look at the occasional PDF. I may or may not install MS Office for Word, but this won't be a work machine at all.

I will never use it for anything more than what I listed. With that said, is the base configuration enough for me and should last me 5 or more years? I have been reading on the topic of RAM and so many people are saying "you need 16GB of RAM, you never know what you will want to do on the machine in the future, and you need 16gb for this and that, etc". All the stuff people mention doing, video stuff etc I will never do.

I just want a laptop that I can have at most 5 tabs of Safari open and that's pretty much it, and the computer run smoothly.

With that said, should I spend the extra money for 16gb of RAM for the sake of Safari web browsing, or in my situation is that literally a waste of money?

For this use case you can buy a potato and it’ll be smooth.

 

[PsykX]

I've had the base M1 iMac with 8GB / 256 GB, using Office with Teams all day long at work, and it was fine.

You'll have an M3 and will have a lighter usage than me, so you'll be fine.
Now, will you be fine until 2030 would be another question, but you'll be good for a few years for sure.

 

[Allen_Wentz]

Define sub-optimally.

Is that spreadsheet 0.1 seconds slower? Is the video rendering taking 4.6 minutes instead o 4.5? Does Lightroom export 1,000 photos in 5.9 minutes instead of 6?

Yes, I would like to have a 16" MacBook Pro, M3 Max with 128 Gig of memory and an 8 TB SSD. That would really be optimal. Now that spreadsheet would calculate in 0.0001 seconds instead of 0.0010 seconds. That Lightroom export would take 5.7 minutes instead of six minutes. Most of that time is due to the export to an external SSD. I doubt a fully loaded MacBook Pro would improve much on that process.

Instead I am stuck with my M2 Air and it seems to work just fine with my needs. A few milliseconds here and there will never be missed. Forget the tired argument about swapping wearing out the SSD. That is old news and the SSDs of today have exceptional lifespans. They will outlast the non-replaceable batteries in the M series of laptops.

What is sub-optimal to you is just fine for others. What is optimal for you may be way overkill for others. For a select few even a maxed out MacBook Pro is sub-optimal.

In all my years of using desktop computers and laptops I have never had a system where the workload increased more than 0% in the span of five years. Upgrades were for other purposes that had nothing to do with performance or resources.

Yes, Photoshop did more and took more resources. That never affected my workload. I never noticed a performance hit even with 40"x60" 600 DPI images with 25 layers. I suppose if I had a stopwatch and really counted I might have seen something. I did that with 8 Gb of memory and PS was using temporary files on spinning rust. A new system would obviously been quicker but so what? There was never a time I sat twiddling my thumbs and cursing the system for being so slow.

Most of my time is spent using the mouse and keyboard. Those tasks will aways remain relatively static.

If your needs require an optimal system, with more memory and storage, go for it. It's your money and your system.

Seriously you want me to "Define sub-optimally."?
OK: less than optimal.

As to your description of timing of rendering or whatever, that is not the point. As a box becomes more RAM-starved it mostly just operates less smoothly. E.g. as one switches among windows/apps it takes longer and may even seem to stutter.

That smoothness can matter a lot if one is creating rather than simply consuming, because those slight hesitations interrupt the flow of one's creative process. Not that one cannot still create; rather that the creating takes longer and requires more mental effort.

As a box becomes seriously RAM-starved switching among windows/apps becomes significantly slowed and the SBBOD presents with some frequency. Multi-tasking among multiple apps is one instance where RAM limitations present quite obviously.

Given the inexorabye increasing demand for RAM from OS/apps over time, IMO limiting any new Mac to 8 GB RAM in 2024 is an inappropriate choice for most buyers reading here.

Note: My comments are based on my experience with Mac laptops since the Duos. E.g. my 2016 MBP with 16 GB RAM ran the same workflow 2017-2023, slowly becoming more and more RAM-starved as OS/apps evolved to utilize more RAM; finally SBBOD too often forced me to buy a new Mac before M2 Studios were available.

It was not that I could not still make the 2016 MBP work, it was that it was no longer time effective for creative purposes. Today I still use the 2016 MBP, but avoid multi-task activities. The M2 MBP with 96 GB RAM is an absolute joy to use rapidly multi-tasking among multiple apps. 64 GB would be fully adequate 2024-2025, but I expect to be happy to have the full 96 GB by 2026; we will see.

 

[chmania]

It was not that I could not still make the 2016 MBP work, it was that it was no longer time effective for creative purposes.

Are these creative purposes?

 

[raythompsontn]

Seriously you want me to "Define sub-optimally."?
OK: less than optimal.

What is less than optimal for a system? For me, for you, for others. Rendering a video too slow? Spreadsheet calculate too slow? What is slow? Any system would be slower than a maxed out M3 Pro. I guess having anything less than a maxed out M3 pro would be “sub-optimal”.

In my environment, along with others, optimal generally factors in money. You, or I, cannot determine, or define, what is optimal, and that includes sub-optimal, for anyone else.

 

[DeepSix]

It depends what you do with it OP. A friend of mine said the 8GB wasnt enough of her to take beauty shots for her Instagram channel so she upgraded to the 16GB model.

 

[bigpoppa]

I keep looking at the base configuration for a 15" MBA with 8gb/256gb. This computer will strictly be a "sitting on the couch surfing the internet while watching tv" type computer. I will be looking up sports scores, posting on forums, shopping on Amazon, random google searches, Youtube videos, and reading the occasional email (gmail). I use Safari for my browser fyi. Normally I do this stuff on my Iphone 15 Plus but it would be nicer to do it on a laptop with a 15" display and with a real keyboard to type on.

I will probably install Adobe Reader to look at the occasional PDF. I may or may not install MS Office for Word, but this won't be a work machine at all.

I will never use it for anything more than what I listed. With that said, is the base configuration enough for me and should last me 5 or more years? I have been reading on the topic of RAM and so many people are saying "you need 16GB of RAM, you never know what you will want to do on the machine in the future, and you need 16gb for this and that, etc". All the stuff people mention doing, video stuff etc I will never do.

I just want a laptop that I can have at most 5 tabs of Safari open and that's pretty much it, and the computer run smoothly.

With that said, should I spend the extra money for 16gb of RAM for the sake of Safari web browsing, or in my situation is that literally a waste of money?

Why install Adobe Reader? PDFs are native on macOS and can be opened with Preview automatically. Unnecessary.

 

[gnyce]

I keep looking at the base configuration for a 15" MBA with 8gb/256gb. This computer will strictly be a "sitting on the couch surfing the internet while watching tv" type computer. I will be looking up sports scores, posting on forums, shopping on Amazon, random google searches, Youtube videos, and reading the occasional email (gmail). I use Safari for my browser fyi. Normally I do this stuff on my Iphone 15 Plus but it would be nicer to do it on a laptop with a 15" display and with a real keyboard to type on.

I will probably install Adobe Reader to look at the occasional PDF. I may or may not install MS Office for Word, but this won't be a work machine at all.

I will never use it for anything more than what I listed. With that said, is the base configuration enough for me and should last me 5 or more years? I have been reading on the topic of RAM and so many people are saying "you need 16GB of RAM, you never know what you will want to do on the machine in the future, and you need 16gb for this and that, etc". All the stuff people mention doing, video stuff etc I will never do.

I just want a laptop that I can have at most 5 tabs of Safari open and that's pretty much it, and the computer run smoothly.

With that said, should I spend the extra money for 16gb of RAM for the sake of Safari web browsing, or in my situation is that literally a waste of money?

Many people view this as a want versus a need, but it’s also important to consider that there are significantly fewer 16GB units compared to 8GB units on the used market. As a result, you’re likely to be able to sell the 16GB unit at a higher premium in a few years.

 

[ab2c4]

Why install Adobe Reader? PDFs are native on macOS and can be opened with Preview automatically. Unnecessary.

I have never had a Mac before so I had no idea, I have always been a Windows user. The most I have ever used a Mac is when I have used my wife's Pro to look something up briefly.

 

[ab2c4]

My wife and I are going back and forth on which laptop to buy. We are going to see if we can go to the Apple store on Saturday. We were talking about it this morning and we realize we have three choices:

1. Buy a base spec Air.
2. Buy an Air with 16gb.
3. Buy another upgraded MB Pro.

With option #3, my wife currently has a MB Pro that she bought 2.5 years ago, it is the 14" M1 Pro 16GB/512GB model. If we go with option #3 I will take her MB Pro and she will buy for herself a new 14" MB Pro with the M3 Pro 18GB/512GB model. Money really isn't an option, we just don't like to spend more money if we don't think we have to. I understand the argument regarding more RAM and longevity though.

I have been reading all the responses in this thread and doing research on my own as well. I now know 8gb has worked well as the base specs for the Air since 2017 (I didn't realize that a week ago) but I also realize that means buying 8gb in 2024 probably makes that a problem. I had no idea 8gb had been the standard base spec for the last 7 years. If all the new upcoming Macs are expected to be 12gb or 16gb, buying 8gb today probably won't hold up very well for longevity.

As per the previous post of mine, my wife and I have been looking at the Macs online and talking about it, we are either going with option #2 or #3. We are still hoping to have time to go to the Apple store tomorrow and if we do I expect us to be walking out the door with one, just not sure if it will be an Air or Pro. If its an Air it will be the 13.6" M3 16gb/512gb. If its a Pro it will be with the 14" M3Pro 18gb/512gb. We will be buying from what they carry in stock in the store which is why it will be one of these two and not ordering online. The price difference is $1,400 and $1,850 with the educational discount. If we like the Air it will be nice to save the $450, but if we like the Pro that much more we will spend the extra money.

I don't need 512gb but that is the only way to get 16gb RAM buying in the store. However, I will welcome the faster read/write speeds that come with those 512gb drives.

I should add, I was convinced if I got an Air it would be the 15" but after doing research/comparisons I realize the 13.6" Air is so close in size to the 14" Pro and almost the same size as my 14" laptop I use now. For some reason I was thinking the Air 13 was very small (closer to a true 13" inch) and its not.

This will be my first Mac and I have to say picking out a new iphone is a lot easier lol.

 

[raythompsontn]

I have never had a Mac before so I had no idea, I have always been a Windows user

Even in the Windows world PDF's can be rendered in the browsers. No need to install Adobe Reader. In my opinion Adobe Reader is worthless and should never be installed and removed if already installed.

 

[raythompsontn]

We will be buying from what they carry in stock in the store which is why it will be one of these two and not ordering online

What is available will vary by store. When I the M2 Air the 16G/1TB was in stock, not the 16G/512MB. Today that is reversed. Go online and check the store inventory by configuring what you want to see it is stock. You may have to modify what you actually get. Change the number of cores, etc. to get to the storage and memory options that you want. Skipping on a couple of cores is not going to make much difference in the performance. The only common entry was the entry level 8G/256GB has always been in stock.

I have had no issues with having what I wanted by ordering. Unless it is really and oddball, or high-end, option, it only takes less than a week to get the device. If you have waited this long, what's another week?

 

[ab2c4]

What is available will vary by store. When I the M2 Air the 16G/1TB was in stock, not the 16G/512MB. Today that is reversed. Go online and check the store inventory by configuring what you want to see it is stock. You may have to modify what you actually get. Change the number of cores, etc. to get to the storage and memory options that you want. Skipping on a couple of cores is not going to make much difference in the performance. The only common entry was the entry level 8G/256GB has always been in stock.

I have had no issues with having what I wanted by ordering. Unless it is really and oddball, or high-end, option, it only takes less than a week to get the device. If you have waited this long, what's another week?

Yes I already checked inventory of our local Apple store so we should be good.

As for ordering online, my wife handles the finance stuff and she said we are buying this one in store. I guarantee she has her reasons. Plus if we are going to the Apple store to compare the Air and Pro in person it doesn't make sense not to buy it while we are there.

 

[raythompsontn]

going to the Apple store to compare the Air and Pro in person

Excellent plan. When I compared the Pro was eliminated for my needs. It was noticeably heavier. The difference in the screens was not a big deal. I had no need for the extra ports. To each their own. Enjoy whatever you purchase.

You did mention the educational discount. I hope it is not like the veteran discount. That can only be done online. In my case I found what I liked in the store. I then went online and ordered the device for store pickup. I did this while in the Apple Store. The store had no way to apply the veteran discount. I wandered the mall for an hour until I got an email that my purchase was ready.

 

[ab2c4]

Excellent plan. When I compared the Pro was eliminated for my needs. It was noticeably heavier. The difference in the screens was not a big deal. I had no need for the extra ports. To each their own. Enjoy whatever you purchase.

You did mention the educational discount. I hope it is not like the veteran discount. That can only be done online. In my case I found what I liked in the store. I then went online and ordered the device for store pickup. I did this while in the Apple Store. The store had no way to apply the veteran discount. I wandered the mall for an hour until I got an email that my purchase was ready.

I called the Apple store a few weeks ago and asked about the educational discount and they told me what I needed to bring with me to get it in person. I didn't know they offered a veterans discount, I am a veteran also but I am guessing you can't stack the veterans and educational discount.

 

[raythompsontn]

I didn't know they offered a veterans discount, I am a veteran also but I am guessing you can't stack the veterans and educational discount.

Yes, it is 10% for veterans for all products. Education varies by each item or a gift card is involved. Discounts cannot be stacked.

To get the veteran discount you need to establish an account on ID.ME. You the use the Apple veteran store. The veteran discount can only be used online using the web, not the Apple Store app. The discount cannot be used when buying in the store. Purchases can be picked up in an Apple Store.

I order online and have the items delivered. If I am in the Apple Store I will find what I want, go online and order, then wait for store pickup. Even items on the shelf have to wait to be delivered from the storeroom.

 

[ab2c4]

Yes, it is 10% for veterans for all products. Education varies by each item or a gift card is involved. Discounts cannot be stacked.

To get the veteran discount you need to establish an account on ID.ME. You the use the Apple veteran store. The veteran discount can only be used online using the web, not the Apple Store app. The discount cannot be used when buying in the store. Purchases can be picked up in an Apple Store.

I order online and have the items delivered. If I am in the Apple Store I will find what I want, go online and order, then wait for store pickup. Even items on the shelf have to wait to be delivered from the storeroom.

I am so happy you told me about the veterans discount, thank you. So I just established my account on ID.ME and signed into the military store on apple. I can't believe my wife and I could have been saving $100 off every iphone all these years lol.

 

[Bruh Bear]

I am so happy you told me about the veterans discount, thank you. So I just established my account on ID.ME and signed into the military store on apple. I can't believe my wife and I could have been saving $100 off every iphone all these years lol.

Thank you for your service.

 

[ab2c4]

Yes, it is 10% for veterans for all products. Education varies by each item or a gift card is involved. Discounts cannot be stacked.

To get the veteran discount you need to establish an account on ID.ME. You the use the Apple veteran store. The veteran discount can only be used online using the web, not the Apple Store app. The discount cannot be used when buying in the store. Purchases can be picked up in an Apple Store.

I order online and have the items delivered. If I am in the Apple Store I will find what I want, go online and order, then wait for store pickup. Even items on the shelf have to wait to be delivered from the storeroom.

Let me ask you this: if i order an iphone for store pickup and select that I am trading in a phone, when I pickup the phone can I do a store trade in on the iphone I am trading in instead of mailing it in? We like doing the trade in's in person so you get the credit immediately off the new phone we are buying.

 

[Bruh Bear]

Let me ask you this: if i order an iphone for store pickup and select that I am trading in a phone, when I pickup the phone can I do a store trade in on the iphone I am trading in instead of mailing it in? We like doing the trade in's in person so you get the credit immediately off the new phone we are buying.

You should get the credit immediately if you’re physically giving the phone to them at the store.

 

[raythompsontn]

if i order an iphone for store pickup and select that I am trading in a phone, when I pickup the phone can I do a store trade in on the iphone I am trading in instead of mailing it in?

Maybe, perhaps, probably. I don’t know. The last time I had a phone trade-in, the store would not accept the trade-in. I had to send in (FedEx) the device. Apple paid for the shipping. Other times, like for my M2, the store accepted the item. Then the store would not accept my watch trade-in and it had to be sent in. In all cases Apple sent me via FedEx the shipping container.

The credit appeared on my account within 5 days of sending in the device.

I have never had a problem with sending in a device.

 

[ab2c4]

You should get the credit immediately if you’re physically giving the phone to them at the store.

This is awesome, this veterans discount just made my day seriously.

 

[ab2c4]

Maybe, perhaps, probably. I don’t know. The last time I had a phone trade-in, the store would not accept the trade-in. I had to send in (FedEx) the device. Apple paid for the shipping. Other times, like for my M2, the store accepted the item. Then the store would not accept my watch trade-in and it had to be sent in. In all cases Apple sent me via FedEx the shipping container.

The credit appeared on my account within 5 days of sending in the device.

I have never had a problem with sending in a device.

We have done the trade in via FedEx and it worked just fine, just not instant credit like doing it at the apple store. I guess my wife and I will find out next year with the iphone 17. I really appreciate all the info.