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planteater

Cancelled
Feb 11, 2020
892
1,681
Posted by accident. Can’t find way to delete this as reply to this post. Sigh.

All I intended to say was that in 2022, 8 GB of RAM (and 256 GB of SSD for that matter) is outrageous, particularly when you figure that neither is upgradeable. Heck, I’ve had KINDLES that cost under $100 that came with that much RAM. 🤬😡🤬😡
You may not know what RAM is if you think your Kindle has that much.
 

MayaUser

macrumors 68040
Nov 22, 2021
3,177
7,196
Which is a funny thing to say given that Apple offers a warranty-as-subscription in their main markets. If they expect the SSDs to fail en masse AppleCare+ is a terrible business idea.
exactly, that post was an irony from someone from that video(i hope)...but who knows...maybe Apple can make an ssd to work 5 years period and then make boom boom
 

taliz

macrumors regular
Jun 10, 2006
126
162
It's always bugged me too. PC vendors are much more generous with RAM for some reason.
My Air would probably have had a few more years in it if it had 8GB instead of 4GB.
So much for Apples talk about sustainability and making products last longer... it's still all about early obsolescence and maximizing profit.
 

Lounge vibes 05

macrumors 68040
May 30, 2016
3,862
11,117
Well, I estimate that Apple will drop Intel support in 2029 or 2030. That’s based off of accounting for seven years of extra lifespan for the 2019 MacPro after it’s discontinued at the end of the year and for a little more time until they discontinued support.
You may want to check the Ventura support list.
What you’ll notice is, Apple is not supporting any computer, no matter its price, that was released before June 2017.
It does not matter when it was discontinued, because software support and hardware support are two different things.
The 2013 Mac Pro, which was discontinued in 2019 (only three years ago) was dropped.
The 2015 MacBook Air, which was sold until 2019 (again only three years ago) was dropped.
Ventura does not support any computers that are even a day older than June 5, 2017.
June 5, 2017 was not seven years ago.
It wasn’t even six years ago.
It was five years ago.
Will this trend continue? I don’t know, but I highly doubt that Intel computers will still be getting the latest updates in 2029, nine years after the last Intel computer was introduced, the 2020 iMac.
 

Tagbert

macrumors 603
Jun 22, 2011
6,256
7,281
Seattle
You may want to check the Ventura support list.
What you’ll notice is, Apple is not supporting any computer, no matter its price, that was released before June 2017.
It does not matter when it was discontinued, because software support and hardware support are two different things.
The 2013 Mac Pro, which was discontinued in 2019 (only three years ago) was dropped.
The 2015 MacBook Air, which was sold until 2019 (again only three years ago) was dropped.
Ventura does not support any computers that are even a day older than June 5, 2017.
June 5, 2017 was not seven years ago.
It wasn’t even six years ago.
It was five years ago.
Will this trend continue? I don’t know, but I highly doubt that Intel computers will still be getting the latest updates in 2029, nine years after the last Intel computer was introduced, the 2020 iMac.
I suspect that Apple pull in their support timelines to get past the Intel/AppleSilicon transition as quickly as they can. I would expect them to maintain that window for Intel systems. If they consider this year to be the end of the transition, then they might drop support for the Intel systems in the fall of 2027.

I suspect that they will maintain support for AS systems longer and go back to a longer support window once they no longer need to include the Intel stuff.
 
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ADGrant

macrumors 68000
Mar 26, 2018
1,689
1,059
Using FCP on an 8GB machine rather than a 16GB machine is not what you would expect from a typical user.
I would not expect a typical user to be using FCP. The YouTubers seem to think everyone buys Macs for video editing but that is because they aren't very good at seeing beyond their own use cases.
 
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aevan

macrumors 601
Feb 5, 2015
4,537
7,235
Serbia
Which is a funny thing to say given that Apple offers a warranty-as-subscription in their main markets. If they expect the SSDs to fail en masse AppleCare+ is a terrible business idea.

Not to mention that people buy Macs because they are reliable. Do people really think Apple would destroy customer satisfaction and their brand for short term profits?
 
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BlueGhost

macrumors member
Dec 30, 2015
57
24
Ohio
Looks like some or most of the Microsoft Surface line laptops have base models with 8gb memory and 128gb SSD at about the same price as the M1 MBA. MSFT also charges more for additional memory and larger SSDs. Some of their Surface laptops don't have x86 (Intel/AMD) chips. The ones I looked at only have 2 USB-4/TB-4 ports (surprise!).

Many Chromebooks are non-Intel/AMD powered. I have a Lenovo MediaTek/4gb/32gb powered one sitting two feet my now geriatric late 2013 MBP 13" laptop (8gb/256gb). I have the Lenovo unit in case an update goes bad on the MBP (for web research).

If you don't want to buy a MBA because it only natively supports one external display, you could get around that with a dock that supports DisplayLink or HyperDisplay. The latter may have less problems, from what I have read. However, you may be able to get a 14" M1 Pro MBP 16gb/512gb on sale now for about $200 more than a 16gb/512gb M2 MBA.

Wait a few months until B&H, BestBuy ... start discounting M2 MBAs more regularly. In my experience, B&H tends to sell more configurations than the relatively limited selection at BestBuy. I'm probably going to wait for the M2 14" Pro, not because I necessarily need it, but because I'm a retired "big iron" IT guy, and the price is not that much different from a similarly configured M2 MBA (or a similarly configured MSFT Surface, from what I am seeing). I worked on equipment that generally cost $100k-$250k a pop (sometimes far more).
 
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ADGrant

macrumors 68000
Mar 26, 2018
1,689
1,059
If you don't want to buy a MBA because it only natively supports one external display, you could get around that with a dock that supports DisplayLink or HyperDisplay. The latter may have less problems, from what I have read. However, you may be able to get a 14" M1 Pro MBP 16gb/512gb on sale now for about $200 more than a 16gb/512gb M2 MBA.

Wait a few months until B&H, BestBuy ... start discounting M2 MBAs more regularly. In my experience, B&H tends to sell more configurations than the relatively limited selection at BestBuy. I'm probably going to wait for the M2 14" Pro, not because I necessarily need it, but because I'm a retired "big iron" IT guy, and the price is not that much different from a similarly configured M2 MBA (or a similarly configured MSFT Surface, from what I am seeing). I worked on equipment that generally cost $100k-$250k a pop (sometimes far more).
The current M1 Pro based 14" MBP actually costs about the same as an 16gb/512gb M2 MBA, $1700. However it's possible an M2 version may cost more.
 
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mjs916

macrumors 6502a
Apr 1, 2018
823
1,000
Sacramento, CA
I'm aware that 8 GB RAM as of now fits most people's needs. And that the Si/ARM SoC technology isn't as RAM dependent as x86.

But macs are so expensive that I want them to last for regular use for a very long time. We know nothing of that now.

I have had my 2012 mini since 2013 and it works just fine. But, then, I installed 16 GB RAM immediately, and feel secure with that. 8 GB RAM for the future, not upgradeble, no way.

If the entry level gets 16 GB of RAM, and today's prices continue, I'll buy one. But not otherwise.

What do you think?
I think there are plenty of people that will be fine with 8 GB so Apple will continue selling it. If you need more then they will continue to need you to pay extra.

It would be nice if this were user upgradeable but due to the unified architecture it probably never will be.
I’d be happy to buy a new mini with 16 GB RAM for what a base model costs today.
This reminded me of “I’ll gladly pay you Tuesday for a hamburger today.”
 

Colstan

macrumors 6502
Jul 30, 2020
330
711
Not true. Any laptop with similar specs to a Mac will be priced similarly. While it is true that you can get a PC laptop with 16GB for under 1K, you will be paying for it in other areas (display, battery, performance, build quality).
My favorite are PCs that are marketed as "performance" systems, while shipping with a single stick of RAM in a dual-channel motherboard. This is a surprisingly common occurrence among many major PC brands, yet Apple is the one who gets blamed for being stingy with RAM...
 
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fakestrawberryflavor

macrumors 6502
May 24, 2021
423
569
I haven’t read a single post here, not even your own. Just the subject.

I’m pleased to inform you that you don’t have to buy the 8GB model because there is a 16GB and 24GB model for you to buy instead. Even more depending on the model. Seems like a problem solved and a case closed. /thread
 

AlixSPQR

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Nov 16, 2020
1,078
5,466
Sweden
It looks like 1/3 of those responses are just laughing. As are most of the posts on this thread.
Yes, that is how it stands at the moment. I am thankful for all of those who support my OP. Also thankful for those who don't, since discussion on this topic is both welcome and important. There is no point of silently accepting Apple's policy and pricing without discussion, IMHO. But I can see that some has the opposite opinion, that we should be silent and just buy.
 

ascender

macrumors 603
Dec 8, 2005
5,021
2,897
I'm aware that 8 GB RAM as of now fits most people's needs. And that the Si/ARM SoC technology isn't as RAM dependent as x86.

But macs are so expensive that I want them to last for regular use for a very long time. We know nothing of that now.

I have had my 2012 mini since 2013 and it works just fine. But, then, I installed 16 GB RAM immediately, and feel secure with that. 8 GB RAM for the future, not upgradeble, no way.

If the entry level gets 16 GB of RAM, and today's prices continue, I'll buy one. But not otherwise.

What do you think?
We've been having this conversation for so long and it repeats ad infinitum.

In most recent times, go back to the first of the usb-c MacBook Pros and you'll see people saying 8GB is never enough and within 3 years you might as well chuck your laptop in the trash if you only have 8GB RAM due to macOS becoming ever-more bloated and apps getting larger and larger.

Yet here we are, 5 or 6 years later and 8GB RAM is still more than enough for the majority of people who buy Macs, to get all their work done. And now, thanks to Apple Silicon, they can do it faster than ever, in relative silence from fans and no danger of their Intel Macs heating their legs up while they do it.

Some people need more memory. Some people want more memory. So its good they offer the option.
 

leman

macrumors Core
Oct 14, 2008
19,521
19,677
There is no point of silently accepting Apple's policy and pricing without discussion, IMHO. But I can see that some has the opposite opinion, that we should be silent and just buy.

In the end, it all boils down to what you need and how much you are willing to spend. The very simple truth is that if you are looking for a high quality ultraportable laptop with a cutting edge display, great performance, great connectivity as well as superb battery life and absolutely want 16GB of RAM and a 512GB SSD you are not paying less than $1500-1600 anywhere. You can get 16GB RAM for less, but then you will be sacrificing these other points. For me, the argument kind of ends here. It doesn't make much sense to ask Apple to lower their prices, since they are already very competitive and it makes even less sense to ask Apple to increase the baseline RAM as there is no business point in it.
 

weirdmonkey2807

macrumors newbie
May 31, 2018
5
10
I too wish they would up to 16gb even on the base model but that being said I just purchased a base model mac mini and am using it for everything from Xcode to Blender and everything in between. Even with 8GB that model is very capable and the price is unbeatable imho.
 
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