I think your point about less energy consumption is a good one and hope that there are use cases that justify the 3nm MBP M3 with 8GB vs M2 MBAir with 16 or 24 GB.
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Is 8GB of RAM Enough for MacBook Pro?
- Thread starter MacRumors
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
That's a fair point. My issues with Apple in 2023 are quite specific: the exorbitant costs for storage and RAM upgrades, and the display scaling issues. These stand out amidst an otherwise positive experience with their products.
My annoyance is more about feeling overcharged for essential upgrades like RAM or storage. It's not a matter of affordability — if an extra $200 on a computer makes a dent in your budget, perhaps a high-end Mac isn't the best choice. However, it's the overt nature of the markup, especially on something as fundamental as RAM, that bothers me. A 900% markup on a crucial component feels excessive. This practice has led me to hold off on purchasing a new Mac, even though I could benefit from one.
Engaging in discussions here helps me accept that such changes from Apple are unlikely, and it's probably wiser to stick with what I have. This approach is wallet-friendly, and I appreciate insights like yours that reinforce this decision.
That's because you're doing it all wrong. You're configuring parts and thinking about the pricing for each part you configure.
Instead you configure the Mac the way you need it or want it. Then you look at the price. If it's too much for the value you will get from it, you don't buy.
It shouldn't matter what the cost of Macs which don't fit your requirement costs.
Because Apple have the right to make an expensive computer.
Some people want a Pro and if Apple had to put 16Gb of RAM to early, they would have upped the starting price. This allows a certain pro user to get it for less.
And they DO provide a baseline of More than 8GB in the previous ‘base’ 14” and 16”.
Just because it’s not what you and some other professionals use, doesn’t make it Not a ‘Pro’. Just not in your eyes. It’s like they introduce a new baseline and all of a sudden it’s like the previous ‘baseline’ didn’t exist before even though they both existed as exactly the same things they are now almost but they added some extra ports.
That's not what Apple intends with it. They have a few user groups which you don't consider, such as
- Users who think they need a Pro
- Managers who feel they need a Pro machine because they're important
- Employees living under insane enterprise purchasing rules
They did up the starting price. The cheapest MacBook Pro is now $300 more expensive.
Mark my words, they'll fix this with the next revision. It's become too much of a talking point, not worth squeezing out that extra couple bucks per unit.
TLDR - it’s a corporate status item.
I’m not going to defend apple but this machine is obviously meant for non technical managers & keynote wielding marketeers at corporations.
It’s for the sort of people who are just going to run ms office, keynote and web apps.
For them, 8GB is fine.
And it’s been priced so that corporate IT depts can just about justify the cost.
I’m not going to defend apple but this machine is obviously meant for non technical managers & keynote wielding marketeers at corporations.
It’s for the sort of people who are just going to run ms office, keynote and web apps.
For them, 8GB is fine.
And it’s been priced so that corporate IT depts can just about justify the cost.
You make a good point. My earlier notion of 'Pro' was indeed based on a specific criterion — the ability to render a video in Final Cut Pro without issues. I do acknowledge that 'Pro' can have a broader, more subjective definition, based on individual needs and perspectives.
And as a customer you shouldn't let that affect you. Just buy what provides value for you for the price Apple offers it. If they don't offer enough value, switch to Windows.
The marketing term does not affect performance, but it’s misleading to call a product “pro” when it is may not suffice for professional workloads.
Not all consumers know what RAM is used for and how much they need. They are more informed by marketing than by the specs.
Also, when you say people don’t buy the base model, that’s not true. Why would Apple sell it if people don’t buy it? Tons of people buy it, but some regret later. A lot of consumers don’t even know the specs cannot be upgraded later. They think they can always walk back to Apple sometime down the road to upgrade it.
I work for a Mac retail shop, and I get these questions a lot.
So more than 104 million MacBooks gets returned each year?
So the refurb stores will be filled with minimum 280 000 MacBook each day?
Price is, and always will be, a major factor in buying decisions so... yes.
I have never said people don't buy the base model.. I don't know why you said that about my post.
There is no such thing as "professional workloads." I don't know why so many on this forum like to attribute their work as "professional" when work is work. Just because someone is using a MBP with work duties, that doesn't mean that said work is now magically "pro."
1) Apple has never defined what "pro" or "professional" means as it relates to working with the MBP. YouTube influencers, many MR MBP nerds, and and elsewhere have affixed those terms to themselves and then get mad at Apple for not living up to the subjective, affixed term that some consumers have carried the banner for for years.
If a consumer doesn't know what RAM, SSD, and other computer terms are as it relates to computers, it is his or her responsibility to ask questions and do some research ahead of time. Granted, not everyone does that, and then they have problems.
I tried to look at 700 pictures imported from my sd card in Photos and it is not possible. Huge memory leak caused macos to ask me what application to kill (Photos allocated over 40gb) during looking at pictures in latest stable macos version with 16gb of ram.
In case other apps behave similarly even 128gb isn’t enough. This kind of errors should be identified during alpha testing but it isn’t so 8gb is definitely not enough.
And that is exactly why Apple needs to introduce the MacBook supercalifragilisticexpialidocious. We need to be able to separate the true supercalifragilisticexpialidocious YouTube and MR users from the mere wannabe pretentious pro users
Except the new "base" 14" replaces the old 13" MacBook Pro, which was available with 8GB.
Apple increased the storage. The 13" MacBook Pro for $1299 had only a 256GB drive. The old 512GB model was $1499. So for the extra $100 you get the bigger and nicer screen, SDXC card slot, HDMI port, and MagSafe.
The problem is not releasing a MBP with 8GB. That’s fine.
The problem is HIDING 16GB BEHIND BUILD TO ORDER (BTO), so you cannot find a 16GB MBP widely available at retailers. Only at Apple.
If they keep to a Good, Better, Best strategy for their stock offerings…. At least the Best one should come with 16GB/512GB, so it could also be bought at retailers. Retailers tend to offer discounts, while Apple does not.
The problem is HIDING 16GB BEHIND BUILD TO ORDER (BTO), so you cannot find a 16GB MBP widely available at retailers. Only at Apple.
If they keep to a Good, Better, Best strategy for their stock offerings…. At least the Best one should come with 16GB/512GB, so it could also be bought at retailers. Retailers tend to offer discounts, while Apple does not.
Yes, the same I said on my message.
Mine was the famous NO. from Craig Federighi, but was removed due to a “low effort post”. And I must say, I spent quite a few minutes to find that image.
About the reasons for my negative answer, I rely on my experience with several 8GB machines.
Certainly, this is another issue that bothers me, although in my country there aren’t good deals on retailers, unfortunately.
Last edited:
There used be a model in Apple‘s laptop lineup that had „Pro“ left off — it was called the MacBook, and was not as powerful and with a smaller screen sizes than the MB Pro models. So, I agree with Apple_Robert and the MB v. MBP distinction made sense back then. Now, there is the Air and Pro. So, now we have MBs for Pros and Mbs for Airs?? … The Mac marketing department needs to hire linguists. While the real meaning of Pro has been watered down for all Apple products that use it, the iPhone and iPad lineups contain at least w/ and w/out „Pro“ models. And the iPhone model names would be perfect if Apple had ditched the SE and had continued a mini (small screen) option for the the 14 and 15.
It's been this way with the base 13" (now 14") for a very long time.
This is the real problem.