They're different MacBooks. Also the M2 MacBook Pro was a much better experience for me, I'm guessing it's down to the different chip architecture. The M3 base model has more GPU cores, but less video memory to spread between them.
Or, Step 1: you buy the 8GB model and try it out. Step 2: if it’s not enough for you, you take advantage of Apple’s return policy, and return it and receive refund. Step 3: buy the RAM configuration you want.Step 1: you buy the 8gb model because you read on forums you can get away with
Step 2: sell the 8gb. Since you sell it cheap, someone with no prior intention will buy it
Step 3: you buy the 16gb model
Profit: Apple sold 2 laptops instead of one
Step 1: you buy the 8gb model because you read on forums you can get away with
Step 2: sell the 8gb. Since you sell it cheap, someone with no prior intention will buy it
Step 3: you buy the 16gb model
Profit: Apple sold 2 laptops instead of one
RAM is ridiculously cheap at wholesale prices. I can pick up DDR5 8gb for less than £20 ($25) online and that includes 20% VAT (UK Sales tax) Even adding the extra costs to solder it together it can’t be costing Apple more than $30 to put that memory in place. I don’t think their hardware costs are overpriced for what you buy but the £200 Apple charge for an 8gb ram upgrade is a ripoff.
They’re not using DDR5 RAM, they’re using soldered RAM, I believe it’s LPDDR5, and it doesn’t come on cards you can buy, it’s produced for soldered memory systems. We don’t know what Apple’s paying for their RAM, and what potential extra cost factors are at play with the way they mount the RAM on their boards. They mount it directly on the SoC, in as close proximity as possible. The other manufacturers don’t do that as far as I’m aware, so there could be extra production costs from that design. And from my research, most Windows PCs I’ve looked at that are using soldered RAM are charging near the same, the same, or higher. Microsoft charges double what Apple does for their RAM upgrades on their Surface devices. Besides, Apple’s RAM has value added by being a Unified Memory system, which is faster and more efficient for the system because resources can share a single pool of memory, and there’s less gates and data duplication involved.
I’m not saying it’s not better; I’m saying it’s too expensive, Apple should keep the 8gb models for wholesale and offer consumers a minimum of 16gb. Its the 16gb storage iPhone shenanigans all over again with Apple deliberately dragging their heels on value to rake in more profit.
What I read was ‘if you need a computer that does all the jobs of an 8gb model save yourself a lot of money and buy an iPad Air‘
My point wasn’t about the quality of Apple’s RAM system, it was about the value added to it by not being a standard RAM system. Unified Memory is better than standard RAM, so it has more value. And it’s certainly a lot better than slotted memory, slotted memory is slower and less energy efficient, plus it adds bulk to the whole laptop. And as I already said, many PC manufacturers that use similar soldered RAM (not even Unified Memory) charge about the same or more.
Computer purchase gatekeeping isn’t a good look. Some people want a MacBook Pro, not an iPad Air. A MacBook Pro has plenty of advantages over the iPad Air, and isn’t really that fair of a comparison. The MacBook Pro has a bigger, better display, better sound system, better battery runtime, more ports, better CPU, built-in keyboard, etc. Some people want to have all of those features, but don’t need gobs of RAM they’ll never need or use. And this option allows them to get all those things that they want cheaper. 👍🏻. And it should also be noted that even for those who want to get the 16GB configuration, they’ll still be saving money as well compared to the base spec for the last two years.
I agreed with some of the points that he makes in this video, especially regarding his agreement that 8GB MacBooks are A. Sufficient for most people, and B. can compete with 16GB Windows laptops for most tasks. I also do think he was generally fairly balanced, but I completely disagree with his conclusion that 8GB isn’t enough and somehow “contempt for Apple’s customers”. It feels like a complete turn from the rest of the video where he seemed more balanced and not as quick to throw phrases out there like “contempt for users”. Both the 8GB and 16GB versions of the 14” MacBook Pro are cheaper than the entry price for the the last two years. I’d be interested in seeing if he was complaining about the entry price of the last two years MacBook Pro base specs which are more expensive, and arguing it was “contempt for Apple’s customers”….
But if going by Apples description of a computer for light writing and web browsing then you need none of those things. The iPad Air does also feature video out.
But for light computing (which is what Apple say the 8gb model is for, not me) then an iPad is altogether a better machine.
Many people prefer a Mac for those things. Just because you think the iPad is better for those things doesn’t mean it is, or that it is for everyone. I happen to like the iPad, but some don’t, and some want to benefit from the extra ports, bigger nicer screen, etc. of the MacBook. Telling people what they need or don’t need is a bad look… Also, people have already demonstrated it works well for photo and video editing and other stuff as well, just not the kind of video editing a professional video editor would do. But the M3 Pro chip is a better fit for that kind of workflow anyways, and still starts at the same price…
I completely understand if someone prefers the Mac. I'm just going off Apple's job description for its 8gb machines: 8GB: Great for browsing online, streaming movies, messaging with friends and family, editing photos and personal video, casual gaming, and running everyday productivity apps. There isn't anything on that list that cannot be done just as well on an iPad Air at half the price of the nearest new Macbook Air.
The base model Mini could be added to that list as well. I have been a casual user for several years so 8GB of RAM is plenty for my needs. I scored a base M2 Mini from Apple at launch for $499. It will last me a few more years until the M3 or M4 Mini's arrive.
This simply is not true. While I use an iPad Pro a lot, and I would consider it my primary computer, it cannot edit photos and videos “just as well” as the MacBook, because there are several photo editing softwares that are on the Mac and not on the iPad, or don’t have feature parity. I use Affinity Photo, and that does have at least close enough feature parity to where it doesn’t impact my graphic design workflow where I’m not really batch editing photos, but a relative of mine does some armature photography, and most of the photo editing softwares he uses or wants to use aren’t available on the iPad, or if they are, they lack some of the features he uses. An 8GB MacBook Pro would run those softwares, while also providing a beautiful display. And on the video editing front, Adobe Premiere isn’t an option either. If you use Final Cut Pro you’ll be ok, or Davinci Resolve, but lots of people use Adobe Premiere. Neither of those things can necessarily be done “just as well” on an iPad Air, unless you use certain apps, in which case, then for the most part that’s correct. Besides, I’d say the concept of “just as well as” is a tad bit subjective depending on the person. Many prefer office software on the Mac over office software on the iPad, especially if you’re using Microsoft’s software. The iPad versions of Microsoft’s software are missing several features. iWork software basically has feature parity, and that’s why I was able to move to my iPad as my primary computer (in addition to my Mac), but it isn’t something everyone necessarily even could do with their workflow if they wanted to, at least not without changing the softwares they use and things like that.
I have both the M1 MBA and 2018 iPad Pro and use them both.
Exactly, I don’t think most computer customers are looking at RAM amount as the number one factor in their decision. There’s a lot of other very important factors, such as build quality, design, display quality, battery runtime, CPU, storage, sound system, etc. that people consider when buying a laptop.
But you're talking about something close to professional photography whereas Apple is talking about a teenager who wants to chop down their iPhone clips on a larger display. What we are commenting on here is Apple's highly generalised copy.
But the commentary is on Apple's own descriptions of what an 8gb Mac might get used for, not the real world requirements of forum members.
