Is 8GB of RAM Enough for MacBook Pro?

[ThailandToo]

This situation seems similar to the one from iPhone in regards of storage. Many phones had at least 16 GB as standard, while iPhones were still at 8Gb. Then it got stuck at 32GB. Apple just refused to offer more.

It happens with iCloud. It gives you a mre 5GB when everyone else gives you at least 15Gb.

Apple just does't care I guess.

In all seriousness, at least the computer wouldn’t be trash in less than five years due to RAM bottlenecks which with the cache will lead to premature SSD failure. Why not be able to upgrade it later by unlocking the feature so it’s not a dead device. I think this same thing with all the computers and people who don’t know who trust Apple. There should be 16GB in any computer sold. So if Apple wants to paywall it, at least could pay $200 later to make the computer run like it always should have. The MBAs and iMac with M3 sold with 8GB of RAM is just not sufficient. And that’s Apple’s end game. The only way they can sell more computers is if people drop them or they become obsolete because they were never spec’d right to begin with ensuring Apple can sell more computers.

 

[Black0ut21]

I wish Apple would add slower memory access on a removable unit. so anything onboard is supper fast and 2nd port is slower but upgradable

 

[MrMojo1]

I'm an accountant and primarily use email, web browsers, and Excel for my work. I am a licensed professional in my field but my work could easily get done on the base model M3 MBP with 8 GB RAM. In fact, my work could also easily get done on a MacBook Air. Of course, like everyone, I would absolutely love to have more RAM even if I don't really need it.

Hello, fellow accountant.
What type of work do you do?
Accountancy is a broad profession, similar to the medical and engineering professions, which encompasses many specialties.

In my accountancy field, of taxation, I use PCs with decent ram, 16Gb/32Gb and several SSDs and HDDs (for storage) on a network with various workstations. Various software (financial/tax, adobe, accounting, browser with lots of open tabs, etc...) taxes out my network system. The workstations sometimes freezes with 16Gb ram, depending on the workload. Similarly applies to our laptops and their performances.
One does not buy low end laptops when doing more taxing work (pardon the pun).
Then again, my software is only Windows based, hence can't move to Macs.

In general, it really depends on what a 'professional' means, whether one is in the media field, financial field, engineering field, etc... and what work one does.
It's disingenuous even within a profession to say 'I can do this!' but your fellow colleagues do things differently.
If it's just 'simple' tasks, like web browser or using spreadsheets, then maybe 8Gb is enough, but everyone has to decide what's best for them.

 

[keithw]

I'm an Apple bigot, have been in their "walled garden" for years, but I agree with everybody here. 8GB "base" in 2023 (almost 2024) is ridiculous. Come on, Apple.

 

[kk200]

I wish Apple would add slower memory access on a removable unit. so anything onboard is supper fast and 2nd port is slower but upgradable

This definitively a better approach. It is quite common in today's SoC, which has fast on-chip memory plus external DDR RAM.

Even the external memory module is as expensive as Mac-Pro's SSD, it will still give an entry-level machine much longer life.

 

[Mr_Ed]

I wish Apple would add slower memory access on a removable unit. so anything onboard is supper fast and 2nd port is slower but upgradable

Don’t know about the technical feasibility or practicality of something like this, but anything that disrupts their precious minimalist form factor would not be considered anyway. Apple has been prioritizing form over function for years now, and it seems unlikely they would move in the other direction anytime soon.

 

[lovehateapple]

No.

Or name it something without "Pro".

LoL, that's a good point, anyone doing "Pro" level work can't get anything done with only 8GB.

 

[sunny5]

For Mac's premium price, 8GB is not good even for MBA. Too expensive.

 

[GadgetVirtuoso]

For a LOT of users, 8GB is probably enough. The problem is really that you can't upgrade later. So if you only buy 8GB and then later need more, you're stuck. I have to buy machines for a bit less than 100 people and never buy anything less than 16GB regardless of the role. The ROI of that extra 8GB or even 16GB over the life of the machine is more than worth it in productivity. The same is true for home users. 90% of the time 8GB is plenty but when you need more, you really need more. The longer you plan to keep a machine, the more likely it is you should buy as much RAM as you can afford. Buying 64GB is probably overkill in most cases, but no one ever complained they had TOO MUCH RAM.

 

[Lift Bar]

I'm an Apple bigot, have been in their "walled garden" for years, but I agree with everybody here. 8GB "base" in 2023 (almost 2024) is ridiculous. Come on, Apple.

Apple has this down to a science. Charging $200 for just an additional 8GB of RAM significantly boosts their profit margins. If they could get away with charging $500 for the same upgrade and maintain sales, they'd do it. They could even price it at $50 and still enjoy a hefty profit margin. It's all about maximizing profits, and their pricing strategy is meticulously calculated to achieve exactly that.

 

[wanha]

Even if 8GB is enough for someone's use case now, having so little RAM may severely limit the usable lifespan of the machine as future OSes will inevitably require more and more RAM over time

 

[Saturn1217]

This post is misleading. It isn’t WHAT you do but how much multitasking you expect that can make 8gb limiting. There will be people who do nothing but word/web browsing/pdfs but because they are say doing research and need many large pdfs open and tons of chrome tabs at the same time, they could be limited by 8gb of ram. It isn’t JUST software engineers and video editors. Anyone using their machine in a professional capacity regardless of WHAT they are doing may need more than 8gb. And it is a hard thing to estimate unless you encounter a bottleneck and by then, It is too late.

I don’t understand why we give users WAY more CPU and GPU than most average and even above average users need so that is very rarely a bottleneck but when it comes to ram we can’t expect the same. 16gb of ram would give breathing room for so many more people. Imagine if Apple took this approach with ANY other spec. Let’s give just enough battery life for light users and if you need more you must pay for it. It would SUCK. This situation of giving the bare minimum of something that can significantly impact the computing experience is bad. ESPECIALLY in an expensive premium brand.

Of course the answer is money. But it doesn’t have to be this way.

 

[wanha]

For a LOT of users, 8GB is probably enough. The problem is really that you can't upgrade later. So if you only buy 8GB and then later need more, you're stuck. I have to buy machines for a bit less than 100 people and never buy anything less than 16GB regardless of the role. The ROI of that extra 8GB or even 16GB over the life of the machine is more than worth it in productivity. The same is true for home users. 90% of the time 8GB is plenty but when you need more, you really need more. The longer you plan to keep a machine, the more likely it is you should buy as much RAM as you can afford. Buying 64GB is probably overkill in most cases, but no one ever complained they had TOO MUCH RAM.

"Too much ram" is only ever an argument at the moment of purchase (because of the high price it comes with), never thereafter

 

[Nonstickron]

Right...you're buying a mac because you want an "adequate" computer.

 

[fbr$]

So a MacBook Pro has the same amount of RAM as an iPhone Pro?

 

[dominiongamma]

I don’t know what is worst, Apple keeps selling these or the users keep buying them. 8gb is not enough

 

[Saturn1217]

If you're just using a laptop to surf the internet and use email, it's fine. That likely represents a large percentage of Apple customers.

Why force people to pay more for RAM if they don't need it?

If you need more RAM, simply pay for it. Easy. So much entitlement going on demanding free stuff.

Those people are already paying more for CPU power they will never use. For Ray tracing in video games and graphics they will never use. For SSDs with speeds far in excess of what most people need. I cannot choose to have a slower less expensive SSD even though the speeds Apple uses are far in excess of my (and most people’s) needs.

Why should Ram be the one thing apple doesn’t aim for excellence in?!

 

[StevieD100]

My M1 MBP with 16Gb RAM frequently runs out of both RAM and SWAP. I've had two complete freezes in recent weeks. I regret reading reviews that said 16Gb was more than enough. This device replaced an i7 MBP that has 32Gb RAM. I've never experienced any RAM issues with that MBP. I know that I'll be going for at least 32Gb when this device is replaced at the end of next year.

 

[Howard2k]

I don’t know what is worst, Apple keeps selling these or the users keep buying them. 8gb is not enough

That's why millions of laptops get returned to Apple each week, as users buy them, find they cannot use them, and return them.

Apple enjoys the additional foot traffic at the store, as the sales of an additional watch strap or iPhone case more than makes up for the costs of production, distribution, and returns of an 8GB machine, and those users simply don't mind the inconvenience.

 

[Chuckeee]

The question is how much would cost apple to provide 16 gigs instead of 8. Surely apple doesn’t have to pay the 200$ they charge for 8 additional gigabytes.

Maybe not everyone needs 16 gigs but surely most will benefit from it, is making the base model, say, 20-50$ more expensive out of the question?

The cost to Apple would be fewer people paying for a memory upgrade. It is not the cost of material, it is about loss of revenue.

 

[Lift Bar]

This post is misleading. It isn’t WHAT you do but how much multitasking you expect that can make 8gb limiting. There will be people who do nothing but word/web browsing/pdfs but because they are say doing research and need many large pdfs open and tons of chrome tabs at the same time, they could be limited by 8gb of ram. It isn’t JUST software engineers and video editors. Anyone using their machine in a professional capacity regardless of WHAT they are doing may need more than 8gb. And it is a hard thing to estimate unless you encounter a bottleneck and by then, It is too late.

I don’t understand why we give users WAY more CPU and GPU than most average and even above average users need so that is very rarely a bottleneck but when it comes to ram we can’t expect the same. 16gb of ram would give breathing room for so many more people. Imagine if Apple took this approach with ANY other spec. Let’s give just enough battery life for light users and if you need more you must pay for it. It would SUCK. This situation of giving the bare minimum of something that can significantly impact the computing experience is bad. ESPECIALLY in an expensive premium brand.

Of course the answer is money. But it doesn’t have to be this way.

That's a crucial point – the limitations of RAM aren't always immediately noticeable like battery life or screen brightness. This subtlety is where Apple's high markup on RAM and storage becomes even more impactful. Unlike other specs where lesser capacity might only mean reduced efficiency or slower performance, insufficient RAM can outright prevent certain tasks.

For example, as highlighted in the link in the article, trying to render a video on a machine with inadequate RAM isn't just about slower processing; it can cause the machine to crash, making the task impossible. This isn't a minor inconvenience; it's a fundamental limitation on what the device can achieve.

So, while a faster chip might smooth out performance, adequate RAM is about the very capability of the machine to perform certain tasks. It's not just a matter of speed; it's about possibility. And that's why Apple's strategy of minimal RAM, combined with steep upgrade costs, is particularly problematic for a brand that positions itself as a leader in high-performance computing.

 

[Ripvlan]

No it isn’t. I also think your example usage is wrong. You list a light usage - which is more appropriate for a lesser computer like an Air or iPad. Why do Pros buy such a machine? Not to simply browse the internet and write documents.

I also think the reason that 8gb isn’t enough is because you can’t add any later. You HAVE to decide when buying. This thing isn’t cheap. And most power users will need 16.

A premium product for premium usage. Not light duty.

It’s like the airlines offer tickets “cheap” but then you add baggage and pick a seat (because the cheap seats are taken). Why not list the price for the seats that are available. Oh, you have bags too??!

Nickel and dimed

 

[staypuftforums]

I predict that M4 Macs are going to come standard with 12 GB of memory. You should be able to do more than web surfing and checking emails for $1,599 US.

 

[staypuftforums]

In a word, NO, 8GB isn't enough. Apple only does this so it can advertise a lower starting price. The truth can be found in the number of MBPs apple produces with only 8GB. I'll bet that number is very very small because apple knows 99.5% of their customers buy at least 16GB.

I believe the base version is by far the biggest seller.

 

[Aka757]

Hello, fellow accountant.
What type of work do you do?
Accountancy is a broad profession, similar to the medical and engineering professions, which encompassed many specialties.

In my accountancy field, of taxation, I use PCs with decent ram, 16Gb/32Gb and several SSDs and HDDs (for storage) on a network with various workstations. Various software (financial/tax, adobe, accounting, browser with lots of open tabs, etc...) taxes out my network system. The workstations sometimes freezes with 16Gb ram, depending on the workload. Similarly applies to our laptops and their performances.
One does not buy low end laptops when doing more taxing work (pardon the pun).
Then again, my software is only Windows based, hence can't move to Macs.

In general, it really depends on what a 'professional' means, whether one is in the media field, financial field, engineering field, etc... and what work one does.
It's disingenuous even within a profession to say 'I can do this!' but your fellow colleagues do things differently.
If it's just 'simple' tasks, like web browser or using spreadsheets, then maybe 8Gb is enough, but everyone has to decide what's best for them.

I do technical accounting consulting (ASC 606 revenue recognition implementation, ASC 842 lease implementation, financial reporting, etc.). In fairness, I don't use my MacBook for work; every job I've had has provided laptops primarily because we handle sensitive financial information. All of the machines I've used for work have been Windows machines with a varying amount of RAM (probably ranges from 4-16 GB over the last 10 years).

The bolded part of your post is exactly my point - 8 GB of RAM will be more than enough for some users and not enough for other users. Even 2 people with the exact same workflow may have a different preference for how quickly things get done and how much headroom there is with respect to RAM. Apologies if my point didn't come across clearly - I wasn't saying that because my workflow as an accountant can be done with 8 GB, the same is true for all accountants. My point is that it will depend on every profession and every individual. If your workflow needs more than 8 GB RAM, then that's great, you have the option of paying more and getting that. If my workflow doesn't need more than 8 GB, I can stick with 8 GB if I really want to and save a bit of cash. Chances are, the folks that know they need more than 8 GB RAM aren't really going to be deciding between 8 vs 16. The folks that don't really care about 8 vs 16 (I'm guessing this applies to 95%+ of people buying MacBooks) likely don't need the additional RAM and save money by not paying extra for it.

The original question of whether 8 GB is enough for a MacBook Pro is so subjective that it doesn't really make sense to me why people are getting so hung up on the fact that a machine labeled "Pro" offers only 8 GB RAM base. Yes, additional RAM would be great, but for some users that just isn't necessary. Some users want the additional benefit of the screen, speakers, battery, etc. but don't want or need additional power. The fact that a "Pro" machine offers only 8 GB RAM really is meaningless; "Pro" is purely a marketing term.