M3 MacBook Air Models Now Arriving to Customers in New Zealand and Australia

[G5isAlive]

I guarantee it doesn’t cost Apple 200, 100 or even 50 dollars to add that additional RAM to the SoC. You do too, if you’re being honest with yourself, you just chose to dig in and defend corporate fleecing.
Bizarre.

Newsflash... Apple is a for profit business. Really gets annoying all the people that want Apple to give away the store. I would say go buy a PC, but even they are turning to the soldered on memory paradigm. Better get one while you can!

 

[elliotmoore91]

I still can't believe they start off with 8GB RAM.

no one can and I'm sick of all these youtubers defending it. Apple need to be called out for it, like they need to be called out for limiting the number of screens you can connect to. Its honestly embarrassing. Even the most basic PC laptops have been able to connect to multiple screens for years.

 

[G5isAlive]

I did not defend them. My point was that choosing a brick of RAM as an example doesn’t make sense.

Nobody can defend Apples RAM prices. But I don’t make up shyte to demonstrate it.

Nobody needs to defend Apple Ram Prices. I know that's not your point, but it's a good place to point out the obvious. Buy or not buy. That's all we have to defend. I chose to buy. It has value to me. Wishing it was cheaper, whining about it, just is a waste of my time. I evaluate a product for my use. The funny thing to me is people whose last Mac was a hackintosh, not even an Apple Mac, keep on talking like they have skin in the game. Nope. People want something for nothing. Just isn't going to happen with Apple.

 

[elliotmoore91]

I wonder how many people that are "omg, i cant believe they have 8GB RAM starting" even need the 16GB RAM that they want for cheaper. Apple Silicon with 8GB IS NOT the same as Intel chips with 8GB RAM. It's annoying to keep seeing the same rant over and over. Students for sure don't need it. Office workers don't need it. Even web development work, unless you are using vms, you don't need it. If you are doing photography, video, or anything else that you KNOW you need the RAM, don't crap on the millions of users that can do just fine with 8GB. And THAT is the reason Apple still sells it.

/rant

Dude. Come. On. You are being sucked in to the apple marketing machine. 8GB is exactly what it says on the tin. 8GB. Being apple branded doesn't magically increase the size or make it any better.

You say students or office workers dont need more...maybe if they use one application at a time, sure but in reality, no one does that. What is more common is for people to have multiple chrome tabs open and many other apps running in the background.

If apple are going to insist on lowballing consumers with RAM for years to come, I think 12GB (at a minimum) would at least be less of an insult.

 

[azentropy]

no one can and I'm sick of all these youtubers defending it. Apple need to be called out for it, like they need to be called out for limiting the number of screens you can connect to. Its honestly embarrassing. Even the most basic PC's have been able to connect to multiple screens for years.

Keep in mind that once again all the YouTubers got loaded configurations to review. Apple rarely sends out base models.

 

[turbineseaplane]

Keep in mind that once again all the YouTubers got loaded configurations to review. Apple rarely sends out base models.

Amazing how that works isn't it?

 

[steve09090]

Dude. Come. On. You are being sucked in to the apple marketing machine. 8GB is exactly what it says on the tin. 8GB. Being apple branded doesn't magically increase the size or make it any better.

I guess if you don’t understand it, this is what you’d say. No shame in not understanding if you’re not invested in buying a Mac. The difference is the connection to the SoC (Bandwidth and speed) and how it uses/swaps the RAM. It is not used in the same way conventional RAM is used. Google Unified RAM.

You say students or office workers dont need more...maybe if they use one application at a time, sure but in reality, no one does that. What is more common is for people to have multiple chrome tabs open and many other apps running in the background.

You're kidding right? Yesterday I had Lightroom open with Topaz AI, Music running, Several tabs and YouTube playing. 2020 M1. Oh, also messaging my sister on FB Messenger. It ran perfectly.

If you want to have several Chrome tabs open, I’d probably want to max out at 64 GB RAM though. Chrome is a killer for everything.

I think 12GB would be more suitable.

Nice number. Based on what? Pray tell.

 

[turbineseaplane]

Nice number. Based on what? Pray tell.

M3 MBP .. 192-bit memory channel populated by 3 memory modules (3 x 6 GB LPDDR5 6400Mbps) providing 150GB/s memory bandwidth.

But in this case just 2 of them

 

[steve09090]

no one can and I'm sick of all these youtubers defending it. Apple need to be called out for it, like they need to be called out for limiting the number of screens you can connect to. It’s honestly embarrassing. Even the most basic PC's have been able to connect to multiple screens for years.

How many 8K, 240Hz displays can your PC support? A MacBook pro can support up to 4. But sure. The lower end ones only support one natively (although you can 100% connect 2). How many do you need? I only need 1x27” external display, plus my MacBook Air, and if I need it, I can extend it a bit with my iPad Peo using continuity.

So when you’re talking about the most basic PC's I am sure you’re talking about notebooks right?

 

[elliotmoore91]

I guess if you don’t understand it, this is what you’d say. No shame in not understanding if you’re not invested in buying a Mac. The difference is the connection to the SoC (Bandwidth and speed) and how it uses/swaps the RAM. It is not used in the same way conventional RAM is used. Google Unified RAM.


You're kidding right? Yesterday I had Lightroom open with Topaz AI, Music running, Several tabs and YouTube playing. 2020 M1. Oh, also messaging my sister on FB Messenger. It ran perfectly.

If you want to have several Chrome tabs open, I’d probably want to max out at 64 GB RAM though. Chrome is a killer for everything.



Nice number. Based on what? Pray tell.

Based on apple's track record of giving consumers below the industry standard for memory. I doubt they will bump up the base models to 16 any time soon but 12 would be a compromise.

It sounds like an odd number I know but then they have been configuring other machines with 18GB and 24GB, so I don't see it being out of the realm of possibility.

I'm just saying 12 would be at least be less of an insult.

 

[elliotmoore91]

Keep in mind that once again all the YouTubers got loaded configurations to review. Apple rarely sends out base models.

Im actually getting pretty bored of all the tech reviewers on the tube these days. They all say the same ****.

 

[elliotmoore91]

It sucks but for a lot of people 8GB is more than enough so of course Apple will still sell it. It’s silly spending that much money and only getting 8GB though. 16GB should be minimum.

I had 8GB in my MacBook in 2011.

The amount of 8GB machines I see on marketplace and ebay is pretty astounding. I think a lot of people must buy it just on the basis that its apple branded and its a macbook...later realising the machine can barely load a couple of chrome tabs.

 

[steve09090]

Based on apple's track record of giving consumers below the industry standard for memory. I doubt they will bump up the base models to 16 any time soon but 12 would be a compromise.

It sounds like an off number I know but then they have been configuring other machines with 18GB and 24GB, so I don't see it being out of the realm of possibility.

I'm just saying 12 would be at least be less of an insult.

I’m confused about what you’re saying when you say 'apple's track record of giving consumers below the industry standard for memory'.

What industry standard? You can’t go 1:1 on an Intel based system versus M SoC. The way RAM is utilised on ARM is different and the way it is implemented in M series SoC is different again.

 

[dumastudetto]

These are the best MacBooks Airs Apple ever made.

 

[elliotmoore91]

Just had my 15" M3 MBA 512GB delivered in Sydney, upgraded from 13" M2 MBA.

The midnight finish is definitely shows less fingerprints, but it's not 100% smudge resistant.

Still getting used to the bigger screen - Should've got the 15" as soon as it became available last time!

how do you find the weight situation? What was wrong with your 13" M2 Air?

 

[Darth Tulhu]

$10B spent on an unreleased car and they can’t give their thin and light a real-world-functional complement of ports. They artificially make people upgrade to a heavy, chunky computer that most people don’t prefer in terms of form factor.

Apple should further differentiate the “pro” laptops from the Air by the power they have, by discontinuing the one with a non-Pro chip for starters… not by gimping the form factor regular people like more. SD Card and HDMI are not “Pro” features, they are common ports and all Mac laptops should have them for maximum compatibility and interoperability across a range of interactions and settings. No teacher, amateur photographer, conference attendee or anyone else should have to suffer dongles for either of these basic functions even if not used a lot.

We can live without a glove box in a car, as it’s not often used by most people, but it’s included because it’s a good idea, just like a MacBook Air with a full set of common ports. It’s a good idea and it needs to be added back.

I agree, but we should be numb to the Apple dongle hell by now.

I mean, it's been roughly TEN years.

For me, this doesn't matter as much as it used to, given the ubiquity of USB-C devices and FAST wireless.

But plugging into legacy systems is a pain, indeed.

 

[Abazigal]

My M1 MBA [base model] is still going strong. If there are any limitations to be had with 8 gb ram, I have honestly not felt it yet. Am also using a little under half of that 256 gb of storage. I have both safari and chrome open with multiple tabs. Files, documents, stock apps like mail, calendar, notes, notability, the works.

Honestly, the jokes about chrome not being able to handle more than a few tabs with 8 gb of ram is getting really lame, not least because they are outright lies.

The simplest reason is still the most likely one. Apple sells a MBA with 8 gb ram because they design their products with an intended audience in mind and said spec is what suffices for over 90% of the MBA‘s target market. Meanwhile, you also get great battery life and low heat generation (I remember being wowed when I got 9 hours of zoom on my M1 MBA, unplugged, it stayed cool to the touch throughout), a thin and light form factor, and these are all perks that go beyond how much ram a device has.

Not everything that matters can be measured. Just as not everything that can be measured, matters.

 

[canadianpj]

I am rationally going to stick with my M2 Macbook Air 13" given how little I use a computer these days. I would say that 70% of the time, I'm on my iPad with a keyboard, which is the same as most people I know.

I realize at this point I'm possibly buying a computer out of habit and not necessity.

 

[Isengardtom]

Luckily when upgrading the memory to 16GB for 230 EUR you also get the higher Graphics core option automatically (10 instead of 8)

€ 230 for 256GB extra storage is more annoying for me in this case

Great machines for sure, but as always a bit of future proofing will cost you

 

[Isengardtom]

I am rationally going to stick with my M2 Macbook Air 13" given how little I use a computer these days. I would say that 70% of the time, I'm on my iPad with a keyboard, which is the same as most people I know.

I realize at this point I'm possibly buying a computer out of habit and not necessity.

Im the same. I use the iPad Pro as my main computer at home because I enjoy using it much more than a laptop.

 

[jdoyle]

I have been waiting for this release and about to pull the trigger on it. I am on a tight budget. My dilemma is I can either buy the 8GB/1TB or 16GB/512GB. Thing is I cannot comprehend a HDD smaller than 1TB. It's just not big enough for what I want stored without resorting to externals or cloud (too slow anyway) I am hoping I can get away with 8GB Ram but agree having it base ram not go up in 10 Years is outrageous.

 

[steve09090]

I have been waiting for this release and about to pull the trigger on it. I am on a tight budget. My dilemma is I can either buy the 8GB/1TB or 15GB/512GB. Thing is I cannot comprehend a HDD smaller than 1TB. It's just not big enough for what I want stored without resorting to externals or cloud (too slow anyway) I am hoping I can get away with 8GB Ram but agree having it base ram not go up in 10 Years is outrageous.

I Guess it totally depends on your use. I have 16GB / 500 GB M1 MBA and that is definitely the sweet spot for me. I probably didn’t need the 16GB, but as it was new tech (2020) I wasn’t sure. I often process my photos on the MBA Storage before I transfer to my NAS, so the 500GB is handy. But it’s only used for temporary storage. I still have 308GB/480GB useable available. My heavier use is Photos and Video. But yours might be different.

Do you need the 16GB? And do you need the 1TB? And Will a workflow adjustment be beneficial? (If you needed to compromise)

 

[CrysisDeu]

I did not defend them. My point was that choosing a brick of RAM as an example doesn’t make sense.

Nobody can defend Apples RAM prices. But I don’t make up shyte to demonstrate it.

Ram probably cost them a few bucks

 

[jdoyle]

I Guess it totally depends on your use. I have 16GB / 500 GB M1 MBA and that is definitely the sweet spot for me. I probably didn’t need the 16GB, but as it was new tech (2020) I wasn’t sure. I often process my photos on the MBA Storage before I transfer to my NAS, so the 500GB is handy. But it’s only used for temporary storage. I still have 308GB/480GB useable available. My heavier use is Photos and Video. But yours might be different.

Do you need the 16GB? And do you need the 1TB? And Will a workflow adjustment be beneficial? (If you needed to compromise)

I work from home mainly in O365 and quite often have Outlook, Excel, Teams all open at once for that. I do some Graphic Design so normally might have PS and Indesign open at once for that. Occasional video editing in Premiere. I currently have a 2019 iMac 5k with 16Gb/TB Fusion Drive which slows down at times but generally handles those use cases . Apps are a little slow to launch. I am hoping my upgrade will be zippy and fast.

The 1TB is the sweet spot for the stuff I want to carry around. Images, Videos and a large digital book and comic library. ( that alone is 320GB) I am leaning towards 8gb/1TB but fear anything less than 16GB Ram.

 

[krspkbl]

I have been waiting for this release and about to pull the trigger on it. I am on a tight budget. My dilemma is I can either buy the 8GB/1TB or 16GB/512GB. Thing is I cannot comprehend a HDD smaller than 1TB. It's just not big enough for what I want stored without resorting to externals or cloud (too slow anyway) I am hoping I can get away with 8GB Ram but agree having it base ram not go up in 10 Years is outrageous.

Definitely go for the 16/512. It’s not ideal but you can use external drive. You can’t increase RAM. Get as much RAM as you can as a priority over storage.