Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

New Mac Mini Provides Two Clues About RAM in Upcoming MacBook Pros

MacRumors

MacRumors

macrumors bot
Original poster
Apr 12, 2001
67,939
38,643


Apple today introduced a redesigned Mac mini with M4 and M4 Pro chip options, and the computer provides two clues about RAM amounts for the next 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models, which are expected to be announced tomorrow.

m3-mbp-space-black.jpg

First, just like the new iMac, the base-model Mac mini with the M4 chip starts with 16GB of RAM, which is double the 8GB of RAM included in the equivalent previous-generation model. As has already been rumored and leaked, it now looks almost certain that the next base-model 14-inch MacBook Pro with the M4 chip will start with 16GB of RAM too. Given that a vocal contingent of Mac fans have long criticized Apple for including only 8GB of RAM with some Macs, the increased 16GB minimum would be a long-awaited change.

Second, all higher-end Mac mini configurations with the M4 Pro chip start with 24GB of RAM, and this upgrade will likely extend to the incoming 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models with the M4 Pro chip. The current MacBook Pro models with the M3 Pro chip start with 18GB of RAM, so this would amount to a 6GB increase for the new models. The increased unified memory can benefit multitasking and Apple Intelligence performance.

Apple has yet to announce the M4 Max, so it is unclear how much RAM that chip will support.

All of this information will likely be confirmed in less than 24 hours.

Article Link: New Mac Mini Provides Two Clues About RAM in Upcoming MacBook Pros
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2024/10/29/new-mac-mini-hints-at-macbook-pro-ram/
  • Like
Reactions: bejib66000 and ikir
KENESS said:
I'm pretty happy with the mini's starting point. It does jump up kind of fast, though...
Click to expand...

It does but I feel like more people than ever will be pretty happy with the base, or the first upspec. Previously, by the time you pushed the M2 Pro model up to 32GB of RAM you were in "for a few hundred more I can get the Studio with the M2 Max" territory. 24/512 for $1399 makes it easier to stay as-is, IMO.
 
  • Like
Reactions: wlossw, TechZeke, MrAperture and 2 others
Throwing my hat in the ring for 32GB RAM on M4 Max. Could totally be 24GB though. I would be very afraid to place any kind of of real bet on it.

EDIT: I had 16 on my brain and doubled it, meant 24x2=48. It *seems* this time around that Apple is upping the ante on RAM, so hopefully they will follow suit with this. But if there’s one area they have been stingy, it’s RAM. We shall see…..
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: SebbsBo, MrAperture, rjbenson83 and 4 others
gdjsnyder said:
I personally can’t wait to see posts of complaints about how 16GB isn’t good enough now for the next 5 years.
Click to expand...
I mean, for a "Pro" level device it usually isn't. The 14" base MBP is kind of a weird device though, it's more of a device for people who only need the power of a MacBook Air but want a nicer display or longer battery life. Or for people who only need a MacBook Air but want to be seen in public with a more expensive device. So it doesn't really count.

24GB is a good starting place for a Pro machine. Personally I wouldn't go lower than 32GB, and opted for 64GB for longevity and for playing around with AI models.
 
  • Like
Reactions: unchecked, Oblivious.Robot, Canyonrider and 3 others
MacRumors said:
Second, all higher-end Mac mini configurations with the M4 Pro chip start with 24GB of RAM, and this upgrade will likely extend to the incoming 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models with the M4 Pro chip. The current MacBook Pro models with the M3 Pro chip start with 18GB of RAM, so this would amount to a 6GB increase for the new models.
Click to expand...

More importantly, the M3 Pro is only available in 18/36 configurations. If you want to go from 18 to more than 36, it isn’t just $600. It’s actually $1,500, because you have to first upgrade to the M3 Max.

This changes that. Starting tomorrow, a 48 GiB MacBook Pro will likely be $2,399 instead of $3,499. That’s a huge change. And that isn’t even the highest-end RAM config on the M4 Pro!
 
  • Like
Reactions: Canyonrider, Ruftzooi, Harry Haller and 3 others
Tyler O'Bannon said:
Throwing my hat in the ring for 32GB RAM on M4 Max. Could totally be 24GB though. I would be very afraid to place any kind of of real bet on it.
Click to expand...
The M3 Max starts at 36gb on the MacBook Pro's, I would not expect the minimum memory offering would go down.

My guess is they will slightly simplify the offerings and have M4 Max will start at 48gb, with upgrade options of 64/96/128 as well. I would guess against the 128 maximum increasing on the MacBook Pro.
 
Last edited:
gdjsnyder said:
I personally can’t wait to see posts of complaints about how 16GB isn’t good enough now for the next 5 years.
Click to expand...
OK. I will start.

Only 16 Gig! That is not enough memory to accomplish anything and the memory pressure will be in the red, swapping to SSD, and wearing out the SSD. Apple is just being greedy by charging $200 for an extra 8 Gig when the base memory should be a minimum of 24 Gig. 32 Gig would be even better.
 
  • Haha
  • Like
Reactions: Foxglove9, GraXXoR, jlc1978 and 4 others
So, does this mean that Apple is using 12gb RAM chips for the base Pro? Then the Max would have 4x12gb as it's base memory. Jumping to 32/64 they then use 16gb chips.
 
My educated guess is since the M3 Pro only goes 18GB and 36GB, and the M4 Pro goes 24GB, 48GB, 64GB, and the M3 Max (low) goes 36GB 96GB, and the M3 Max (high) goes 48GB, 64GB, 128GB, we'll get the following for the M4 Max:
  • M4 Max (low): 48GB, 128GB
  • M4 Max (high): 64GB, 96GB, 192GB
Last year I ordered the M3 Max (high) mainly to get 64GB because it was cheaper to do that than get the M3 Max (low) and upgrade to 96GB. The Pro honestly would've been fine for most of my typical workloads, but I wanted more memory for longevity and because I'm a bit of a jack of all trades so I have a lot of apps running on any given day. If I were buying this year, I would probably go with the 14" M4 Pro 64GB and save some money and probably give a small boost to battery life.

This year, the M4 Pro really has no downsides for most users considering how many displays I would ever plug into it. I tried four displays once and I wasn't any more productive.
 
  • Like
Reactions: DigitriX and hovscorpion12
macduke said:
I mean, for a "Pro" level device it usually isn't. The 14" base MBP is kind of a weird device though, it's more of a device for people who only need the power of a MacBook Air but want a nicer display or longer battery life. Or for people who only need a MacBook Air but want to be seen in public with a more expensive device. So it doesn't really count.
Click to expand...

Enterprise also really likes the base Pro laptops - they were one of the big consumers of the MBP 13" M1/M2.
 
  • Like
Reactions: mrnoark and Tagbert
gdjsnyder said:
I personally can’t wait to see posts of complaints about how 16GB isn’t good enough now for the next 5 years.
Click to expand...
I think 16GB has been the minimum any Mac should have been sold with for at least eight years. Now that it’s unified, maybe 16GB will do for a few years. But realistically, I wouldn’t want less than 16GB now and 32GB or 64GB within five years. Apple is going to find out building out its on device AI that it needs more RAM. So if that’s the selling point, it needs to up its game.

To me the glaring problem now is 256GB of SSD. I mean the iPhone 16 Pro Max has 256GB SSD standard and that’s a phone. For me, they all should start at 512GB in the year 2024. Maybe up to now it’s been fine. But now it should be upped. I am sure it will take them eight to ten years to boost it just like the RAM.

Seems like the base Mac mini is a good deal for most people who just want a basic home computer. But I wouldn’t plan on adding a bunch of external storage to it to make it really work as a home computer.

I have 64GB of RAM now, and I do appreciate it. Although I think 32GB is plenty sufficient for the MacBook Pro. I don’t get the 24GB starting config. I assume it’s how they made the SoC. But to me that means the Max will be 48GB of RAM minimum? They still charge the same prices to up the RAM and SSD which has been those prices for many many years. And the biggest thing is 1TB of storage costs Apple around $7.18 last I checked - 8TB configs is where they make the absolute most money where it costs Apple around $140 and they sell that upgrade for equivalent of two MacBooks. They are making a killing as they know professionals or those who use their devices for media creation need way more storage.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Mac mini power user, Cervisia, Ruftzooi and 2 others
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back