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

No longer possible to manually upgrade RAM in M1 Macs?

gomezkebab

gomezkebab

macrumors member
Original poster
Jan 9, 2017
37
3
It is no longer possible to manually upgrade RAM memory sticks in Macbook M1? For example if a buy a M1 with 8 GB ram and i want to upgrade to 16 gb?

This means i have to buy the M1 setup i want in a M1 macbook directly?
 
  • Like
Reactions: PlayUltimate
gomezkebab said:
It is no longer possible to manually upgrade RAM memory sticks in Macbook M1? For example if a buy a M1 with 8 GB ram and i want to upgrade to 16 gb?
Click to expand...
No - on the M1, the RAM is actually part of the processor package.

To be fair, like many recent ultraportable laptops, the M1 machines use low-power LPDDR RAM which isn't available as plug-in modules and has to be surface-mounted with the tracks connecting it to the CPU kept as short as possible. The M1 probably gains a bit of extra speed by having it mounted directly on the CPU package. Apple are a bit mean with their default RAM & SSD and the price of "upgrades" though - 16GB/512GB shouldn't be an expensive luxury in this day and age.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Fuchal
From this point onward, I doubt that either RAM or SSD storage will ever be "upgradeable" in Macs again.

For all practical purposes, they're going to now be "sealed devices", essentially UN-repairable.

This may not apply to the upcoming m-series Mac Pro's, but we'll have to wait and see on that.

So the answer to the OP's question is "NO, it's no longer possible".
You must buy it equipped with what you think you'll need for as long as you own it.
 
Spock said:
M1 Macs are essentially iOS devices running MacOS, thats the way that I look at it.
Click to expand...
It’s nothing to do with the M1 - MacBook Pros stopped having upgradeable RAM with the release of the first Retina models in 2012. Even soldered-in SSDs started a few years ago with Intel Macs.

The 21.5” iMac, the Intel Mini and even the iMac Pro may have had socketed DIMMS but it took major dismantling to get at them - I suspect that the sockets were there so Apple could buy cheap bog-standard commodity DIMMS for machines that didn’t need LPDDR.

Not saying this is good, just that the ship had sailed long before M1 came along.

...as I said, at least there’s now a valid reason for the soldered-in RAM in low-powered laptops, and the M1 arrangement squeezes a bit more performance and power efficiency by mounting the RAM on the CPU package. Not sure what the excuse was in 2012.

The interesting question is what will happen with the 5k iMac replacement... I’m guessing it will still be on-package LPDDR RAM.
 
  • Like
Reactions: PlayUltimate
theluggage said:
It’s nothing to do with the M1 - MacBook Pros stopped having upgradeable RAM with the release of the first Retina models in 2012. Even soldered-in SSDs started a few years ago with Intel Macs.

The 21.5” iMac, the Intel Mini and even the iMac Pro may have had socketed DIMMS but it took major dismantling to get at them - I suspect that the sockets were there so Apple could buy cheap bog-standard commodity DIMMS for machines that didn’t need LPDDR.

Not saying this is good, just that the ship had sailed long before M1 came along.

...as I said, at least there’s now a valid reason for the soldered-in RAM in low-powered laptops, and the M1 arrangement squeezes a bit more performance and power efficiency by mounting the RAM on the CPU package. Not sure what the excuse was in 2012.

The interesting question is what will happen with the 5k iMac replacement... I’m guessing it will still be on-package LPDDR RAM.
Click to expand...
You are right of course but doesn’t change what I said. Just shows that Apple has been moving that direction for a while, it’s nothing new. The original plans for the 1984 Macintosh was for it to be like a microwave and you don’t upgrade a microwave.
 
gomezkebab said:
It is no longer possible to manually upgrade RAM memory sticks in Macbook M1? For example if a buy a M1 with 8 GB ram and i want to upgrade to 16 gb?

This means i have to buy the M1 setup i want in a M1 macbook directly?
Click to expand...

Never was possible to upgrade anything in the M1 Macs. Apple locked all that down in the Intel Macs years ago. Buy what you (might possibly) need or suffer the consequences. #moneyGrab #AppleTax #plannedObsolescence
 
Spock said:
The original plans for the 1984 Macintosh was for it to be like a microwave and you don’t upgrade a microwave.
Click to expand...
...and, like a microwave, you could get seriously electrocuted (even when the Mac was unplugged) if you tried. :)

Yet the later G4, G5 towers and the original Mac Pro were among the easiest computers ever to upgrade, complete with tool-free access... so the story isn't that simple.

We're in a slightly odd place at the moment where, because of the performance of the M1 and the late arrival of the M1X, people are looking at low-end M1 machines for applications that would previously have been a job for higher-end MBPs, 5k iMacs etc. Once the M1X machines arrive (presumably with more RAM options) and the M1s go back to being "personal productivity" machines I don't see the M1 starting at 8GB and maxing out at 16GB RAM as being a problem (just learn what that little 'x' does in Safari tabs, folks). I don't have a huge problem in deciding how much RAM I need in advance - it is really down to the pricing (and whether Apple continue to take the Mickey by starting the "pro" machines at 8GB).

I find the fixed SSD slightly harder to swallow since (a) Flash SSD is still a perishable component that can be potentially prematurely aged by software bugs and (b) I feel that SSD prices still have someway to fall in the next few years (assuming chipageddon blows over) so 1TB+ SSDs may become more affordable over the lifetime of the machine. Esp. on laptops where relying on external storage messes up the portability.
 
apple might have set this in motion but all the PC/laptop manufacturers have followed with soldered RAM/SSDs ...
 
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