For the first half of the MacBook Pro's history, from 2006 until 2014, the base memory on Apple's premier laptop doubled five times, from an introductory 512 megabytes to a whopping eight gigabytes. In the second half of the MacBook Pro's history, from 2015 until today, the base memory has doubled...zero times. Even today, the base 13" MacBook Pro comes with the same 8 GB of memory that has been standard since 2014. Way back in April 2016, the last 4GB Mac notebook was discontinued. And yet, all these years later, the next big doubling of memory has never come.
That's not to say there haven't been improvements, Apple Silicon is a revelation, with those 8 GB of memory now integrated onto the chip and complemented by speedy SSDs. Nonetheless, this base RAM has grown too long in the tooth. Later this year, the iPhone 15 Pro is rumored to receive 8 GB of RAM, and its Mac siblings should take the hint that this standard is no longer acceptable in a full-fledged computer.
Apple should use the opportunity presented by M3 to increase their base memory to 16 GB. The M1 Pro, unveiled in late 2021, came alongside 16 GB of RAM as standard, in addition to a base storage of 512 GB. Two years and an innovative three-nanometer process later, the M3 will likely be competitive with the M1 Pro, if not running laps around it. These necessary upgrades will solidify Apple's standing in the computing space.
With the M3 Air launching later this year, Apple will have the choice as to whether keep the $999 M1 Air in their lineup or to discontinue it. If they let the M2 Air take its price, few will spend two or three hundred dollars extra simply to upgrade the specs of their chip. However, if this upgrade comes alongside an included increase in base RAM (and perhaps even more storage), the upgrade would be a no-brainer. Apple is all about price-ladders, and this one would make sense, pushing consumers towards the newest, greatest, and more-expensive model.
The earnings for the Mac sector this previous quarter were a jarring decline, and Apple is counting on a big Fall release of M3 to flip the script for the Mac in the year ahead. Though the M3 will undoubtedly be faster and more efficient, this overdue upgrade to RAM will push it from good to great. Let's see if we'll finally have the doubling we've been waiting for.