MacBook Air doubles base memory to 16GB for same $999

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in Current Mac Hardware edited October 2024

The entry-level version of the M3 MacBook Air now has 16GB of unified memory, doubling the previous amount, but staying at $999.

MacBook Air displaying a scenic landscape sits on a wooden table beside a vase of flowers and a stack of books.
MacBook Air M3



Alongside its announcement of the new M4 MacBook Pro, Apple has updated the MacBook Air. Where the base $999 model had 8GB of RAM, it now ships with 16GB -- and does so for both the M2 and M3 editions.

So while there is as yet no M4 version of the MacBook Air, the lower-price alternative to the MacBook Pro has had a significant update. Previously increasing the MacBook Air to 16GB RAM, would cost an extra $200.

That used to bring the MacBook Air to $1299, which meant it was in sight of the $1,599 for the base MacBook Pro.

The MacBook Air was last updated in March 2024, with a redesign that made it resemble the MacBook Pro. Three months after release, AppleInsider described it as the best Mac for nearly everyone.



Read on AppleInsider

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 14
    Dead_Pool said:
    But I thought Macs were so efficient that they needed only 8 GBs?
    Times change, and the general usage went up, so Apple increased the minimum ram.
    ronnwatto_cobra
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  • Reply 2 of 14
    mpantonempantone Posts: 2,288member
    Dead_Pool said:
    But I thought Macs were so efficient that they needed only 8 GBs?
    It was pre-Apple Intelligence.

    Many closely watching Apple’s AI efforts expect their LLM to take up around 6GB of RAM leaving little for applications. Increasing RAM to 16GB provides far more headroom which will be crucial if the user enables Apple Intelligence.

    This has been heavily covered by tech media despite the fact AppleInsider failed to mention it in this particular article.
    edited October 2024
    Peramandewmejas99williamlondonroundaboutnowsphericronnwatto_cobra
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  • Reply 3 of 14
    KITAkita Posts: 410member
    mpantone said:
    Dead_Pool said:
    But I thought Macs were so efficient that they needed only 8 GBs?
    It was pre-Apple Intelligence.

    Many closely watching Apple’s AI efforts expect their LLM to take up around 6GB of RAM leaving little for applications. Increasing RAM to 16GB provides far more headroom which will be crucial if the user enables Apple Intelligence.
    16 GB should have been the minimum when the M1 launched to provide the longevity and premium experience that Apple aims for.

    Apple 8GB




    williamlondon
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  • Reply 4 of 14
    mpantonempantone Posts: 2,288member
    Hindsight is always 20-20. In 2020 Apple wasn't forecasting the fast paced and urgent adoption of AI/ML features to the extent it is happening now. We've already seen rumors of internal communications that Apple is about two years behind the competition. It is pretty clear that they were caught off guard and are now racing to catch up.

    That said, I prefer Apple's gradual rollout of these AI features. They really need to get it right (with a strong focus on privacy and security) unlike Microsoft's ham-handed attempt (the CoPilot + debacle).

    And just a reminder, all consumer-facing AI features are alpha or early beta stage. There is nothing (consumer-facing) that is remotely close to being of release quality. So Apple's tardiness isn't as much of a burden as some prognosticators would have others believe.

    It's clear that 8GB RAM in iPhones and iPads will also ultimately end up being very limiting, especially if the LLM is indeed 6GB. There's less multitasking done on the iPhone but for sure some iPad users will see performance decreases.

    It is unlikely that Apple will jump to 16GB on handhelds right away, most likely they will have an intermediate step to 12GB for going to 16GB RAM. And we know those RAM increases will debut in the Pro and Pro Max phone models before they trickle down to the regular iPhone and iPhone Max models. So maybe 12GB for Pro/Pro Max in 2025 and the same for iPhone/iPhone Max in 2026. So looking at 3-4 years before the base iPhone reaches 16GB RAM.

    I am glad I bought my Mac mini M2 Pro with 16GB of RAM but then again, it replaced a Mac mini 2018 with the same amount of RAM. 8GB is indeed a little light for today's modern desktop operating systems.

    That said, not everyone is running resource-intensive multimedia applications like Lightroom. Tim Cook certainly isn't. There are lot of people who use their MacBook Airs for basic office productivity, e-mail, web surfing, occasional media editing.
    edited October 2024
    Fidonet127dewmejas99roundaboutnowronnwatto_cobra
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  • Reply 5 of 14
    mpantone said:
    Dead_Pool said:
    But I thought Macs were so efficient that they needed only 8 GBs?
    It was pre-Apple Intelligence.

    Many closely watching Apple’s AI efforts expect their LLM to take up around 6GB of RAM leaving little for applications. Increasing RAM to 16GB provides far more headroom which will be crucial if the user enables Apple Intelligence.

    This has been heavily covered by tech media despite the fact AppleInsider failed to mention it in this particular article.
     So we actually need 24GB now with AI?  
    williamlondon
     0Likes 0Dislikes 1Informative
  • Reply 6 of 14
    Marvinmarvin Posts: 15,524moderator
    mpantone said:
    Dead_Pool said:
    But I thought Macs were so efficient that they needed only 8 GBs?
    It was pre-Apple Intelligence.

    Many closely watching Apple’s AI efforts expect their LLM to take up around 6GB of RAM leaving little for applications. Increasing RAM to 16GB provides far more headroom which will be crucial if the user enables Apple Intelligence.

    This has been heavily covered by tech media despite the fact AppleInsider failed to mention it in this particular article.
     So we actually need 24GB now with AI?  
    AI needs as much as possible. 6GB is just for a small LLM, image generation and larger models use more. Stable Diffusion uses around 20GB of memory and goes into swap on a 32GB Mac.

    16GB is a good baseline for most people though and a nice upgrade. They pretty much discounted every Mac by $200.
    Fidonet127jas99williamlondonronnwatto_cobra
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  • Reply 7 of 14
    entropysentropys Posts: 4,354member
    Dead_Pool said:
    But I thought Macs were so efficient that they needed only 8 GBs?
    Pre Apple Intelligence and other LLMs it was no doubt true for the majority of users, not more intensive users like Appleinsider peoples.

    now if we can only come up for a reason for Apple to increase base storage.
    williamlondonronnwatto_cobra
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  • Reply 8 of 14
    mpantonempantone Posts: 2,288member
    Marvin said:
    mpantone said:
    Dead_Pool said:
    But I thought Macs were so efficient that they needed only 8 GBs?
    It was pre-Apple Intelligence.

    Many closely watching Apple’s AI efforts expect their LLM to take up around 6GB of RAM leaving little for applications. Increasing RAM to 16GB provides far more headroom which will be crucial if the user enables Apple Intelligence.

    This has been heavily covered by tech media despite the fact AppleInsider failed to mention it in this particular article.
     So we actually need 24GB now with AI?  
    AI needs as much as possible. 6GB is just for a small LLM, image generation and larger models use more. Stable Diffusion uses around 20GB of memory and goes into swap on a 32GB Mac.

    16GB is a good baseline for most people though and a nice upgrade. They pretty much discounted every Mac by $200.
    This is true. 

    However the war for AI dominance will not be won on PCs. The true war for innovation is being waged on handhelds.

    The primary computing modality for consumers in 2024 is the smartphone not the computer.

    Sure, computers will always have more native/local capabilities than handhelds. But handhelds is where all consumer computing innovation happens: photography, NFC contactless payment systems, wireless communications, etc.

    All AI service providers are focusing on handhelds. That's why ChatGPT exists on smartphones but just barely rolled out (as a beta app) on Windows PC.

    Only clueless fools look at their PC as the benchmark for consumer technology innovation in 2024.

    Just look at the way zoomers use tech. In upcoming years handheld usage is going to squeeze out PC usage even more. PCs are for old people and what you need to use at some corporate job.

    I'm an old fart myself but I'm not blind to the seismic changes that are in progress.
    edited October 2024
    dewmelibertyandfreewilliamlondonroundaboutnowwatto_cobra
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  • Reply 9 of 14
    netroxnetrox Posts: 1,526member
    mpantone said:
    Dead_Pool said:
    But I thought Macs were so efficient that they needed only 8 GBs?
    It was pre-Apple Intelligence.

    Many closely watching Apple’s AI efforts expect their LLM to take up around 6GB of RAM leaving little for applications. Increasing RAM to 16GB provides far more headroom which will be crucial if the user enables Apple Intelligence.

    This has been heavily covered by tech media despite the fact AppleInsider failed to mention it in this particular article.
    I am actually surprised, they literally doubled the RAM which is unlike other Macs that wouldn't double... usually increment by a third. I'd expect like a bump from 8GB to 12GB like when you want to get more RAM on Pros, you'd get like 16GB to 24GB or 32GB to 48GB before you can double for a huge "Apple tax." 
     


    watto_cobra
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  • Reply 10 of 14
    dewmedewme Posts: 5,873member
    I agree with Mpantone. Handheld devices like the iPhone are now the archetype for personal computers. I remember when people had dedicated computer rooms or at least a large piece of office furniture to provide a place for their personal computers. The large tower style chassis could easily top 50 lbs and if you added a “massive” 21-inch monitor you’d be looking at another 90 lbs of gear. I still remember the UPS delivery person sweating profusely to get one of my PCs and 21” monitor to my doorstep.

    Back when PCs and Macs were starting to become ubiquitous we used to compare their capabilities to the old mainframes that took up entire rooms with lots of hefty power and cooling requirements. Now it’s about comparing smartphones and tablets to desktops that consumed an entire desktop. 

    I’m glad Apple keeps pushing the evolution of its silicon but I’m still waiting to see how all this Apple Intelligence stuff delivers something that makes a big and positive impact on my daily life. I’m impressed by the underlying AI/ML that has slowly working its way into some of Apple’s apps, but I feel that some of the promised features are of questionable value, at least based on what Apple is showing. 

    I’m still less than thrilled that Apple and wireless carriers are heavily promoting Apple Intelligence in conjunction with the latest iPhones and Macs without showing what it can actually do. They’re selling technology and hype, not features that users will see when they lay down cash/credit to take one of those devices home and start using it, only to discover that there’s not a lot there, at least for now. 

    I was eventually buy a new Apple Intelligence capable device when I see exactly what it actually does for me. In the meantime the only thing slowing down even my oldest Apple devices is me. As long as there is a human in the loop no amount of benchmark cred is going to make much of a difference in throughput. 
    edited October 2024
    watto_cobra
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  • Reply 11 of 14
    The M3 MBA is a brilliant computer. I went with a midnight 16gb 512gb 13” M3 earlier this year. Grunty little machine, was worried I wouldn’t like the screen size and nearly stumped up for a 15” or a base MBP 14” but 13.6” is great and glad I saved the extra cash. 
    nubuswatto_cobra
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  • Reply 12 of 14
    So what does that mean for people who bought an 8GB Mac in the past year or two if they want to use Apple’s AI?
    edited October 2024
    williamlondonwatto_cobra
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  • Reply 13 of 14
    mpantonempantone Posts: 2,288member
    So what does that mean for people who bought an 8GB Mac in the past year or two if they want to use Apple’s AI?
    As of WWDC 2024 (June), Apple stated that all M-series Macs would be supported for Apple Intelligence at the time of launch (a week ago).

    Less memory means less headroom for other apps and swapping will occur sooner and more frequently than a system with more memory. The end result will be poorer performance if the end user has a browser with 20 tabs open, is running two pro-grade multimedia applications, etc.

    What we don't know is if Apple plans on eventually introducing other AI models that require more than 8GB of RAM. If that's the case, the 8GB Macs might be able to continue doing some AI-assisted tasks but not others locally. It's possible that Apple could move some of this processing to their cloud servers but until they announce it officially it's just pure speculation. Or maybe Apple will just say, "8GB Macs are SOL for these usage cases, you'll need to upgrade to newer hardware for that functionality."

    What do you think Apple will do? Do they have any sort of track record where they reserve newer functionality to the latest and greatest hardware? You have been on this website for nearly two decades. Take a wild guess.
    edited October 2024
    watto_cobra
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