MacBook Air doubles base memory to 16GB for same $999
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 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
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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.
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.
16GB is a good baseline for most people though and a nice upgrade. They pretty much discounted every Mac by $200.
now if we can only come up for a reason for Apple to increase base storage.
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.
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.