The new 13-inch, 15-inch M3 MacBook Air and the base M3 MacBook Pro all have 8GB unified RAM for the base configuration. Where Apple’s competitors have started outfitting their premium notebooks with 16GB RAM as standard, the company has taken a backseat when it comes to upping the total memory count. According to the latest interview, Apple executives have defended the technology giant’s decision by stating that this amount of unified RAM is ‘suitable’ for various tasks. Obviously, these individuals have ignored the significant number of drawbacks that come with these limitations, which we have discussed below.
Tasks that can easily handle 8GB unified RAM on MacBooks, according to the Apple executive, include web browsing and more
Kate Bergeron, Apple’s Vice President of hardware engineering, and Evan Buyze, who hails from the company’s Mac marketing team, sat down for an interview with Chinese publication ITHome, talking about several topics revolving around MacBooks. With the latest MacBook Air models, the base versions only provide you with 8GB of RAM and 256GB of onboard storage, which is insufficient for a massive percentage of users. When discussing the RAM part of the configuration, Buyze states that 8GB is ‘suitable’ for everyday tasks.
These everyday tasks involve web browsing, lightweight editing of photos and videos, and streaming movies. Remember that it is not the first time that the company has defended its business practice of incorporating 8GB of RAM in its machines. The last time this question was asked, Apple Vice President of worldwide product marketing, Bob Borchers, stated that 8GB of unified memory is analogous to 16GB on other systems. Various tests have shown that this configuration is insufficient for running a few apps simultaneously, and the excess data starts getting read by the NAND flash instead, reducing their endurance.
A simple solution would have been to swap out the existing memory for a high-capacity one, but that was if Apple offered such an option, as all of its Macs launched in the past few years come with the RAM and storage soldered to the logic board. To make matters worse, Apple charges a hefty premium if customers want to increase their existing RAM or storage, making it extremely taxing on their finances. Hopefully, as programs start to become more memory-intensive, Apple will increase their base configuration, but currently, customers are stuck with 8GB RAM variants.
About the author: Omar Sohail is a reporter and analyst for Wccftech's mobile section, specializing in the technology and business of the mobile industry. His expertise lies in the intricate hardware supply chain, covering developments in semiconductor manufacturing, chip lithography, and camera sensor technology.
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