A recent Vergecast and related chatter on Threads has once again raised the question about MacBooks in 2024 starting with 8GB RAM for memory. And me on my M1 MacBook Air with 8GB of RAM is going to chime in.
Is 8GB enough?
That’s a yes or no question. But the answer is: “It depends.”
The typical line drawn for whether you need more RAM or not is “heavy” or “enthusiast/pro-level” photo editing or any level of video editing. If you’re doing those kinds of big compute tasks, or if you’re big into gaming, then you’ll benefit from and likely need more than 8GB RAM.
For everything else, “basic” everyday computing, 8GB RAM in an Apple silicon (non-Intel) MacBook is enough. So web browsing, email, “normal” photo editing, and office productivity (all at the same time) will perform well with 8 gigs.
Note: 8GB is enough for blogging!
Yeah but it’s 2024 so 16GB RAM should be baseline.
I agree. By just a numbers approach, the computer industry should be sticking 16GB RAM sticks into every computer by default.
Way back in 2011, I built my first desktop PC, and I put 16GB of RAM in it, never once regretted it, and that was 13 flippin’ years ago! Today, smartphones often sport 8GB RAM; laptops should boast 16GB.
This also kind of jives with Moore’s law.
Yet Apple silicon RAM is unified memory
The reason why 8GB RAM works so well today in a 2020 M1 MacBook Air is because Apple’s silicon features Unified memory. That means it’s: optimized, efficient, and faster than traditional memory.
If you want to understand that more, check out this explainer from How To Geek.
Summary
It never hurts to have more RAM; it especially future-proofs your computer. So if you can afford more, even at Apple’s absurdly-high upgrade prices, then buy it now because it can’t be upgraded later.
That said, if you’re a “normal” person doing “basic” computing, 8GB RAM in an M-series Mac will serve you well for a long time. Assuming Apple’s next macOS releases don’t suddenly cause my 2020 MacBook Air M1 to slow down, I can see it lasting many more years to come.
I’m hoping, though, that by the time I upgrade, Apple will finally make 16GB RAM the baseline for its entry-level Macs. It will eventually. For example, it took a long time, but the iPhone’s 16GB storage base finally jumped up to 64GB one year, and then a few years later rose to 128GB. I’m sure its RAM will do likewise.
So I guess the answer is:
8GB RAM is enough
for most people
doing basic tasks
on an Apple silicon Mac
And more is better
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