Apple Boosts MacBook Air Base Memory to 16 GB

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Originally published at: Apple Boosts MacBook Air Base Memory to 16 GB - TidBITS

During last week’s product announcements, Apple quietly increased the base memory in the MacBook Air to 16 GB, up from 8 GB, all without increasing prices. This applies to the M2 and M3 13-inch MacBook Air and the M3 15-inch MacBook Air. The M1 MacBook Air for sale exclusively through Walmart remains at 8 GB (see “Walmart Sells M1 MacBook Air for $699,” 15 March 2024).

Some have speculated that the increase is meant to ensure the optimal performance of Apple Intelligence, but it’s hard to evaluate that speculation. I’ve been testing Apple Intelligence on an M1 MacBook Air with 16 GB of memory, and some features like Clean Up in Photos aren’t always as responsive as would be ideal. I can’t compare against Apple silicon Macs with more or less memory—or faster chips—but I hope we’ll see some Apple Intelligence benchmarks that reveal the importance of memory and processor power. Future Apple Intelligence features like Image Playground may also be more resource-intensive than those available today.

We’ve long recommended 16 GB as a worthwhile baseline upgrade for the MacBook Air, which raises another question. Does Apple’s raising of the base memory level to 16 GB suggest that those whose apps might require more memory should now consider upgrading to 24 GB?

MacBook Air 16 GB specsScreenshot
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Given that the RAM of an Apple Silicon Mac is not upgradable (in any way that normal people are going to be willing to attempt), I think it’s always a good idea to consider maxing out the RAM.

in the case of the Air, bumping a 13" TM3 model from the base 16GB to 24GB bumps the price $200 (from $1100 to $1300). This is a lot to pay for 8GB of RAM, but if you think of it in terms of extending the longevity of the whole system, I think it’s a good idea, if you can afford to pay the extra $200 in the first place.

For myself, my current Air (a very old 2011 11" model with 4GB RAM and 128GB storage, running macOS Sierra 10.12.6) is still working fine for what I use it for - Microsoft office and web browsing when I’m away from my home office. So I could probably do just fine with the absolute minimum configuration, but most people do more than this with their laptops and for them, I’d say maxing out the RAM is a good way to increase the useful lifespan of the computer.