16GB of RAM Could Be the New Minimum in Apple's Upcoming M4 Macs : technology

[-] AlphaOmega@lemmy.world 213 points 2 months ago

Welcome to 2010

[-] Kalcifer@sh.itjust.works 12 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

I upgraded from 8GB to 16GB like 2 months ago.

[-] Kazumara@discuss.tchncs.de 88 points 2 months ago

Welcome to 2010 to you as well then!

[-] cheddar@programming.dev 17 points 2 months ago

Check out 9gag.com for funny pictures!

[-] Sammy@lemmy.dbzer0.com 9 points 2 months ago

Or iFunny if you’re feelin’ saucy!

[-] cmnybo@discuss.tchncs.de 143 points 2 months ago

Considering that RAM is shared with the GPU, it's still not enough.

[-] floofloof@lemmy.ca 141 points 2 months ago

It's OK - for an extra $400 they'll sell you one with an extra $50 worth of RAM.

[-] JohnDClay@sh.itjust.works 40 points 2 months ago

It doesn't even cost that for them.

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[-] scottmeme@sh.itjust.works 29 points 2 months ago

$800 for $30 of ram

[-] PoopMonster@lemmy.world 23 points 2 months ago

"yeah but that's like having 32GB on a lame PC"

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[-] Pantsofmagic@lemmy.world 83 points 2 months ago

It's really sad that this needs to be an actual headline.

[-] forgotaboutlaye@lemmy.world 77 points 2 months ago

I know it's not a like for like comparison, but the Pixel 9 Pro that launched this month has 16gb of RAM.

[-] narc0tic_bird@lemm.ee 31 points 2 months ago

Yup, while the current iPhone 15 Pro is the only model which has 8 GB of RAM, with the regular iPhone 15 having 6 GB. All iPhone 16 models (launching next month) will still only have 8 GB according to rumors, which happens to be the bare minimum required to run Apple Intelligence.

Giving the new models only 8 GB seems a bit shortsighted and will likely mean that more complex AI models in future iOS versions won't run on these devices. It could also mean that these devices won't be able to keep a lot of apps ready in the background if running an AI model in-between.

16 GB is proper future-proofing on Google's part (unless they lock new software features behind newer models anyway down the road), and Apple will likely only gradually increase memory on their devices.

[-] filister@lemmy.world 39 points 2 months ago

Pretty much what NVIDIA is doing with their GPUs. Refusing to provide adequate future proof amount of VRAM on their cards. That's planned obsolescence in action.

[-] tankplanker@lemmy.world 10 points 2 months ago

If you were being cynical, you could say it was planned obsolescence and that when the new ai feature set rolls out that you have to get the new phone for them.

[-] narc0tic_bird@lemm.ee 9 points 2 months ago

I think they got caught with their pants down when everybody started doing AI and they were like "hey, we have this cool VR headset". Otherwise they would've at least prepared the regular iPhone 15 (6 GB) to be ready for Apple Intelligence. Every (Apple Silicon) device with 8 GB or more get Apple Intelligence, so M1 iPads from 2021 get it as well for example, even though the M1's NPU is much weaker than some of the NPUs in unsupported devices with less RAM.

They are launching their AI (or at least everything under the "Apple Intelligence" umbrella) with iOS 18.1 which won't even release with the launch of the new iPhones, and it'll be US only (or at least English only) with several of the features announced at WWDC still missing/coming later and it's unclear how they proceed in the EU.

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[-] echodot@feddit.uk 15 points 2 months ago

It's a good comparison actually because Apple keeps saying that their ram is faster because it's soldered (Which is true but only if you squint). I don't really think it makes a difference because if you run out of space you still run out of space, the fact that you can access the limited space more quickly doesn't really help.

Well phone RAM also tends to be solded onto the board too so it's a pretty good comparison.

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[-] bruhduh@lemmy.world 13 points 2 months ago

Some phones have 24gb since 2 years ago already

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[-] eager_eagle@lemmy.world 74 points 2 months ago

for the same price other laptops sell for 64GB

what a bargain

[-] mechoman444@lemmy.world 49 points 2 months ago

Oooo a whole 16 gigs! It can run Firefox with more than four tabs open!

[-] JeeBaiChow@lemmy.world 42 points 2 months ago

...is this actually 16Gb or 8Gb feeling like 16Gb, as per previous statements?

[-] echodot@feddit.uk 18 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

I think perhaps they realize the Apple magic has worn off and people have shockingly realized that 8 GB is in fact 8 GB.

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[-] daddy32@lemmy.world 36 points 2 months ago

...in 2030.

[-] Nomecks@lemmy.ca 34 points 2 months ago

Golly, thanks Apple. It's not like I can go buy a 256GB DIMM right now. 16GB what a joke.

[-] potentiallynotfelix@lemdro.id 32 points 2 months ago

And it probably won't be able to be upgraded by the user, which should be the bare minimum.

[-] Reverendender@sh.itjust.works 18 points 2 months ago

And it ~~probably~~ absolutely guaran-fucking-teed won't be able to be upgraded by the user, which should be the bare minimum.

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[-] Omgboom@lemmy.zip 32 points 2 months ago

Linux requirements: CPU (optional)

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[-] padge@lemmy.zip 25 points 2 months ago

My sister just bought a MacBook Air for college, and I had to beg her to spend the extra money on 16gb of memory. It feels like a scam that it appears cheap with the starting at price, but nobody should actually go with those "starting at" specs.

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[-] masterspace@lemmy.ca 24 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

Let me know how many multiple thousands of dollars it's going to cost for a MAX variant of the chip that can run three external monitors like it's 2008.

[+] SteveFromMySpace 8 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

[deleted]

[-] masterspace@lemmy.ca 16 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

Nope. All base Mx Series Macs can only support a single external monitor in addition to their internal one.

Pro Series are professional enough that Apple deems your work worthy of using two (2) external monitors.

Max Series are the only ones that have proved their Maximum enough to Apple to let them use 3 monitors.

It's honestly absurd. And none of them support Display Port's alt mode so they can't daisy chain between monitors and they max out at 3, whereas an equivalent Windows or Linux machine could do 6 over the same Thunderbolt 3 connection.

Windows and Linux machines also support sub pixel text rendering, so text looks far better on 1080p and 1440p monitors.

I have to use MacOS for work and while I've come to accept many parts and even like some, their external monitor support is just mind numbingly bad.

[-] narc0tic_bird@lemm.ee 10 points 2 months ago

What you're describing as "DisplayPort alt mode" is DisplayPort Multi-Stream Transport (MST). Alt mode is the ability to pass native DisplayPort stream(s) via USB-C, which all M chip Macs are capable of. MST is indeed unsupported by M chip hardware, and it's not supported in macOS either way - even the Intel Macs don't support it even though the hardware is capable of it.

MST is nice for a dual WQHD setup or something (or dual UHD@60 with DisplayPort 1.4), but attempt to drive multiple (very) high resolution and refresh rate displays and you'll be starved for bandwidth very quickly. Daisy-chaining 6 displays might technically be possible with MST, but each of them would need to be set to a fairly low resolution for today's standards. Macs that support more than one external display can support two independent/full DisplayPort 1.4 signals per Thunderbolt port (as per the Thunderbolt 4 spec), so with a proper Thunderbolt hub you can connect two high resolution displays via one port no problem.

I agree that even base M chips should support at least 3 simultaneous displays (one internal and two external, or 3 external in clamshell mode), and they should add MST support for the convenience to be able to connect to USB-C hubs using MST with two (lower-resolution) monitors, and support proper sub-pixel font anti-aliasing on these low-DPI displays (which macOS was perfectly capable of in the past, but they removed it). Just for the convenience of being able to use any random hub you stumble across and it "just works", not because it's necessarily ideal.

But your comparison is blown way out of proportion. "Max" Macs support the internal display at full resolution and refresh rate (120 Hz), 3 external 6K 60Hz displays and an additional display via HDMI (4K 144 Hz on recent models). Whatever bandwidth is left per display when daisy-chaining 6 displays to a single Thunderbolt port on a Windows machine, it won't be anywhere near enough to drive all of them at these resolutions.

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[+] nicepool@lemmy.world 21 points 2 months ago

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[-] cm0002@lemmy.world 17 points 2 months ago

I've had to support their products on a professional level for over a decade.

Their enterprise stuff....can only be described as a quintessential example of an ill-conceived, horrendously executed fiasco, so utterly devoid of utility and coherence that it defies all logic and reasonable expectation. It stands as a paragon of dysfunction, a conflagration of conceptual failures so intense and egregious that it resembles a blazing inferno of pure, unadulterated refuse. It is, in every conceivable sense, a searing, molten heap of garbage—hot, steaming, and reeking with the unmistakable stench of profound ineptitude and sheer impracticality.

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[-] cupcakezealot 20 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

and maximum since you probably won't be able to upgrade it since silicon doesn't allow upgrades

[-] stellargmite@lemmy.world 13 points 2 months ago

Yeh can upgrade them at purchase. From 256gb storage to 512gb will only cost you one kidney.

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[-] nagaram@startrek.website 20 points 2 months ago

I don't really care unless it has the same price point as the 8gb one.

But we all know it won't be.

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[-] flop_leash_973@lemmy.world 19 points 2 months ago

Naturally the price for the cheapest model will also be going to up several orders of magnitude more than the cost of materials, labor, and healthy profit margin to account for that as well I'm sure.

[-] qjkxbmwvz@startrek.website 9 points 2 months ago

In 1999, the iBook was US$1599 (equivalent to $2925 in 2023) (source).

The 2010 13" Air was $1299 (more in today's $) (source).

The current 13" M3 Air is $1099 (source).

So yeah, they may well raise prices, but the cost of Apple's entry-level hardware has decreased in absolute terms over the years, and has decreased substantially if inflation is taken into account. Not to say the margins aren't higher (no idea about that), but it's interesting.

[-] Toes@ani.social 16 points 2 months ago

Why are apple products always so anemic on memory?

[-] luves2spooge@lemmy.world 20 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

Because there are two types of mac users:

People that are buying them with their own money because they're trendy and just using them as glorified Internet browsers. 16gb is plenty.
People using them professionally so their company is paying and Apple can over charge for the necessary memory upgrade

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[-] Munkisquisher@lemmy.nz 18 points 2 months ago

Greed, it lowers the advertised price, but once you spec it decently you've added a grand in extras

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[-] reddig33@lemmy.world 11 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

“640k ought to be enough for anyone.”

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[-] bitjunkie@lemmy.world 10 points 2 months ago

Good, 8 is unusable for my workloads and 12 feels like they're just fucking with us

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