Apple has doubled the base model RAM for entry-level Macs to 16GB, ending the 8GB default era.
This week’s new Macs all have one thing in common: a minimum of 16GB of RAM. That’s true of the new Mac Mini, MacBook Pros, and iMac, which were all refreshed with M4 processors this week. The MacBook Air was updated to start at 16GB of RAM, too, even though it didn’t get a bump up to the M4 chip. The change brings an end to the long-running era of 8GB of RAM as the default on consumer-grade Macs. Apple had transitioned most of its Macs to 8GB of RAM by 2016.
Local AI features like Apple Intelligence, which need constant RAM to work, have only accentuated the need to change things. That said, Apple isn’t getting generous with RAM everywhere. If you want more, it’ll still cost you a pretty penny. Apple charges $200 for extra memory — for example, bumping the iMac from 16GB to 24GB is $200, while it costs $400 to go all the way to 32GB. The RAM upgrade likely has to do with the launch of Apple Intelligence.
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Every MacBook Air now starts with 16GB of RAM at no extra costDevindra has been writing about the way technology intersects with our lives for nearly 20 years. He started the Amherst Student's first technology column, worked in IT support for many (many) years, and eventually moved to Brooklyn to cover New York's tech scene in 2009.
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