MacBook Pro may make an exciting change to its RAM

By Willow Roberts Published August 29, 2024

According to anonymous sources cited by Bloomberg, Apple’s new M4 series of Mac computers launching this year will all have at least 16GB of RAM. That’s double the current minimum of 8GB for entry-level models and a level Apple has stuck to since 2012 despite plenty of criticism and many of its competitors offering a base amount of 16GB.

The information comes from the developer test logs for four new Mac models labeled “16,1,” “16,2,” “16,3,” and “16,10.” These tests check for compatibility with third-party applications and are usually done fairly close to launch. Three of the models have 10 CPU cores and 10 GPU cores, while the last has eight CPU and eight GPU cores — but all four have either 16GB or 32GB of RAM.

When the MacBook Pro M3 launched, Apple defended the RAM specification by claiming 8GB on an Apple silicon MacBook is “probably analogous to 16GB on other systems,” explaining how its system-on-a-chip (SoC) allowed for much more efficient memory use. One reason for the change of heart could be related to the upcoming Apple Intelligence features.

Apple likely wants all of its Mac models to run upcoming and future Apple Intelligence features smoothly, which could be why its revamping the entire Mac lineup with M4 chips and why it’s switching to a minimum 16GB of RAM. This is just speculation, but since Apple was still defending its decision to ship base Mac models with 8GB of RAM just last year, it wouldn’t be surprising for the recent wave of AI PC hype to be the cause of the sudden change.

Whatever the motivation, as long as the effect on pricing isn’t unreasonable, more RAM will be great for buyers. Even people who always choose minimum specs will end up with a computer that can stay competitively performant for longer — especially since RAM upgrades are pretty much impossible on Apple silicon PCs.