Everyone is entitled to their opinion.
But I do receive some biblically silly comments on YouTube.
If you want to see the best of them, I recommend following me on Twitter for my weekly-that-isn’t-actually-weekly Troll of the Week award.
However, the comment I’m about to show you didn’t win Troll of the Week because I wanted to save it for this article.
”As a veteran systems analyst and integrator with well over 40 years experience: why buy 8GB when you can get more? Plan for the future, not just immediate needs. Many folks can hardly afford new devices once in a decade. Your advice should include them, as that is the reality of more than 80% of the global population. Tiny America makes up but 4.25% of humanity, yet their advisors dish out supposed wisdom that apparently speaks for all. Start thinking well outside of your little world of privilege and spoiltness. For the rest of us, realities are real.”
This was in response to my advice for choosing between 8GB and 16GB of unified memory when buying an M1-based Mac.
As I’ve always said – if you can’t afford the 16GB upgrade, you’ll be incredibly happy with the 8GB version of the M1.
The person above appears to have an issue with that, which is fine.
But suggesting that my advice neglects “80% of the global population” is as short-sighted as it is daft (also, if someone could explain what “Tiny America” is, and why it makes up exactly 4.25% of humanity, that would be much appreciated).
Anyway, this pissed me off, because the M1 has democratised computing power for Mac users, and I think it’s one of the most wonderful things, ever.
Let me explain.
Sometimes, 8GB IS enough
It really is.
I have two 8GB M1 Macs – a MacBook Air and a 24” iMac. The former is my favourite laptop ever and the latter is my favourite all-in-one computer ever.
Both have played key roles in growing this business over the last twelve months. They have worked tirelessly, never complained, and not once proved a hindrance during my daily tasks.
What’s more, I have a feeling they could keep on doing this for several years to come.
I never, ever think about the fact they ‘only’ have 8GB of unified memory. Any perceived deficiency in that area never rears its head.
Granted, they’re doing general business type stuff, but I’ve had to rely on the MacBook Air on more than one occasion to finish a 4K video in Final Cut Pro. Again, it never complained while rendering or exporting, at all.
For a significant number of people, 8GB is absolutely enough. It’s why my buying guidance remains ultra-simple:
- if you can afford the 16GB upgrade without breaking the bank, go for it; or
- if you either can’t afford – or simply don’t want – to pay more than what Apple asks for the base spec, buy the base spec.
In both circumstances, the buyer will be very happy indeed – and for a lot longer than we’ve been accustomed to.
It wasn’t always like this
Before the M1, RAM was a significant buying consideration for everyone. Too little, and you’d end up waiting aeons for apps to start. Too much, and you’d have to take out a second mortgage to afford the finance payments forced by your new Mac purchase.
This isn’t the case anymore.
I have no idea how unified memory works, but I know that Apple has essentially removed all of the bottlenecks, junctions, and pointless journeys that used to be encountered when data made its way through a Mac.
If we were still living in Intel Land (remember that?), the comment I shared at the top of this article would be entirely fair. In that world, 8GB would be a bit silly for anyone who has an interest in keeping their Mac running for a decent amount of time without encountering numerous frustrations.
But we’re not living in Intel Land anymore. This is a brand new era, and it’s fairer and more inclusive than ever before.
M1 Pro and M1 Max: point proven
I’ve been using a nearly-maxed-out M1 Max 16” MacBook Pro since November.
It offers more power and headroom than I need.
Occasionally, it gets slightly warm while rendering video in Final Cut Pro, but it never, ever slows down, beachballs, or complains about me trying to do things too quickly.
I have no doubt that some people will be able to push this thing more than I. And, as I noted recently in my round-up of Apple product predictions for 2022, the forthcoming Apple silicon Mac Pro is going to be even more laughably powerful.
There’s an extremely limited audience for Macs that run chips as powerful as the M1 Pro, M1 Max and whatever the hell appears in that Mac Pro later this year.
I don’t sit within that audience. You probably don’t, either.
But it is nice to own nice things, and if you just like the idea of owning a super-powerful Mac, that’s cool.
It works the other way around, though. As I’ve said throughout this article and numerous times before, if you actively desire the cheapest Mac available, that’s utterly cool, too.
The difference now is that you’re not really having to make any compromises if you opt for the lower-spec version of a MacBook, Mac mini, or iMac. The ridiculously high ceiling of power offered by the new chips in the MacBook Pro lineup proves my point: the audience that needs 16GB and above is tiny in comparison to the vast majority of ‘normal’ Mac users.
Trust me, if you’ve been toying with the idea of buying an 8GB M1 Mac, it will do everything you dreamed of and will last many, many years.
Go buy it!
I love what the M1 chip has done for the Mac ecosystem. You no longer need 40 years of experience to help people buy a new computer, and that’s a wonderful thing.
I get what you are saying about 8 vs. 16, however the reason I purchased 16 in both my Mac mini and MacBook Pro was for future proofing.
I know this isn’t Intel, but I still can’t help but believe that at some point in the future 16GB will become necessary for more tasks. Time will tell for sure, but it will likely be a thing.
That said, I appreciate your perspective. I enjoy reading your blog, listening to your podcast and watching your YouTube channel.
Cheers!
Mike
Appreciate the kind words, Mike! And you’ve made a solid purchasing decision there, because you’ve avoided any form of buyer’s remorse.
Hi Mark – enjoyed this article. Liking a challenge, perhaps Tiny America is a term only known to System Analyst Vets with Tiny Minds? The United States population is equivalent to 4.25% of the total world population (https://srv1.worldometers.info/world-population/us-population/) putting it 3rd after China then India. All I can say is I’m glad that person wasn’t doing any SA for me! It’s kinda worrying but also reassuring if most peoples’ reaction is ‘Eh, how do you rationalise a comment like that?’. For me, the point being missed by that whole rant is that buying 8GB UM isn’t going to unduly restrict most/majority of people; and that that purchase will have a ‘good enough’ lifespan. I like your ‘good enough’ advice as that defines use for (at least) ‘8-out-of-10’ cats. In my book, that the majority not minority? And if you’re in the 20% then the chances are you know you are and that the general advice doesn’t kinda apply. Keep being the Voice of Common Sense and ignore the muppets 🙂
Jules – I love this comment. So much sense spoken. Thank you.
Actually Mark, There’s quite a bit of merit to the comment that you’re challenging.
And you’re missing the point that the author is making, which only reinforces that North Americans have a uniquely “privileged”/distorted perspective on consumerism.
You may want to put some more thought into your understanding, and your dismissal of a thoughtful counterpoint that a reader took the time to contribute.
Either you missed the point that non-North Americans have a different perspective on making significant consumer purchases, or you chose to use this person’s comments to gain some more clicks.
Hi Peter – thanks for getting involved and offering that side of the story. It’s a shame the commenter didn’t take the same reasonable, objective, and non-abrasive counterpoint to my advice. Alas, that’s what occasionally happens on YouTube. I still disagree wholeheartedly, though. Apple has democratised computing performance with the M1, and having spent considerable time with the base model, I’m confident that it will deliver a fantastic return for a huge number of people (whom should never be made to feel bad about their decision to buy ‘bottom of the rung’). And as for using this individual’s comments to gain some more clicks – that is absolutely what I’m doing!
Hi Mark. Is there any aggregation of comments made on Medium and the comments in your Club feed? Or do they go their own separate ways?
Cheers.
Hi Tom. Unfortunately not – they’re in their own little silos (although I wish this wasn’t the case!).