Apple is a master of marketing and always seems to have a good answer to even the most unpleasant questions, such as the controversy that arose a few months ago regarding MacBooks configured with only 8 GB of unified memory. At the time, the apple company said that a MacBook with 8 GB of RAM was like a PC with 16 GB, which of course not true.

As if that answer was a blatant lie. Apple had to change the argument. When asked about the 8GB memory issue in a new interview, Apple took a much simpler approach, saying that most users they do not need more than this amount because they end up using their equipment for basic tasks.

Well, what does Apple mean by basic tasks? Well, just like almost everyone, browsing the web, playing multimedia content, basic photo and video editing, and occasionally playing light games. Apple is probably right that many of those who buy their MacBook end up using it for pretty basic use, and in that case they wouldn’t need more than 8GB of memory, but then, Does it make sense to spend €1,299 on equipment for such a basic level of use? I think the question answers itself.

Right now, the MacBook Air is Apple’s cheapest 8GB laptop on the market. In its configuration with M3 SoC and 256 GB SSD, it costs 1,299 euros, and the top model with a more powerful GPU and 512 GB SSD costs 1,529 euros, although it retains 8 GB of memory. If we wanted to expand the memory of the basic model to 16 GB the total price would be 1,529 euros, a figure that is too high, especially if we compare it with what we find on the market from other brands.

For example the MSI Prestige 14 Evo would be an excellent and cheaper alternative as it is available 1,144.99 euros. This laptop is an ultra-light laptop with a premium aluminum finish that has an Intel Core i7-13700H processor with 14 cores and 20 threads, 16 GB of memory and a 512 GB SSD.

When it comes down to what really matters, is it true that 8GB of RAM is enough in a MacBook? For a very basic level of use, this is fine, but as soon as we start using the computer for minimally demanding things, we will miss such an amount of memory and the system will have no choice but to resort to the SSD drive. use parts of it as virtual memory.

It is important that I also remind you that the MacBook Air they have a welded memorywhich means if we buy a unit with 8GB of memory We will not be able to expand it in the future. With that in mind, I strongly recommend if you’re sure you’re going to buy one of these devices that you get the 16GB model because it will last longer in the end and because it will allow you to better amortize your investment.