Apple MacBook Air gets unexpected upgrade: entry-level now has 16GB of RAM, with no price hike

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Apple sprang a trio of new M4 Macs on us this week, just as rumored, but the firm has also stealthily upgraded the current MacBook Air models in the background - now equipping them with 16GB of RAM as a base loadout.

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Apple Intelligence is coming to all Apple's devices, and is the driving force behind Macs getting 16GB at the entry-level (Image Credit: Apple)

As you probably haven't missed, all the Macs revealed this week - first we saw the iMac M4, then the Mac mini M4, and finally MacBook Pro M4 models - have 16GB of RAM at the entry-level, and Apple didn't hike the starting price because of this either (thankfully).

So, it makes some sense that Apple would apply the same treatment to the MacBook Air M3 (and M2), and indeed all these laptops now come with 16GB as a minimum, with the price sticking at the same level.

Bear in mind that previously, an upgrade to 16GB from the base 8GB amount of RAM would set you back $200 with the MacBook Air - a pretty nasty sting in the tail for what is, by today's standards, the memory loadout you're ideally looking at as a minimum.

This across-the-board beefing up of memory configurations is doubtless tied to the launch of Apple Intelligence. While these AI features can run on 8GB (as seen with the iPad Pro), it's likely not enough memory to do so comfortably with a Mac that might be running a pile of apps simultaneously - in this case, memory needs might run into difficulties with 8GB.

If you recall, wispy rumors of Apple giving all its Macs 16GB of RAM at a bare minimum were floating around earlier this year, and this prediction has apparently come to fruition. With the existing MacBook Air models being upgraded in this way, surely all new Macs going forward will get 16GB at the entry-level.

The future for 8GB Macs

The question is, for those who own 8GB machines, how are these Macs going to cope with Apple Intelligence going forward? While technically, the likes of the MacBook Air M1 8GB is supported for Apple Intelligence - any M1 Mac is - will just having 8GB of system memory end up bogging down such a laptop when AI is in the mix for workloads? Especially in the future, when the AI capabilities inevitably become more developed with macOS.

We'll only find out down the line, of course, but there may be some nervous Mac owners around when it comes to the prospect of how well their 8GB machine might age in respect of the AI functionality available with Apple Intelligence.

Those who only just bought a MacBook Air M3 entry-level model, with 8GB of RAM, might have particular cause for concern in that their shiny new laptop suddenly looks a little shakier in terms of future-proofing - and likely considerable dismay that they pulled the trigger on a purchase just a little too early.