Apple admits 8GB RAM isn't enough for Macs

At its WWDC 2024 developer conference, Apple announced new software for developers, including Xcode 16, which is used to create apps for iOS and macOS. One of the features in Xcode now requires M-series silicon to have at least 16GB of unified memory, marking the first time Apple has implicitly acknowledged that 8GB of RAM won't be enough in 2024.

Even professional machines like the MacBook Pro start with 8 GB of RAM.

According to XDA Developers , the feature in Xcode 16 that now requires more than 8GB of RAM is called Predictive Code Completion. This feature uses machine learning to predict what code the author might want to write next and it writes it for them. This is becoming a hot commodity in the programming world as AI-powered chatbots become more and more efficient at generating code. The company announced a beta version of Xcode 16 at the event, noting that this new feature will require an M-series chip with 16GB of memory.

There are currently millions of Macs with M-series silicon that come with 8GB of RAM, as that has been the base configuration since the M1 first appeared in 2020. Those machines can still run Xcode 16, but they can't use Predictive Code Completion. Apple's notes state: "Xcode 16 comes with predictive code completion, powered by a machine learning model specifically trained for Swift and the Apple SDK. Predictive code completion requires a Mac with Apple Silicon and 16GB of unified memory, running macOS 15."

The 16GB memory requirement for the M-series chips is a first for Apple, and could be the start of Apple breaking away from its reliance on 8GB as the base configuration for Macs. As recently as November 2023, the company was still arguing that 8GB of RAM on a Mac was the same as 16GB on a PC and was more than enough for most people. That might be true for a basic machine like the MacBook Air or 24-inch iMac, but offering 8GB of memory on a machine designed for demanding workloads like the MacBook Pro is simply unreasonable.

Apple customers have repeatedly called on the company to increase the minimum RAM in the base model from 8GB to 16GB for years. However, the company has not done so, instead asking customers to pay an additional $200 to double the RAM, which has made it difficult for many customers to buy a Mac.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/apple-thua-nhan-ram-8-gb-la-khong-du-cho-may-mac-185240625062134086.htm