If your palms are starting to sweat a little at this stage – stop, leave the selected 32GB as it is, and check out. So, what’s another 32GB on top of the base-spec M1 Max? Well, it’s another $400, which will make an already stratospherically expensive laptop astronomically expensive. This means, at that point, you’re already spending a metric tonne of cash on this laptop. You can only spec the new MacBook Pro up to 64GB of unified memory if you opt for the M1 Max chip.

If you’re worried about future-proofing your investment and have zero interest in spending a boatload of cash on another MacBook Pro in three years’ time, keep reading. If the $400 upgrade to 32GB of RAM feels as though it will offer a meaningful return on your investment in terms of productivity or uninterrupted joy, go for it. The same goes for music producers large sample libraries and certain software instruments are notorious memory hogs, and, quite simply, the more memory you have, the more enjoyable time you’ll have going about your work. Put simply, if you work with very large files or spend most of your day in Xcode, the 32GB option will result in a machine you can rely on to easily sail through the day. Indeed, I suspect it is what a significant number of MacBook Pro buyers have been waiting for since the launch of the M1 chip last year. Who is the 32GB MacBook Pro for?įor a great many people, straying beyond 16GB will make lots of sense. If you think you need more, keep reading. The performance of the M1 Pro alone will see you sailing through everything else. So, if your use case matches mine and you don’t want to stretch your wallet any further, get the 16GB. “The more memory your MacBook Pro has, the more apps you can run simultaneously, and the better they will perform,” says the memory guide pop-up on Apple’s website.īut how does this translate to real-world usage?Ī case in point: I’m confident that for my workflow – which involves 4K video editing, minor audio production, and all the normal ‘office work’ type stuff – I never push the limits of the 16GB memory in my M1 Mac mini.

And, as you’d expect, Apple does its best to tempt you to upgrade.

There’s a $400 difference between the two, which makes this a significant decision.

So, if the M1 Max just felt far too expensive and capable for your requirements, the next decision you’ll need to make rests between 16GB and 32GB of unified memory. The 16GB option is only available if you plump for the M1 Pro.

8 vs 16gb ram macbook pro