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Comment by Flockster | Hacker News Reader

Did I see it correctly, that the iMac only comes with 8GB Ram configurations?

Doesn't the MacBooks come with an 16GB option?

16GB RAM usually not a base config option but shows up in the configurator once you select one of the 2-3 base models. TBD once the store reopens.

the other M1 macbook only has 8gb possible

it would be consistent for this to only have it, unfortunately

edit: this is incorrect. 16gb is available, didn't realize.

Both M1 MacBooks have 8 or 16 GB RAM.

That's not so. I'm writing from an M1 MacBook Pro with 16GB factory installed memory.

oh. I should have upgraded then.

ah that's right its also the absence of a >13inch M1 machine that keeps me on the fence

It's ridiculous that Apple ships 8GB configurations in 2021. My company bought me a MacBook pro M1 with only 8GB of ram by mistake and it's extremely frustrating to have so little ram. I look forward to replace it with a laptop with 32GB of ram. Meanwhile I run devops stuff in the cloud because the laptop has not enough ram for that. Once safari advised me to close the jira tab to save ram. Such a shame.

If your use case needs more RAM then simply chose the 16GB option.

8GB RAM is fine for a large portion of casual users and if it keeps the base price down I'm okay with it.

Yes I wanted the 16GB one since 32GB is not available yet on Apple M1. But Apple sells a premium laptop that is not good enough for many of their users. That's a fact. 8GB is ridiculous and Apple is rich enough to afford 16GB by default on their premium "pro" laptops.

It should not cost $200 for 8gb of RAM. Apple has been asking this price for like 10 years. It's ridiculous.

What kinda software are you running?

Classic devops stuff :

- A web browser with many open tabs. - An audio player - A few code editors / IDE - A chat / video conference software since COVID-19 - An email client once in a while that I tend to leave open - Various development tools - The software stack of my company for development in a Linux VM

Fair, my setup is almost identical, except I also do some video editing and I have been very happy with the 16GB MBP 13" (coming from a 32GB MBP 16"). So maybe consider trying to swap your 8GB for a 16GB before thinking you absolutely need 32GB.

I'm surprised since I heard the difference was small at worst. Could you elaborate on the RAM issues?

I have the 16GB but I push my machine hard and I usually have gigs swapped and I've been absolutely blown away by the performance of my M1 MBP. Was able to step down from a 32GB version without any issue. I'm kinda surprised you're having such a hard time with 8.

https://www.apple.com/imac-24/specs/

> Configurable to 16GB unified memory

Given they come in multiple colours (and this was a selling point), it looks more aimed at home users/classroom - web browsing, watching movies, light photography/video/audio editing, etc.

Those seeking more power would likely opt for a MBP and external monitor.

Maybe it's a bto option. The Ethernet port seems to be gone though.

They moved the ethernet port into the power adapter.

That could be the case. The Ethernet-Port is moved to the Powerbrick.

apparently it's in the charging brick

It’s in the (MagSafe!) power brick, which is super weird.

I think it is a pretty neat idea. It is not a cable I want to add/remove often, so not having it coming up to the table, at least sounds nice on paper.

No Ethernet port on a desktop is just insane. I can see the sense in saying "your dock is Thunderbolt and Ethernet goes on the dock" for laptops, but on a dekstop?

I don't think it's a bad choice. That way you only need one cord dangling from the device; the ethernet cord can be attached under the desk. It's actually a thoughtful feature; most people are annoyed by the usual mess of wires. This helps with that.

They could have added more ports, then.

It's on the power adapter and shares the same cord as the power cable so only 1 cable is needed to the iMac.

macOS is not windows

that OS and the apps over there are supper efficient

it is the same story as iPhone vs Android phones, android always needed 2x more ram/battery than iPhones because the android ecosystem is bloated and slow, just like windows

That was not the question. I was comparing it to other MacOS devices

And it has soldered SSD, so it can swap really really fast ;)

I have an 8GB M1 air. It's fine on day one when you power it on and have a single safari tab, but leave a few things open and its swap hell. The SSD may be fast but it really takes away from the magic when your waiting multiple seconds to switch to another app's window. I regret not waiting for a custom configured 16GB one.

Yeah, no. I use my Mac for software development, and Docker eats RAM for lunch. I absolutely 100% would not own an 8GB Mac today.

I don't care how memory efficient a particular application is when the size of the data it's processing has grown enormously.

That is why they offer options, my grandmother doesn't need 32gb of ram to browse a recipe website or to watch netflix

8GB is to remind software developers that it is plenty enough

You don't want to be in the Android situation where everyone have 4gb-16gb ram in their phones, and as a result developers are bloating their apps with poor programming models, wich results in needs of bigger battery and bigger disk space, this is bad

There is nothing that prevents a developer from writing bad applications for any platform. What you said is also not empirically true. There are many sluggish and resource intensive apps on OSX, Adobe's apps, Chrome, Apples own XCode comes to mind.

I haven't used Android phones but my experience with Apple tells me that the phones get slower with every update.

8gb of ram and 256gb SSD make this a fashion accessory, a fancy email/news/facebook machine for your desk/office. I think these are going to be wildly popular actually. I hope it leads to a better mid-range iMac somewhere between this and a $5000 iMac pro.

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