How Apple Secretly Made the MacBook Air Better

If you've been thinking about buying a new MacBook Air, now is as good a time as any, even though the last MacBook Air refresh wasn't until March 2024. So despite still being powered by the old M3 chip, the current MacBook Air lineup is more appealing than ever, thanks to this secret upgrade.

All MacBook Air models now start with 16GB of unified memory

Both the 13-inch and 15-inch MacBook Air models now come with 16GB of unified storage in their base configurations. That includes the cheapest MacBook Air you can buy, which starts at $999: the 13-inch MacBook Air M2.

If you recall, these MacBook Air models launched with 8GB of memory for the base configuration. In fact, this has been the case with every MacBook Air model to date. That's why you should avoid the base MacBook Air configurations.

If you need 16GB of unified memory, you'll have to shell out an extra $200, which is quite expensive compared to traditional RAM sticks. While 8GB of unified memory is acceptable for general use, it's never enough for any demanding tasks.

Apple finally addressed this concern by secretly increasing the unified storage across all models while keeping the price the same. Now, happily, all base MacBook Air models now offer incredible value for your money.

What should Apple upgrade next?

Now users can finally stop complaining about Apple shipping MacBooks with 8GB of memory and focus on the next big concern. That's storage. 256GB of storage isn't enough for a computer unless you're primarily using it for web browsing.

In 2024, many people would argue that 512GB is the bare minimum, especially since you can't expand the storage on your MacBook later. But then again, Apple charges a whopping $200 premium to upgrade to a 512GB SSD.

People don't mind paying $100 more for that storage, but $200 is a lot when you can find SSDs for less. Hopefully Apple decides to include 512GB of storage in the base configuration of the MacBook Air in a year or two, as apps, photos, and videos continue to get larger.

Samuel Daniel

Update 09 December 2024