Apple’s new MacBook Air is beautiful, but skimps on RAM and storage

For as long as I can remember, I’ve dreamed of owning a large-screen MacBook Air. I was always stuck buying a MacBook Pro, however, due to it being the only Apple laptop with a screen size larger than 14 inches. I write for a living, and in my experience, typing lengthy works on anything less than a 15-inch screen just feels too cramped. That’s why I was thrilled when last year Apple released a 15-inch MacBook Air with an M2 chipset. I decided then that, as soon as Apple released an M3 version of the 15-inch Air, which used the new 3 nanometer process (or, 3nm, for short), making the chip faster and more powerful, I’d ditch my chunky MacBook Pro and finally get the thin and light Air I’ve always fantasized about. 

Apple has now released that new 15-inch MacBook Air, celebrating it as the “world’s best consumer laptop for AI,” thanks to its M3 chip. But when it comes to the Air’s very basic, most essential specs—its storage and RAM–—the new entry-level Air is still a letdown. It starts with just 256GB of storage and only 8GB of RAM.

In 2024, no laptop sold for a price starting above $1,000 should have such skimpy specs. (The 13-inch M3 Air starts at $1,099, and the 15-inch at $1,299). Apple has been offering that same 256/8 storage/RAM combo with its MacBook Airs since 2017—a full seven years ago. When I first read through the details of the new M3 Airs and saw those paltry entry-level offerings, I just groaned. Christ, Apple, not again.

Unless you are only using a laptop for basic web browsing, word processing, and emailing, it’s hard to see how 8GB of RAM is going to be enough for you. This is especially true if you do any kind of video editing on your device—not to mention if you want to do any kind of advanced gaming, or work with generative AI apps that Apple boasts about.

But worse than the minuscule 8GB of RAM in your $1,099+ laptop is the laughable 256GB of base storage that Apple offers in the new MacBook Air. On my current MacBook Pro, the laptop’s operating system, macOS, takes up nearly 15GB of storage by itself. And its accompanying system data, which the laptop requires in order to run, takes up another 45GB. That’s 60GB worth of data right there!

If you buy an M3 MacBook Air with just its base 256GB of storage, you’d have less than 200GB for your actual documents. My photo library alone is over 200GB, as are those of many MacBook users who now have several decades’ worth of digital photos and home videos they’ve taken. For me, an M3 MacBook Air with just 256GB of storage wouldn’t have the room to hold any of my other documents, emails, or messages—let alone apps.

The fact that Apple continues to cheap out on RAM and storage would be more tolerable if its prices for supplemental RAM and storage were reasonable, but the company still charges an arm and a leg for upgrades, even though both components are extremely inexpensive for a tech company to provide. For example, if you want a 15-inch MacBook Air with more than the 256/8 combo, which costs $1,299, you’ll need to spend an extra $400 for the next tier up to 512GB storage and 16GB RAM. That brings the cost of the MacBook Air to a whopping $1,699—just for the minimum specs most users require in 2024.

To put the Air’s scant 256/8 offering into more context, the entry-level iPhone 15 Pro Max comes with 256GB of base storage and 8GB of RAM. When Apple’s phone in your pocket has the same storage/RAM specs as the “world’s best consumer laptop for AI” you know something is off. And when you compare the new M3 MacBook Air to popular Windows PC ultra-thin laptops—such as the Lenovo Yoga 9i, which offers 512GB of storage and 16GB of RAM for $1,099, or the Acer Swift 3 OLED, which offers 512GB of storage and 16GB of RAM for just $599—you can’t help but think Apple has gone a bit mad.

The 15-inch M3 MacBook Air has long been my dream machine, and I still think it’s the most beautiful laptop Apple has ever made. But consumers should be aware that to bring it up to the base specs any laptop should have in 2024 means they’ll have to add 25% to that attractive $1,299 entry-level price Apple advertises.

Of course, Apple could help rectify this issue now by dropping the price of its RAM and storage upgrades, but it’s unlikely that will happen. Consumers’ hopes must turn to 2025 or 2026. Will Apple finally add more base storage and RAM to the M4 MacBook Air then? One can only dream.

For as long as I can remember, I’ve dreamed of owning a large-screen MacBook Air. I was always stuck buying a MacBook Pro, however, due to it being the only Apple laptop with a screen size larger than 14 inches. I write for a living, and in my experience, typing lengthy works on anything less than a 15-inch screen just feels too cramped. That’s why I was thrilled when last year Apple released a 15-inch MacBook Air with an M2 chipset. I decided then that, as soon as Apple released an M3 version of the 15-inch Air, which used the new 3 nanometer process (or, 3nm, for short), making the chip faster and more powerful, I’d ditch my chunky MacBook Pro and finally get the thin and light Air I’ve always fantasized about. 

Apple has now released that new 15-inch MacBook Air, celebrating it as the “world’s best consumer laptop for AI,” thanks to its M3 chip. But when it comes to the Air’s very basic, most essential specs—its storage and RAM–—the new entry-level Air is still a letdown. It starts with just 256GB of storage and only 8GB of RAM.

In 2024, no laptop sold for a price starting above $1,000 should have such skimpy specs. (The 13-inch M3 Air starts at $1,099, and the 15-inch at $1,299). Apple has been offering that same 256/8 storage/RAM combo with its MacBook Airs since 2017—a full seven years ago. When I first read through the details of the new M3 Airs and saw those paltry entry-level offerings, I just groaned. Christ, Apple, not again.

Unless you are only using a laptop for basic web browsing, word processing, and emailing, it’s hard to see how 8GB of RAM is going to be enough for you. This is especially true if you do any kind of video editing on your device—not to mention if you want to do any kind of advanced gaming, or work with generative AI apps that Apple boasts about.

But worse than the minuscule 8GB of RAM in your $1,099+ laptop is the laughable 256GB of base storage that Apple offers in the new MacBook Air. On my current MacBook Pro, the laptop’s operating system, macOS, takes up nearly 15GB of storage by itself. And its accompanying system data, which the laptop requires in order to run, takes up another 45GB. That’s 60GB worth of data right there!

If you buy an M3 MacBook Air with just its base 256GB of storage, you’d have less than 200GB for your actual documents. My photo library alone is over 200GB, as are those of many MacBook users who now have several decades’ worth of digital photos and home videos they’ve taken. For me, an M3 MacBook Air with just 256GB of storage wouldn’t have the room to hold any of my other documents, emails, or messages—let alone apps.

The fact that Apple continues to cheap out on RAM and storage would be more tolerable if its prices for supplemental RAM and storage were reasonable, but the company still charges an arm and a leg for upgrades, even though both components are extremely inexpensive for a tech company to provide. For example, if you want a 15-inch MacBook Air with more than the 256/8 combo, which costs $1,299, you’ll need to spend an extra $400 for the next tier up to 512GB storage and 16GB RAM. That brings the cost of the MacBook Air to a whopping $1,699—just for the minimum specs most users require in 2024.

To put the Air’s scant 256/8 offering into more context, the entry-level iPhone 15 Pro Max comes with 256GB of base storage and 8GB of RAM. When Apple’s phone in your pocket has the same storage/RAM specs as the “world’s best consumer laptop for AI” you know something is off. And when you compare the new M3 MacBook Air to popular Windows PC ultra-thin laptops—such as the Lenovo Yoga 9i, which offers 512GB of storage and 16GB of RAM for $1,099, or the Acer Swift 3 OLED, which offers 512GB of storage and 16GB of RAM for just $599—you can’t help but think Apple has gone a bit mad.

The 15-inch M3 MacBook Air has long been my dream machine, and I still think it’s the most beautiful laptop Apple has ever made. But consumers should be aware that to bring it up to the base specs any laptop should have in 2024 means they’ll have to add 25% to that attractive $1,299 entry-level price Apple advertises.

Of course, Apple could help rectify this issue now by dropping the price of its RAM and storage upgrades, but it’s unlikely that will happen. Consumers’ hopes must turn to 2025 or 2026. Will Apple finally add more base storage and RAM to the M4 MacBook Air then? One can only dream.