Apple made a huge statement when it announced three new Mac computers powered by its all-new silicon processor called the M1 chip. But despite the performance and efficiency gains the M1 chip allows, there is one notable limitation: memory. If you are looking for a MacBook or MacBook Air with 32 or 26 GB RAM you will need to purchase an older, Intel-based model. Right now, the M1 cannot support more memory. But why is this?
This decision is definitely not good news to some power users interested in switching over to the Arm-based laptops or the new Mac mini, considering older Intel-based models can carry as much as 32GB of RAM. Apple said limitations on memory options were to conserve battery life.
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Another insight to be gleaned from these memory constraints is that future Macs may need a newer Arm-based processor. It would be silly for Apple to sell a new iMac, 16-inch MacBook Pro, or Mac Pro with the M1 chip if it meant constricting configurations to 16GB of RAM, something that simply would not fly for the professional community those machines are geared toward.
The other reason for the 16 GB RAM limitation with the M1 Chip that is worth mentioning is that Macs with the new chip will not work with external Graphical Processing Units (GPUs). That’s a particularly tricky constraint for the new Mac mini, which is already hamstrung by its memory ceiling and furthermore can’t be used with a more powerful graphics chip and enclosure combo, as some of having done in the past with Apple laptops and the 2018 and earlier Mac minis. Apple also says the RAM on M1 models is not upgradable — it’s integrated into the system-on-a-chip, so you can’t upgrade an 8GB model with another stick of RAM.
Based on all this information, its is clear that Apple cannot do away with it’s Intel Mac products for now. Those models may not be as efficient or performant, but they allow for more memory, more versatility, and in some cases contain more ports.
