Re:Why 2016 is such a terrible year for the Mac
by grzm on Saturday November 05, 2016 @04:15PM
(#12881657)
I think they would as well. If I am buying a machine that I won't be able to upgrade the memory on, I'll very likely buy the maximum amount available. If I were in the market for a new laptop now, I'd buy the 16GB model.
AIUI, Apple made a choice to limit the memory to 16GB based on size and weight, and battery life. They'd need more power if they went with processors that handled 32GB, and that in turn would either diminish battery life or increase size and weight. Apple does have a strong desire for good battery life, size, and weight. That doesn't square with some of their existing or potential customers, but I'm sure they took that into account when they made their choice.
And there were rumors that there are going to be updates coming out next year.[0]
Note the update that this rumor does not line up with leaked Intel roadmaps, so it sounds doubtful. I also don't know the history of Kuo as a rumor source. I'm leaving this in for informational purposes only.
As an aside, I think SSD has changed this discussion quite a bit over the years as well. While still slower than RAM, SSD is so much faster[1] than HDD. We do always want faster, understandably. That said, swapping isn't nearly as bad as it was.
AIUI, Apple made a choice to limit the memory to 16GB based on size and weight, and battery life. They'd need more power if they went with processors that handled 32GB, and that in turn would either diminish battery life or increase size and weight. Apple does have a strong desire for good battery life, size, and weight. That doesn't square with some of their existing or potential customers, but I'm sure they took that into account when they made their choice.
And there were rumors that there are going to be updates coming out next year.[0]
[0]: http://www.macrumors.com/2016/10/31/macbooks-2017-price-cuts...
Note the update that this rumor does not line up with leaked Intel roadmaps, so it sounds doubtful. I also don't know the history of Kuo as a rumor source. I'm leaving this in for informational purposes only.
As an aside, I think SSD has changed this discussion quite a bit over the years as well. While still slower than RAM, SSD is so much faster[1] than HDD. We do always want faster, understandably. That said, swapping isn't nearly as bad as it was.
[1]: Yeah, that's an SI unit, I believe :)
Edited to qualify rumors of the 32GB MacBook Pro.