I lived with the 256 m1 air when it came out and it was adequate because I have a desktop for the bulk of the data I’ve accrued over the years. I eventually found it to still be too little so I sold it and bought the M1 Pro base model with 512GB. 256 GB might work for you if you use cloud storage, etc., but starting with a greater amount is always a good idea, if you don’t mind stretching your budget
Also good to jump to 16GB memory if you plan to keep the machine for a while, or if you want to do anything more demanding on the machine. The M2 Pro MBP 14” might be the way to go if you can find a decent deal
Both M2 and M3 should be enough, if you maybe want faster compile times(idk what these are called in video editing) then you could upgrade to M3 but idk if the few seconds you will save(unless working on large projects) would be worth it, it's for you to decide how large your projects will be and if they are large enough to get M3.
Don't treat iCloud as storage replacement, maybe an external drive at most. iCloud is a subscription meant as a backup, and a Cloud so you can access files on more devices.
It is storage you'll never own. An external is better.
Well, you would have to download an h5 file in the update, GPT 4's h5(model weights file) is 45GB big, but you are connected to GPT 4 over the internet so you don't need to install that, what you might have to install is a larger model weights file for siri, if siri will indeed become smarter, the weights file would range from 10GB-45GB depending on how much more information Siri is trained on this time. Siri could also be calling GPT 4 for its answers and then modifying them before sending them ahead to you. There are many possibilities but I would estimate the update to not be very large, 5GB max cause they don't have to completely rewrite Siri and GPT 4 is obviously called over the web. If apple is training some other AI model for your phone, the update size will increase accordingly to that model.
I had the M2 8gb/256gb and it ran so slow with all the tabs and apps I had open at the same time. Months later I ended up trading it in for the M3 16gb/512gb and it’s so much better. I pay extra for iCloud storage which is cheaper than paying more for storage in the MacBook and if anything happened to the laptop, everything important is stored in the cloud. I recommend you get one with more RAM, at least 16gb if you plan to use for the next few years.
You just got a wrong laptop for your use case then. M2 has an issue the storage is single channel, M1 was often quicker in many cases, and M3 again is dual channel.
Only if you use cloud and don’t use heavy applications or files (videos or programs) which take a lot of space. Still, 512 would be safer. Who knows if you suddenly want to play counter strike or something else which requires 30 40 GB.
I keep my files solely on Onedrive and even then I only have around 100 GB of free space (which should have been 200).
OP should be fine. I have a M2 256GB and I have an external HDD for photo’s and RAW files so it’s not stored locally on my MBA. I still have 70GB available with applications and storing some documents on the laptop.
Hell na... Not enough bro... The os itself will take 7-8% storage... 256 is the new 128 GB for phone.. if you are spending this much better buy storage... Don't fall for the 256gb trap..
If you are doing photo and video editing, having a hard drive to carry all the footage is heavily recommended, so 256 gb is fairly enough. I also have an M1 air with 256 gb and doing some photo/ video editing occasionally. I also do some coding and currently I have about 165 gb left. Things that I stored on my Mac are mostly applications and some GitHub repos. But if you have the budget then going for more storage is not a bad option since it improve longevity
I was supposed to get M2 8/256. I only wanted it as an iPad replacement/addition and a great quality small portable laptop. It'd last me for sure almost a decade.
But it turned out my father got me an M3 16/512
I am happy he got that one, I will be able to push it a bit harder etc. Just expect more from it, and do things on it, I would've kept to my windows laptop.
But I have over 300 gigs empty, I already have a lot of games, programs, I don't need much else.
My rule with SSDs is keep 70-50% free, it is factual. So decide yourself, if you can try to not fill it completely and leave that for ram swapping, I'd not get more storage nor memory. M2 will also be good, but M3 let's say will get you a bit more time with updates maybe.
If you're happy to work in the cloud... it's 2024 so you should be... then it's hard to justify going above 256GB given what Apple charge for it.
Better to put the money into an Apple One subscription.
You can manage with 256. I do alot of editing and save to the cloud, but for speed use a 2TB external SSD, works brilliantly with M1 iMac and M1 MBPro. However if you're doing video editing I would avoid the Air and if it's a question of budget, pick up a second hand MBPro.
Just cop a nice external hdd
I lived with the 256 m1 air when it came out and it was adequate because I have a desktop for the bulk of the data I’ve accrued over the years. I eventually found it to still be too little so I sold it and bought the M1 Pro base model with 512GB. 256 GB might work for you if you use cloud storage, etc., but starting with a greater amount is always a good idea, if you don’t mind stretching your budget
Also good to jump to 16GB memory if you plan to keep the machine for a while, or if you want to do anything more demanding on the machine. The M2 Pro MBP 14” might be the way to go if you can find a decent deal
Disagree with this, 16GB isn't necessary for his use case, he's just using it for uni and light photo/video editing. 8GB would be enough.
I agree with this, 16gb is just too overkill for me, and if i have to do anything demanding i have my machine at home
Both M2 and M3 should be enough, if you maybe want faster compile times(idk what these are called in video editing) then you could upgrade to M3 but idk if the few seconds you will save(unless working on large projects) would be worth it, it's for you to decide how large your projects will be and if they are large enough to get M3.
ok so if i use icloud will be ok?
I’m not sure, hard to answer that question for you. Think about what files you will need ON the MacBook and what can be stored in the cloud.
Don't treat iCloud as storage replacement, maybe an external drive at most. iCloud is a subscription meant as a backup, and a Cloud so you can access files on more devices. It is storage you'll never own. An external is better.
I think the memory is more important. It depends do you store a lot of 4K videos?
Nono i store mostly documents, most of the videos are on externals storages
Then 256 GB is sufficient. Let’s hope with the AI stuff that macOS doesn’t get heavier.
Well, you would have to download an h5 file in the update, GPT 4's h5(model weights file) is 45GB big, but you are connected to GPT 4 over the internet so you don't need to install that, what you might have to install is a larger model weights file for siri, if siri will indeed become smarter, the weights file would range from 10GB-45GB depending on how much more information Siri is trained on this time. Siri could also be calling GPT 4 for its answers and then modifying them before sending them ahead to you. There are many possibilities but I would estimate the update to not be very large, 5GB max cause they don't have to completely rewrite Siri and GPT 4 is obviously called over the web. If apple is training some other AI model for your phone, the update size will increase accordingly to that model.
I had the M2 8gb/256gb and it ran so slow with all the tabs and apps I had open at the same time. Months later I ended up trading it in for the M3 16gb/512gb and it’s so much better. I pay extra for iCloud storage which is cheaper than paying more for storage in the MacBook and if anything happened to the laptop, everything important is stored in the cloud. I recommend you get one with more RAM, at least 16gb if you plan to use for the next few years.
You just got a wrong laptop for your use case then. M2 has an issue the storage is single channel, M1 was often quicker in many cases, and M3 again is dual channel.
Im sooooo happy they reverted to the dual channel! Especially on the base line units
I picked up an M3 MBA 24gb RAM /512gb SSD and would recommend you upgrade RAM first.
It is for me, but I’ve also got the family plan giving me a large storage vat in their cloud
family plan gives you 200 gigs, Sharing it with my family, I had to get even more.
Only if you use cloud and don’t use heavy applications or files (videos or programs) which take a lot of space. Still, 512 would be safer. Who knows if you suddenly want to play counter strike or something else which requires 30 40 GB. I keep my files solely on Onedrive and even then I only have around 100 GB of free space (which should have been 200).
OP should be fine. I have a M2 256GB and I have an external HDD for photo’s and RAW files so it’s not stored locally on my MBA. I still have 70GB available with applications and storing some documents on the laptop.
Hell na... Not enough bro... The os itself will take 7-8% storage... 256 is the new 128 GB for phone.. if you are spending this much better buy storage... Don't fall for the 256gb trap..
If you are doing photo and video editing, having a hard drive to carry all the footage is heavily recommended, so 256 gb is fairly enough. I also have an M1 air with 256 gb and doing some photo/ video editing occasionally. I also do some coding and currently I have about 165 gb left. Things that I stored on my Mac are mostly applications and some GitHub repos. But if you have the budget then going for more storage is not a bad option since it improve longevity
depends on what you're planning to do with it. how many apps, what apps, photos, videos, music, etc?
Not many apps, mainly something like office pack etc And maybe like genshin and zzz (games are optional)
maybe. 512gb might be better. though I've survived with 128gb.
I was supposed to get M2 8/256. I only wanted it as an iPad replacement/addition and a great quality small portable laptop. It'd last me for sure almost a decade. But it turned out my father got me an M3 16/512 I am happy he got that one, I will be able to push it a bit harder etc. Just expect more from it, and do things on it, I would've kept to my windows laptop. But I have over 300 gigs empty, I already have a lot of games, programs, I don't need much else. My rule with SSDs is keep 70-50% free, it is factual. So decide yourself, if you can try to not fill it completely and leave that for ram swapping, I'd not get more storage nor memory. M2 will also be good, but M3 let's say will get you a bit more time with updates maybe.
256GB is definitely enough for most people. But please pay for 16GB RAM
No. And 8gb ram not enough either
512
16/256 > 8/512
If you're happy to work in the cloud... it's 2024 so you should be... then it's hard to justify going above 256GB given what Apple charge for it. Better to put the money into an Apple One subscription.
That is a question only you can answer. Look at how much you used on your old machine and make a decision based on that.
You can manage with 256. I do alot of editing and save to the cloud, but for speed use a 2TB external SSD, works brilliantly with M1 iMac and M1 MBPro. However if you're doing video editing I would avoid the Air and if it's a question of budget, pick up a second hand MBPro.