[gcanyon]

I think Apple stumbled into a problem here, and I hope they solve it: reasonably priced Macs are -- by the new standards set by modern LLMs -- severely memory-constrained. MacBook Airs max out at 24GB. MacBook Pros go to 32GB for $2200, 48GB for something like $2800, and to get to 128GB requires shelling out over $4000. A Mini can get you to 64GB for $2000. A Mac Studio can get you to 96GB for $3000, or 192GB for $5600.

In this LLM era, those are rookie numbers. It should be possible to get a Mac with a lesser processor but at least 256GB of memory for $2000. I realize part of the issue is the lead time for chip design -- since Mac memory is an integral part of the chip, and the current crop were designed before the idea of running something like an LLM locally was a real probability.

But I hope the next year or two show significant increases in the default (and possible) memory for Macs.

[senko]

> It should be possible to get a Mac with a lesser processor but at least 256GB of memory for $2000.

Apple is not known for leaving money on the table like that.

Also, projects like NVidia DIGITS ($2k for 128G) might make Apple unwilling to enter the market. As you said, Studio with 192G is $5600k. For purely AI purposes, two DIGITS' are a better choice, and non-AI usages don't need such ludicros amount of RAM (maybe for video, but those customers are willing to pay more).

[gcanyon]

> Apple is not known for leaving money on the table like that.

True -- although I will say the M series chips were a step change in performance and efficiency from the Intel processors they replaced, and Apple didn't charge a premium for them.

I'm not suggesting that they'll stop charging more for RAM than the industry at large -- I'm hoping they'll unbundle RAM from CPU-type. A base Mac Mini goes for $600, and adding RAM costs $200 per 8GB. That's a ridiculous premium, clearly, and at that rate my proposed Mac Mini with 256GB of RAM would go for $6600 -- which would roll my eyes until they fell out of my head.

But Apple is also leaving money on the table if they're not offering a more expensive model people would buy. A 128GB Mini, let's say, for $2000, might be that machine.

All that said, it's also a heck of a future-proof machine, so maybe the designed-obsolescence crowd have an argument to make here.