The smallest common SSD size is just 128GB, which is about 25 percent of the capacity of the 500GB hard drives you find on many budget laptops. Bottom Line: Get at least a 256GB SSD, 512GB if you do more storage-heavy work.
The MacBook Air vs.Most MacBook Pro buyers will probably be better off with the M1, but some may be interested in the Intel Core i5 or Core i7 options. Both the Intel and the M1 versions of the 13-inch MacBook Pro come with an active cooling fan, which is something the MacBook Air lacks.
It really is not for a lot of use cases. 8GB RAM is a bare minimum for today's experience (less than that and even web browsing becomes a problem), 16 should be treated as a standard (especially since outside of Macs it's literally $50-60 for 16GB DDR4 with decent specs in retail).
As a relatively light user, you will probably find that everything you need adds up to 50GB or less, which will fit onto a 128GB SSD. Of course, it is better to have 256GB than 128GB, and larger SSDs perform better. But you don't actually need 256GB to run “most modern computer programs”.
128GB is not enough, it's not worth it if you ask me and you'd be very limited to the amount of apps, music, videos that you can download and keep on your macbook. If you're using under 128GB currently and don't plan to start things that require a lot more space (big games, media, etc), then 128GB is probably fine.
If you want to play it safe, the 512GB capacity may be a better fit. This gives you a bit more breathing room to install apps and desktop software without having to worry about maxing out the SSD. Let's not forget all the fun stuff you want to store locally, like photos from your iPhone and iPad backups.
Why do MacBooks have low storage? They are not designed to be your 'main' computer and thrive on being compact and lightweight to go anywhere. MacBooks utilize SSD storage rather than traditional storage, and the cost of SSD is continuously fluctuating, making it hard to go down in price.
Intel Quad-Core Core i5The i5 MacBook Air is more capable than the i3, and should be able to handle demanding software and multitasking more deftly. It also has a slightly higher Turbo Boost speed at 3.5GHz, compared to 3.2Ghz of the i3. This, however, comes at a cost.
MacBook Air is lightweight, sturdy, affordable, relatively powerful, has great battery life and a good display. It's just the near-perfect combination of all the laptop features out there. Some people argue about the difference between MacBook Air and MacBook Pro, as to which they should buy.
Yes, 128GB would be enough. You can even run Windows from an external hard disk without sacrificing any of the memory of your Mac. If you will be storing all the storage intensive files on the external drive, go for the 128 GB one. If not, buy the 256GB version.
MacBook Airs are not meant to be customer-opened to add or change storage. Apple will not do this for you either. You can sell your MacBook Air and purchase a new model with more storage. Consider installing a high capacity SD card for storage in the SD slot.
1. Choose between 8GB or 16GB of memory (RAM) It depends on what you intend to do with your Macbook Air. If you only use your MacBook Air to run a few basic programs at once, like email, some Excel, Word, a web browser, and iTunes, 8GB is fine.
We'd advise 8GB is basic if you're using a good lightweight editor, but 16GB is preferred. Gaming: Gamers always want as much RAM as possible, so the sky's the limit. We suggest an absolute minimum 16GB RAM, but scale it up as far as you can if you're going to be doing a lot of gaming.
The new MacBook Pro comes with two or four external ports, depending on the model you pick. And the new MacBook Air has a pair of ports. It connects via USB-C, and includes a USB-C pass-through port, two USB 3.0 ports, and an HDMI port with 4K (30Hz) support. With this, you don't have to carry around multiple adapters.
The top of the line MacBook Pro now comes with 8GB of RAM standard in the 13-inch model (upgradeable to 16GB at purchase time for $200) while the 15-inch is preloaded with 16GB and is non-upgradeable.
On the highest-tier iMac, pick a 256GB SDD (also just $100 more than the 1TB Fusion drive) for the system and use an external high-capacity drive for user files. USB 3.0 or 3.1 will be fast enough for user files with an hard drive or hybrid drive, as well as for an SSD for the system drive.
The reality is that 256GB of internal storage is probably going to be plenty enough for most people who don't already have (or anticipate having) a ton of locally stored photos, video, video games, or music that can't either be easily offloaded into the cloud, or to a backup drive.
If you are a creative or photographer who needs to store lots of files on your MacBook Air (M1, 2020), bump up your storage to either 1TB or 2TB. However, if you must decide on more storage or better memory, but not both, go with more memory.
