MacBook Air With M2 and M3 Chips Now Start With 16GB RAM

Apple has announced a RAM upgrade for the MacBook Air lineup alongside new MacBook Pro models with M4 chips. In a surprise move, the Cupertino-based company has doubled the base RAM configuration on M2 and M3 MacBook Air models to 16GB, from the current 8GB, without a corresponding price increase. Besides RAM, nothing else will change about the laptops. Both models will feature 13.6-inch Liquid Retina displays. The model with M3 offers 512GB storage, while the M2 version has 256GB storage.

MacBook Air Base Model Gets 16GB of RAM

During the Mac event on Wednesday (October 30), Apple announced that it has increased the base memory of its M2 and M3 MacBook Air models to 16GB without changing pricing. Both versions of the MacBook Air were sold with 8GB of RAM. The lineup still starts at $999 (roughly Rs. 83,000) in the US. It is offered in Midnight, Starlight, Silver, and Space Gray colours.

In India, the 13-inch MacBook Air with the M2 chipset is priced at Rs. 1,14,900 for the base 16GB RAM variant. The 13-inch MacBook Air with M3 chipset with 16GB RAM can be purchased for Rs. 1,34,900.

The increased memory will offer more resources for Apple Intelligence features announced in the macOS Sequoia update. It is likely to enhance app operation and multitasking capability as well. Apple launched the latest 13-inch and 15-inch MacBook Air models with the M3 chipset in March this year. The brand is likely to bring new models with the M4 chip same time next year. 

Beyond a RAM update, the hardware features of the MacBook Air will remain unchanged. They'll keep the same 13.6-inch Liquid Retina panels with a peak brightness of 500nits. The M3 version packs 512GB SSD for storage, whereas the M2 starts at 256GB. The MacBook Air models also include MagSafe 3 charging port, and two Thunderbolt/ USB 4 ports for connectivity.