Apple Doubles Price for Memory Capacity Upgrade for 13-Inch MacBook Pro

News
By Niels Broekhuijsen
published

Now you'll need $200 to reach our minimum recommended spec

Apple MacBook Pro 13 inch 2020
(Image credit: Apple)

Just under a month ago, Apple announced its new 13-inch MacBook Pro, which ditched the butterfly keyboard in favor of the new Magic Keyboard, and added two new 10th Gen CPU options to the lineup. However, the standard memory configuration on the entry-level models weighed in at just 8GB of LPDDR3, which really isn't adequate, leading many buyers to opt for the memory upgrade.

Previously you paid $100 to double capacity from 8GB to 16GB, which brought you right up to speed with a good memory pool. But it looks like that price was not to stay, as Apple has now doubled the price on the two entry-level Macbook Pro 13's with 8th-Gen Intel Core processors, as spotted by MacRumors. 

(Image credit: Apple)

At $200, the upgrade suddenly becomes a pricy ordeal, but you'd still be tempted to swing it because 8GB of LPDDR3 really hamstrings the device. Today, 8GB barely does the job, meaning you'll set yourself up for early replacement of the entire device if you don't go for the upgrade.

It's unclear why Apple has decided to raise the price, but it could well have something to do with the use of LPDDR3. The standard is aging, and while availability was already increasingly difficult, it worsened due to the Coronavirus pandemic. Nevertheless, RAM prices might be on the rise, but they certainly haven't doubled. 

Unfortunately, if you are in the market for a new MacBook Pro and you need 16GB of RAM, your best bet is to accept the price hike and not look back. The memory in the MacBook comes soldered to the motherboard, meaning the installation of additional memory later in the device's life isn't possible without changing out the entire mainboard.

Niels Broekhuijsen
Niels Broekhuijsen

Niels Broekhuijsen is a Contributing Writer for Tom's Hardware US. He reviews cases, water cooling and pc builds.

8 Comments Comment from the forums
  • Zizo007
    I hate how Apple is taking advantage of its customers. Their products are already way overpriced. My friend's 4800H 16Gb 1660Ti 144Hz Asus TUF laptop beats the best MacBook Pro for only 1200$.
    Reply
  • King_V
    2Be_or_Not2Be said:
    Off topic - has anyone else noticed very high CPU usage when hitting Tom's homepage? I don't get any load with the Forums or other websites, but man, I get massive load on all cores on Tom's homepage. Makes me wonder if they have a problem; maybe even loading something it shouldn't from the homepage. Perhaps an ad compromise or something.
    This really would be more appropriate in the Forum Feedback section (even though it's the main site, rather than the forum section), rather than hijacking a news item thread.
    Reply
  • AlistairAB
    Who is seriously going to buy any Macbook Pro if Apple doesn't get with the program and put a Ryzen 4000 CPU in it? AMD is offering 8 cores for the same price as last year's 4 core models. As the other guy said, you get 144hz screens with 1660 ti's, 8 core Ryzen CPUs and even a 90WH battery option for less than Apple's cheapest.
    Reply
  • 2Be_or_Not2Be
    King_V said:
    This really would be more appropriate in the Forum Feedback section (even though it's the main site, rather than the forum section), rather than hijacking a news item thread.

    True! I apologize for the hijack. I just put it out there in my haste to get a small sampling of feedback. I just noticed this myself when I noticed my fans spinning up a lot when I only had Tom's homepage loaded.
    Reply
  • daglesj
    He is right though. Something is running wild on that page. My CPU hits 20%+ on it, 2% when not.
    Reply
  • 2Be_or_Not2Be
    daglesj said:
    He is right though. Something is running wild on that page. My CPU hits 20%+ on it, 2% when not.

    Just saw a thread on the Forum Feedback section that details a "responsive" Javascript error that is causing high CPU usage. Apparently Tom's has had this issue for several weeks & hasn't fixed it yet. Maybe it's a problem with Future's CDN. It does hit Firefox users higher than Chrome, apparently. Forums are fine, though.
    Reply
  • cryoburner
    At $200, the upgrade suddenly becomes a pricy ordeal, but you'd still be tempted to swing it because 8GB of LPDDR3 really hamstrings the device.
    Or, you know, tempted to go with a different device from another company that isn't price-gouging it's customers so much. The difference in cost between 8 and 16GB of RAM is only around $30-$40 at retail, and even less for a manufacturer like Apple, so charging around 5 to 6 times that much for it is clearly excessive.

    I guess they figure people will really be wanting that "Magic Keyboard", which is pretty much just the old keyboard, before they made it worse. : P
    Reply
  • daglesj
    cryoburner said:
    Or, you know, tempted to go with a different device from another company that isn't price-gouging it's customers so much. The difference in cost between 8 and 16GB of RAM is only around $30-$40 at retail, and even less for a manufacturer like Apple, so charging around 5 to 6 times that much for it is clearly excessive.

    I guess they figure people will really be wanting that "Magic Keyboard", which is pretty much just the old keyboard, before they made it worse. : P


    Yeah cos having just one USB port is so useful and forward thinking too. But when you spent $2500 on $800 worth of laptop you have to convince yourself you did the right thing.
    Reply