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I am planning to get a MacBook Air 11" Early 2015 can the Ram and the flash storage be upgraded?
If yes, What would be the BEST options?
Please help guys.
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You can request an upgrade during purchase. You cannot upgrade RAM and cannot economically upgrade flash storage post purchase.
My personal opinion is that current applications require at least an i5 processor, 8GB RAM and 500GB storage.
But it really all depends on 2 main factors:
1/ Intended use: browsing the Internet, using office apps, and exchanging E-mails really don't require more than the basic/standard configuration of processor and RAM; no need to upgrade for that. However, more storage is always better if you have lots of media (music, photos, video), and/or if you are backing-up other devices to your laptop, and/or if you have a large amount of data that you need to migrate from your previous laptop or desktop.
2/ Future proofing: if you're the type who keeps a laptop for more than 3 years, you'd better get a more powerful unit in terms of processor, RAM, and even storage, so that your unit will last you 5 years (perhaps more) and still be able to handle more powerful apps and softwares, and store more and more media since we are moving towards more and more media-rich contents in everything we handle today.
In summary, and this being just my personal opinion, the best basic option should be the i5/4/256.
The best upgraded option should be the i5/8/512 or if you can afford the difference or need the computing power: i7/8/512.
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Thank you so much for the reply :)
But "cannot economically upgrade flash storage post purchase" mean?
RAM I am anyway getting 8GB. But for now I just want to get 128GB and later in a year or so upgrade it to 500GB. Do you think I could do that?
Technically, you could replace the SSD for the MacBook Air. But it is not a standard SSD. It is very expensive (in the hundreds of US dollars), and your 128GB won't sell for much in my opinion. Better wait and save the money to purchase the upgrade in the beginning. This way you will paying a difference for the upgrade, not paying the price of a completely new SSD.
Yep! Apples wording is confusing! Upgrade at time of purchase Really means: We have two systems one with 4GB and a second with 8GB. We also have three SSD storage offerings 128, 256 & 512GB. Whats so hard in telling people this???
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Sorry, Apple has confirmed that the MacBook and MacBook Air models (all) have non-upgradeable RAM. This is regrettable as I also have an Air 11' from mid-2013 and it is entirely inadequate for both Mavericks and especially Apple's latest OS Yosemite. For the record, I do not recommend deploying the latest OS in any situation. It has inherent security flaws that the company refuses to acknowledge nor patch (root kit exploits!).
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@Thomas - Apple has addressed the root kit issue in the latest updates for both Mavericks & Yosemite. Apple has not refused to fix things! I don't know where you got that idea. Yes, it does take time to first understand the flaw and to fashion a correction that doesn't cause other holes (testing it out). From a security perspective one does not shoutout from the highest hill there is a problem until you know you have one, and then even then you don't want to push it out until you have fixed it. All OS & App companies work in the same manor! If you think Apple has failed to catch something shame on you for not posting it on their security web site. As soon as I find something I post it and often they contact me to try the fix!
As to running out of memory you should have 1/4 to 1/3 of your Flash storage free for the OS to use. With SSD's this tends to be a bigger issue as the drives are so much smaller! Depending on your model you might want to check to see if you can upgrade the SSD to a larger size. Having a lot of Apps and/or large files open at once you can also push the system. While I do agree in HD modeled systems I recommend 8GB or RAM. SSD models are just fine with 4GB with Mavericks as well as Yosemite as the SSD's speed makes up for the lack of RAM unlike a slower HD.
Regrettably, as of last Friday (Aug. 21, 2015) The Register (UK) and several cyber-security firms have confirmed that Apple both refuses to acknowledge the existence of the Yosemite-targeting root kit and likewise has not produced a patch for it. I would be happy to provide the link for those who request it.
While Apple's operating systems have a reputation for strong security, they can still be subject to security vulnerabilities.
The latest example is a security flaw that could enable an attacker to get unrestricted root user privilege to the latest Mac operating system: OS X 10.10 Yosemite, German security researcher Stefan Esser warned in a blog post.
The flaw, called a privilege escalation vulnerability, comes from a new error logging feature added to the dynamic linker in which the "usual safeguards" were not used, Esser wrote. A privilege escalation vulnerability enables a user to get access to more functionality in an application than they would normally have.
This oversight in OS X 10 allows an attacker "to open or create arbitrary files owned by the root user anywhere in the file system," Esser said.
The good news is that the problem has been fixed in the beta version of the next iteration of the Mac operating system, OS X El Capitan.
This is certainly not the first vulnerability to be uncovered in the Mac operating system. Probably the most well-known Mac exploit goes by the name of the Flashback Tojan, which infected more than 600,000 Macs and recruited them to a botnet. Still, the number of security holes uncovered in the Mac OS pales in comparison to rival Windows, which has so many vulnerabilities that it needs a monthly security update known as Patch Tuesday.
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No way , you can't upgrade RAM of Macbook Air.
Apple made this model very slim and solder the RAM directly inside motherboard.
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5 Comments
I contacted Apple Support about this. They stated that the newest MBA 11" seelling for $899.00 has ugradeable ram to 8 Gb and that it can be replaced by the owner unlike previous models that had soldered ram chips.
I promptly bought one but havent yet done the upgrade or opened the case. This is a model A1465 purchased 6/19
by Repro Bate
I'll bet you my best pentalobe 5 screw driver that you're gonna be displeased when you look under the hood. Check the internals before you purchase any RAM module.
-First, it doesn't make sense that they would back-track on their design.
-Second, here's an extract from everymac.com:"The Apple MacBook Air "Core i5" 1.6 11-Inch (Early 2015/Broadwell) features a 14-nm "Broadwell ULT" 1.6 GHz Intel "Core i5" processor (5250U) with two independent processor "cores" on a single chip, a 3 MB shared level 3 cache, 4 GB of onboard 1600 MHz LPDDR3 SDRAM (which can be upgraded to 8 GB at the time of purchase, but cannot be upgraded later), 128 GB or 256 GB of PCIe-based flash storage, [...]."
-Third, check Step 7 of this teardown.
-In conclusion, IT'S NOT user upgradable. Keep us updated once you look under the hood.
by Rany
I hear you. I read that myself before calling them. I did a lot of digging and had several conflicting reports for both versions. I mentioned that it was stated in several media write ups and he, should have gotten his name, stated it was the newer model than early 2015, since it is mid June I figured OK.. If, when I open it, I find it as you say I will not be a happy camper and will make it known and see how well their customer service is, in reality, when I ask for the 8Gb model for only the difference in price or a refund.. we will see.
by Repro Bate
Waiting for your feedback them :)
by Rany
dosdude managed to upgrade the soldered RAM & CPU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y3kuPjNW...
by Ari Tjahjawandita