Oddball Memory Configurations
In another strange and somewhat inexplicable move, Apple has opted for an unusual mix-and-match M4 chip and RAM configuration on its MacBook Pro lineup.
Firstly, while the M4 Pro chip technically supports up to 64 GB of RAM, you’ll only be able to get that on the M4 Mac mini. The M4 Pro MacBook Pro caps out at 48 GB of RAM, and that’s the only upgrade you get from the base 64 GB. To add to the confusion, the M4 Max with a 14-core CPU maxes out at 36 GB.
In other words, you can get more memory with an M4 Pro chip than you can get with the lower-end M4 Max chip, and even more if you opt for a Mac mini instead of a MacBook Pro. To go beyond 48 GB on the new MacBooks, you’ll need to opt for the top-end M4 Max with a 16-core GPU and 40-core GPU.
Here’s a chart to illustrate the memory configurations available with each M4 chip:
| M4 | M4 Pro (Mac mini) | M4 Pro (MacBook Pro) | M4 Max (14-core) | M4 Max (16-core) | |
| 16 GB | X | ||||
| 24 GB | X | X | X | ||
| 32 GB | X | ||||
| 36 GB | X | ||||
| 48 GB | X | X | X | ||
| 64 GB | X | X | |||
| 128 GB | X |
Apple’s reasoning for this is unclear, but at least some of it seems like an artificial limitation intended to push folks toward the M4 Max chip if they want more memory. The smallest (512 GB) and largest (8 TB) SSDs are also only available with specific chip configurations, so you may have to play around a bit to get the configuration you want.