7 ways to free up macOS unified memory on Apple silicon (2024)

There's a lot to like about Apple silicon processors, such as their fast performance and excellent power efficiency. However, as someone who grew fond of upgrading the RAM, storage, and even the CPUs in older Macs, it's a shame that no Apple silicon Mac can be upgraded. That's because the M-series processor that powers all modern Macs is a system-on-a-chip that includes unified memory, which is non-upgradable and is shared throughout the system.

With that in mind, what choices do you have if you're running out of unified memory on an Apple silicon Mac? Not many. You could either buy a new Mac, or take a few steps to optimize and reduce your memory usage in software. Being that Apple computers are expensive, it's a good idea to see if simple tips and tricks can solve your memory woes before going out and buying a new system. Whether you're using an older version of macOS or the latest macOS Sequoia, these seven steps will help you avoid insufficient memory issues on your Mac.

7 Use third-party software

Parallels Toolbox is a pretty great way to clear macOS memory

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If you want a quick and easy way to solve your memory issues, there are third-party apps that aim to do just that. These apps aren't vaporware — they can actually help avoid messages like Your Mac has run out of application memory. However, third-party apps are also last on this list for a reason. That's because the other six steps are completely free, and there's a chance you could get the same result by taking some action of your own.

For those who are keen on using an app to free up memory, we recommend Parallels Toolbox. It's included with Parallels Desktop 20, an app we love for bringing plenty of virtualization software tools and features to macOS. Within the Toolbox, clicking the Free Memory option will take a few automatic steps to reduce macOS memory usage in a snap.

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6 Remove unneeded login items

Apps that launch automatically at startup could slow your Mac down

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Unfortunately, there are too many macOS apps that automatically open up at startup by default. This creates an inherent problem for people who are low on system memory. If there are a handful of apps running in the background that aren't being used, they will end up eating memory that could be better served powering the apps that are front and center.

Luckily, there's an easy way to stop a macOS app from opening at startup.

  1. Find an app in the macOS Dock that is automatically opening at startup.
  2. Right-click or Control-click that app in the dock.
  3. Hover your cursor over the Options tab in the overlay menu.
  4. If there is a checkmark next to Open at Login, this app is set to open at startup. Click the Open at Login text to reverse this behavior.

When you've changed this setting, memory usage won't spike immediately after booting up your Mac. You can also follow the 10 tips in the article below to modify essential settings to make a Mac your own, like seeing every app set to open at startup.

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5 Clean up your desktop

Each icon could be hogging macOS system memory

It's good practice to keep a neat and tidy desktop, but on macOS, it's crucial for preserving memory. That's because macOS treats every desktop icon as a tiny open window, which each uses up a small amount of memory. If you have hundreds or thousands of desktop icons on macOS, this can add up to consume a significant amount of memory.

Apple has a feature called Stacks that automatically hides and groups desktop icons by file type, but this isn't a replacement for file organization. To keep your computer running smoothly, take the time to get rid of all those desktop shortcuts and organize them properly in your macOS file system.

4 Manage your open browser tabs

Having a bunch of open windows can seriously eat up RAM

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Similarly, try to avoid keeping a ton of browser tabs open in the background. Safari is pretty memory-conscious as far as browsers go, whereas Google Chrome hogs up memory like no other browser. It's a good idea to close out unneeded tabs and windows to keep your Mac running smoothly. If you're curious just how much RAM your browsing habits consume, keep reading on, because we'll show you exactly how to check in Activity Monitor.

3 Limit open Finder tabs and windows

Finder is a useful tool, but background usage can negatively affect system memory

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Remember how each desktop icon consumes a small amount of memory on macOS? Well, to some degree, the same is true of icons in the Finder. When a Finder window is opened, macOS traces the file path for each file that is stored in the open location or folder. For example, if you have the Recents tab opened in Finder, macOS is remembering the location of all the visible files using your Mac's system memory.

To avoid wasting valuable unified memory, try not to keep extra Finder windows open. More importantly, avoid leaving Finder windows open on large locations — things like Desktop, Documents, Downloads, or Recents. These will have the most files within, and keeping these locations open will use the most macOS memory.

2 Check Activity Monitor for apps and processors

See an unneeded process taking up a lot of memory? Kill it

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One of the best ways to resolve system memory issues is to track down the exact apps and processes that are troublesome. Luckily, you can do that using the Activity Monitor app. You can find it by searching for that name in Spotlight, or finding the Activity Monitor app under Launchpad > Utilities. From there, clicking the Memory tab will show you every individual process and how much memory it is consuming.

For example, you might see an app like Pixelmator Pro consuming a few gigabytes of memory by itself. Or, you'll see individual processes — like websites and browser tabs. When you find a suspect app or process, click the Stop icon in the toolbar. Then, click either Quit or Force Quit. You can also analyze Activity Monitor while you use your Mac to find out which activities in your workflow stress your Mac the most. If possible, make changes or find alternatives to reduce RAM usage.

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1 Restart your Mac

Give this basic step a try if you need to clear your memory

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Now that you've used these steps to limit and make changes to your RAM usage, it's time to do something simple: restart your Mac. This extremely quick and easy step is a great way to start from a clean slate with unified memory usage. Since you've removed login items, your Mac will boot up with minimal memory usage — assuming you don't check the box to open windows automatically upon restarting. It may be a pain to do, but simply turning your computer on and back on again can temporarily solve your memory problems.

How much RAM should you buy on a new Mac?

Of course, there's only so much you can do to resolve memory problems on your Mac when the hardware can't keep up with your performance demands. I've tried Macs with 8GB and 16GB of memory this year, and have personally run into memory issues on both configurations. That's why you should carefully consider how much memory you need before you buy a new Mac. We recommend either 16GB or 32GB as a minimum, but it's a good idea to buy the most you can afford to future-proof your system.

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I used a Mac with 8GB memory for 9 months in 2024, here's how it went

Is the starting amount of unified memory enough on Apple silicon in 2024? We tested it.

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7 ways to free up macOS unified memory on Apple silicon (2024)

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