This is interesting to hear and the answer to my observation may be the way in which the new M1 SOC Macs utilize memory. I am running Catalina on a late 2014 27" iMac with 16 GB of RAM. As I type this 9 GB of memory are in use with only 5 running apps showing in the Dock. However, Dropbox and the Music app are using just under 1 GB according to Activity Monitor (about 95% of CPU is idle). Could I get by with "only" 8 GB?
On a Mac since 1984.
Currently: 24" M1 iMac, M2 Pro Mac mini with 27" BenQ monitor, M2 Macbook Air, MacOS 14.x; iPhones, iPods (yes, still) and iPads.
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