Why Has My 2020 M1 MacBook Air Run Out of Application Memory??

Suggest downloading the Application Etrecheck directly from a well Respected ASC Contributor. 

The application is free or paid from added features. 

Run the application with Full Disc Access ( Security & Privacy - Full Disc Access ).

It will take a Snap Shot -  both the hardware and software.

 The Report will Not Reveal Any Personal Information. 

Post back the Full Report - copy and paste - using the Additional Text Icon ( 3rd Icon to last )

We can have a look at the report for possible issues and may have possible suggestions to resolve the issues.

Any Third Party Applications that will interfere with the normal operation of the OS, alter, modify, remove or delete or attempt to do so is an invitation for disaster and may require a Reinstallation of the OS.

This includes AntiVirus, Disk Cleaners, Disk Optimizes, UnInstaller etc.

This will include CleanMyMac 

The The Built in Security  is all that is required.

Old Toad pointed out "Enabling the option of changing the cursor's color will trigger a memory leak in some browsers causing the Application Memory warning. That's changed under System/Accessibility/Display/Cursor preference pane."

I did change the color of the cursor (bright green) so now I have reset it. back to the default. I use the Chrome browser. I will see if this solves the problem of the "Run out of application memory".

Enabling the option of changing the cursor's color will trigger a memory leak in some browsers causing the Application Memory warning. That's changed under System/Accessibility/Display/Cursor preference pane.

Also how much memory do yo have: 8 GB or 16 GB?

How many apps do you have open?

How many windows/tabs do you have open in your browser?

What browser do you use?

There is no reason to ever install or run any 3rd party "cleaning", "optimizing", "speed-up", anti-virus, VPN or security apps on your Mac.  This user tip describes what you need to know and do in order to protect your Mac: Effective defenses against malware and other threats - Apple Community.  

There are no known viruses, i.e. self propagating, for Macs.  There are, however, adware and malware which require the user to install although unwittingly most of the time thru sneaky links, etc.   

Anti Virus developers try to group all types as viruses into their ad campaigns of fear.  They do a poor job of the detecting and isolating the adware and malware.  Since there are no viruses these apps use up a lot of system resources searching for what is non-existent and adversely affect system and app performance.

There is one app, Malwarebytes, which was developed by a long time contributor to these forums and a highly respected member of the computer security community, that is desshoigned solely to seek out adware and known malware and remove it.  The free version is more than adequate for most users.  

Firstly - please do not consider and Disk Cleaners or Disk Optimizers at all even if some may appear on the Apple Apps Store. They tend to create havoc, modify, alter, remove elements of the OS to the point have having to Reinstall the OS After these application are removed.

Same goes for Antivirus programs . AntiVirus Software should be removed as per Developers Instructions. They are unneeded, cause havoc and interfere with the normal operation of the OS including the download and installation of Monterey.

There are no known Windows-like Viruses in the wild that self replicate and affect macOS because of the underling UNIX  Foundation and Permission Limitation

Try using the built-in Application called Activity Monitor >> View >> View ALL Processes and look in CPU tab for unusually heavy CPU Usages by Application or Process name . Do the same in the Memory tab

To get a more in-depth view of how the hardware and software are functioning >>

Suggest downloading the Application Etrecheck directly from a well Respected ASC Contributor.  Safe to use.

Disclaimer: I am not affiliated with nor receive compensation from the Developer.

The application is free or paid from added features. 

Run the application with Full Disc Access ( Security & Privacy - Full Disc Access ).

It will take a Snap Shot -  both the hardware and software.

 The Report will Not Reveal Any Personal Information. 

Post back the Full Report - copy and paste - using the Additional Text Icon ( 3rd Icon to last )

We can have a look at the report for possible issues and may have possible suggestions to resolve the issues.

Any Third Party Applications that will interfere with the normal operation of the OS, alter, modify, remove or delete or attempt to do so is an invitation for disaster and may require a Reinstallation of the OS.

This includes AntiVirus, Disk Cleaners, Disk Optimizes, UnInstaller etc.

The The Built in Security  is all that is required.

Keep Activity Monitor on and watch the memory graph. If you get a "out of memory" warning check the graph to see if it's in the yellow or red zone and what app is using the most memory. We'll keep our collective fingers crossed - 🤞

Check to be sure your max auto-updated to the most recent version of the IOS you’re using. Mine had not. I have t been able to reproduce the issue—though it tended to just happen randomly anyway, so we’ll see…

We really can't help you if we don't know what's going on inside your system, etc. EtrecheckPro is a very safe app to have and does not present any personal data. Even the hard drive names are reduced to the first and last letter of their names.

Welcome :-)

As you mentioned the ESET was removed as per Developers Instruction one should be good to go with the Monterey upGrade.

May it be suggested to do a Time Machine Backup before attempting.

Should one what to do another step before the Monterey upgrade for checking the system for any stray possible issues Software Wise - there is a very good tool available called Etrecheck. Just search for it and it is safe to use from a reliable ASC Contributor

Tips Monterey Upgrade 

I have this same problem many times a day -- with this NEW MacBook Pro with the M1 chip and 16 GB memory. Before I had only 8 GB of memory on a MacBook Pro Intel Chip and NEVER did I see that message. I am running the same apps. Something strange is happening here??? Any clues?

I just got mine 2 months ago, with 16gbs of ram and the most updated Big Sur software available. I contacted their support team and they told me to upgrade to Monterey or get bent, basically. They can't even make a reliable OS anymore, so why would I bother upgrading to a OS that has more useless features? I was on a website, Macworld.com reading a article. 20 minutes go by and the website took almost 7gbs of ram! For a website! Apple saw this and gave a BS excuse and didn't want to help me. Mind you, I am under warranty and I am not at all satisfied. Lets keep letting them know because it seems a lot of people are having memory issues with m1 Processor! My windows 10 Dell laptop on the same website does not have this issue! Could it be Safari or the m1 processor, who knows, but they need to listen and look! Mac OS Big Sur is still a supported OS!

What system version are you running? If it's 12.0.1 then update to the latest version, 12.1. There's a problem with 12.0.1 in that if you change the color of the cursor arrow that will trigger memory leaks. V 12.1 fixes that.

I'm on a MacBook air M1 chip running Big Sur. I have 16 GB of memory and I get the out of application memory frequently. When I look to see what is using memory, it's just Safari and Chrome. None of the other open applications are using memory. My cursor color is set to the default. Do I need to add more application memory and is it possible to do so?