The new 13-inch MacBook Pro, which features Apple’s M2 chip, has finally arrived in stores and also in the hands of customers. While the M2 brings performance improvements over the M1, this doesn’t seem to be the case when it comes to storage speed. Tests done with the new M2 MacBook Pro show that its entry-level model has a slower SSD than the M1.
As YouTube channels such as Max Tech and Created Tech (via MacRumors) point out, the base model of the new M2 MacBook Pro, which has 256 GB of memory, provides lower SSD speeds than the previous generation 13-inch MacBook Pro with M1.
The tests were conducted with the Blackmagic Disk Speed Test, which is a comparative application that allows users to test the performance and measure the transfer rate of any internal or external memory on a Mac. Surprisingly, instead of providing better results than its predecessor, the 256GB M2 MacBook Pro deteriorated in terms of storage speed.
Benchmarks show that the SSD in the entry-level MacBook Pro M2 is 34% slower than the M1 for write speed, while the difference in read speed is up to 50%.
Here are the results of one of the comparison tests made by the YouTube channel Max Tech:
- M1 MacBook Pro: 2900 MB / s (read speed) and 2215 MB / s (write speed)
- M2 MacBook Pro: 1446 MB / s (read speed) and 1463 MB / s (write speed)
However, the lower performance of the SSD does not seem to affect the more expensive M2 MacBook Pro models with more internal memory. YouTuber Aaron Zolo from Zollotech shows that the 512GB M2 MacBook Pro has very similar SSD speeds to the M1.
What happens to the 256GB M2 MacBook Pro?
Created Tech removed the bottom case of the new M2 MacBook Pro with 256 GB of memory to examine its internal components. It turns out that Apple has really changed something when it comes to SSDs.
The M1 MacBook Pro has two 128GB NAND chips each in its 256GB version. When a device has several NAND chips combined, it can achieve faster speeds in parallel. However, the M2 MacBook Pro has a 256GB NAND chip, so it fails to reach the same SSD speeds as the previous generation 13-inch MacBook Pro.
It’s not clear why Apple replaced the SSD in the entry-level M2 MacBook Pro. One possible reason is that the company is trying to reduce costs by using one NAND chip instead of two. Unfortunately, M1 MacBook Pro users who are considering upgrading to the M2 with 256 GB of memory will eventually lose SSD performance despite processor and GPU improvements.
The cut also raises concerns that Apple will do the same with the initial M2 MacBook Air, which will not be available in stores until next month.
Having a slower SSD increases the time it takes to load applications and transfer files. Of course, the SSD in the initial M2 MacBook Pro is still quite fast, but the reduction in speed by 50% compared to the previous model seems unfair to users, especially in the “Pro” machine.
Prices for the M2 MacBook Pro start at $ 1299, but you can look for special offers from Amazon.
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