The 512GB version of the new MacBook Pro has a slower SSD than the Mac it replaces

In our review of Apple’s new MacBook Pro M2s, our testing found that the laptops’ internal memory speeds were faster than the MacBook Pro M1s they replaced. But that’s not the case for all models – 9to5Mac found that entry-level models with 512GB of storage have slower storage on the MacBook Pro M2 than the M1 version.

The high-level Blackmagic Disk Speed ​​Test showed that the 512GB version of the MacBook Pro M1 Pro has a read speed of 4900MB/s and a write speed of 3951MB/s, while the M2 Pro version shows a read speed of 2973MB/s and a write speed of 3154. 5 MB. /s write speed. This is a 40% drop in read speed and a 20% drop in write speed.

The difference seems to come down to the NAND flash chips that Apple uses for its SSDs. The old MacBook Pro, according to iFixit’s teardown, used four 128GB NAND chips in a 512GB SSD, while 9to5Mac’s MacBook Pro M2 Pro appears to use a pair of 256GB NAND chips. Fewer chips likely means lower costs for Apple, but also fewer places to read and write SSDs simultaneously, reducing overall speed.

This change is not entirely unexpected. A similar performance drop was seen for the M2 versions of the MacBook Air and 13-inch MacBook Pro, which also used fewer, higher density NAND chips than the M1 versions. Because the 512GB version of the M2 MacBook Pro still uses a pair of NAND flash chips instead of one, the new MacBook Pros still have much faster storage speeds than the 256GB M2 MacBook Pro and Air versions.

To put the new Pro’s performance in context, these storage speeds will still be perceived by most people as “fast enough”. Key performance numbers are similar to what you’d get from a decent PCI Express 3.0 SSD like the Samsung 970 Evo Plus or SSD 980, or Western Digital’s WD Black SN750. All of these drives are either a few years old or designed for cheaper PCs – not something you’d hope to get in a brand new $2,000 laptop – but they’re also not slow enough to cause performance issues most of the time.