Lab – Are the 256 GB SSDs in the new MacBooks slower?

The MacBook Pro M2 and MacBook Air M2 both earned top marks in our tests. The Pro has seen an improvement in its performance, although the chassis remains the same as the older generation, and the Air has not only benefited from the benefits of the M2, but also from a more modern aesthetic.

We tested models with 512 GB SSDs and 1 TB of storage, which did not allow us to notice any anomalies in their operating speed when they passed through our lab. However, according to many users, a problem is to worry about the 256 GB SSDs embedded in the most readily available MacBooks. So we got our hands on a MacBook Pro M2 with a 256 GB SSD to check out what’s going on.

As we have seen under the Blackmagic benchmark, even considering a margin of error, the result is clear: the SSD of the MacBook Pro M2 256 GB is literally half as fast as its 1 TB cousin, in reading as in writing .

Why and how

How to explain this difference? Apple decided to integrate a 256 GB NAND storage chip in its entry-level computers instead of the two 128 GB chips found in the M1 versions. However, two chips in parallel operate faster than one. We see in our photo the inside of the 1 TB MacBook Pro M2 with two modules (red box), but we only see one in the 256 GB version. Perhaps the manufacturer will have to adapt to supply difficulties. some components or that it wants to create economies of scale, but, in any case, it is bad that Apple is not transparent in explaining to users that there is a difference in speeds between SSD sizes .

What effect on reality?

Although the speeds are lower, the impact on daily use is almost unnoticeable, when it comes to the speed of starting or opening applications. On the other hand, it can be more annoying for those who want to transfer heavy files to an external SSD. In this case, we can only advise you to turn to MacBooks with at least 512 GB of storage.

The problem is a priori the same as the MacBook Air M2, although we have not been able to verify it ourselves, having not yet been able to test a 256 GB version.