Base 13-inch MacBook Pro M2 chip offers Slower SSD speeds

Apple has recently launched its new 13-inch MacBook Pro with M2 chip. Now, it is being reported that the base model that costs around $1300 and comes with 256 GB storage capacity, is offering relatively slower SSD read/write speeds compared to the previous-generation model. 

A couple of prominent YouTube channels have reviewed the 256 GB model with Blackmagic’s Disk Speed Test app and it has been found that the SSD’s read and write speeds are close to 1450 MB/s. It means that the reading speed is 50% slower and writing speed is 30% slower compared to the 13-inch MacBook Pro with M2 chip and same storage capacity.

  • 13-inch MacBook Pro (M1/256GB) Read Speed: 2,900
  • 13-inch MacBook Pro (M2/256GB) Read Speed: 1,446
  • 13-inch MacBook Pro (M1/256GB) Write Speed: 2,215
  • 13-inch MacBook Pro (M2/256GB) Write Speed: 1,463

Upon disassembling, it has been found out that the 13-inch MacBook Pro with 256 GB storage is coming with just a single NAND flash storage chip, however; the previous model had two NAND chips and were reportedly 128 GB each. 

For this reason, we believe that the newer model might be offering a slower SSD speed because multiple NAND chips enable the pace of the device. So far, we have only heard about this problem in the 13-inch MacBook Pro 256 GB. The 512 GB model also showed similar speeds to M1 models and it is important to note that the 512 GB model is equipped with two 256 GB flash storage chips.

So far, we haven’t found out the reason behind just a single NAND chip in the 13-inch MacBook Pro model. Maybe it is because of the supply chain and cost of production. When SSD speeds are slower, you’d feel disturbance is daily tasks such as transferring documents to an external drive and the overall performance also takes a massive hit. 

Therefore, we’d definitely recommend the 512 GB model because if you want faster SSD speeds then the 256 GB model might frustrate you a bit. 

This new model was launched just recently and it is going to be interesting when the MacBook Air with M2 chip is released. In comparison with the 256 GB model, we’re very keen to see the performance of the MacBook Air with M2 chip.