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Apple Still Using SSDs With Varying Speeds on New MacBook Air

Perhaps Samsung is not delivering enough shipments to Apple, which explains why they're using Toshiba SSDs on some of their products instead. This possibility makes a lot of sense to me.

A similar incident happened with the Canadian HTC Desire, where Samsung didn't having enough AMOLED screen to ship to HTC so HTC shipped most Desire phones to Canada with a Sony Super LCD screen instead.
 
hayesk said:
Given that Apple can't source enough SSD drives that are exactly the same, what do you suggest Apple does?
Click to expand...

I think if you buy a machine with one set of specs you should be able to expect it performs identically to another instance of the 'same' model, or else be forewarned of the difference so you can make an informed purchasing decision.

If Apple can't source enough of the better SSDs they should knock $50 off the worse one or something, not just charge the same and hope no-one notices.
 
Toshiba in my new 11 ‘ Mac Air

My mistake. My new Mac Air 11’ has the Apple SSD SM 256C

The Toshiba is in the older 15’ Mac Pro. Sorry.
 
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Porco said:
I think if you buy a machine with one set of specs you should be able to expect it performs identically to another instance of the 'same' model, or else be forewarned of the difference so you can make an informed purchasing decision.

If Apple can't source enough of the better SSDs they should knock $50 off the worse one or something, not just charge the same and hope no-one notices.
Click to expand...

Or, Apple could add a $200 BTO option for the Samsung drives.
 
benchmark results

13 inch mac air 1.7 Ghz i5-

I got the 128GB toshiba drive. My results from Xbench were the following:

Code: 
	System Info		
		Xbench Version		1.3
		System Version		10.7 (11A2063)
		Physical RAM		4096 MB
		Model		MacBookAir4,2
		Drive Type		APPLE SSD TS128C
	Disk Test	333.09	
		Sequential	219.91	
			Uncached Write	309.99	190.33 MB/sec [4K blocks]
			Uncached Write	307.06	173.74 MB/sec [256K blocks]
			Uncached Read	108.20	31.67 MB/sec [4K blocks]
			Uncached Read	405.76	203.93 MB/sec [256K blocks]
		Random	686.28	
			Uncached Write	474.59	50.24 MB/sec [4K blocks]
			Uncached Write	643.12	205.89 MB/sec [256K blocks]
			Uncached Read	2257.47	16.00 MB/sec [4K blocks]
			Uncached Read	580.20	107.66 MB/sec [256K blocks]

Would be interested in seeing numbers from someone with Samsung 128 GB drive.

http://www.xbench.com/
 
Make sure you check the box.

unled1vdz.jpg
 
EraqEE said:
Perhaps Samsung is not delivering enough shipments to Apple, which explains why they're using Toshiba SSDs on some of their products instead. This possibility makes a lot of sense to me.

A similar incident happened with the Canadian HTC Desire, where Samsung didn't having enough AMOLED screen to ship to HTC so HTC shipped most Desire phones to Canada with a Sony Super LCD screen instead.
Click to expand...

Apple started using the Toshiba SSDs last October when the late-2010s were released. The Samsungs started working their way into the system in January or February. The SSDs in the 2011s are carried over unchanged.
 
I just got a maxed out 11 inch from the apple store. The 256SSD is a Toshiba. Has anyone gotten the maxed out 11 inch and received a Samsung in it? I went in and had them open up the only 2 they had left and they were both Toshibas. I may try another apple store. Does the 256 Samsung even exist?
 
Is there any pattern that would help us predict what we are likely buying (...configurations, geography, etc)?
 
DisMyMac said:
Is there any pattern that would help us predict what we are likely buying... (configurations, geography, etc)?
Click to expand...

Mine was a Toshiba 256SSD from the Apple store in Chicago. I checked out the other 11 inches on display. only 2 out of like 15 were the 128 Samsungs. The rest were 128 Toshibas.
 
WannaGoMac said:
Will the store people open a sealed product to this test??
Click to expand...

Or you could just check the model number via System Profiler... (Now called system information)

There are some geeks who seem to love to make things far more complicated than they are. Rarely do you ever have to open a computer to see what's in it nowadays.
 
One key metric is small random reads/writes. In our testing today, the Toshiba performed random writes slightly faster than the Samsung. Reads were about the same.

When duplicating a 3GB folder with 52 files, the Samsung was 10% faster than the Toshiba.

The OWC Aura Sandforce based MBA flash storage upgrade was about 30% faster than the factory units doing random transfers. It was faster also doing Finder dups.

Full report coming tomorrow.
 
kiljoy616 said:
This garbage reminds me of Dell tactics, thought better of Apple. :(
Click to expand...

The Toshiba drives aren't "garbage." They are the same drives that the redesigned MacBook Airs debuted with back in October. Starting in January, Apple also obtained drives from Samsung. The two companies use different controllers, but also happen to be two of the biggest manufacturers of flash memory and two of the only companies who make drives in the blade format that fits the Air. It doesn't make sense for Apple to limit itself to one provider, given that they are the biggest single consumer of flash memory in the market, and also given that they are in legal disputes with Samsung over other drives.

They don't advertise the speeds of the drives, so they aren't misleading people. Just like some people who buy a Honda Accord get Michelin tires and others get Bridgestone (which may perform quite differently in the rain), some MacBook Air buyers get Toshiba drives and others get Samsung. Both have their strengths and weaknesses. The Toshibas perform slightly better on random reads and writes (most of what we do), while the Samsungs perform better on large sequential reads and writes (e.g. copying large files from place to place). Most likely you won't notice any difference at all.
 
barefeats said:
One key metric is small random reads/writes. In our testing today, the Toshiba performed random writes slightly faster than the Samsung. Reads were about the same.

When duplicating a 3GB folder with 52 files, the Samsung was 10% faster than the Toshiba.

The OWC Aura Sandforce based MBA flash storage upgrade was about 30% faster than the factory units doing random transfers. It was faster also doing Finder dups.

Full report coming tomorrow.
Click to expand...

looking forward to it
 
chinabuffet said:
I just got a maxed out 11 inch from the apple store. The 256SSD is a Toshiba. Has anyone gotten the maxed out 11 inch and received a Samsung in it? I went in and had them open up the only 2 they had left and they were both Toshibas. I may try another apple store. Does the 256 Samsung even exist?
Click to expand...

Yes, I have a Samsung 256 in my maxed out 11". It was purchased from the 5th Avenue store in NYC on the release date. It seems to be random. That said, I had a Toshiba 128GB drive in my 2010 MacBook Air, and it was fine. I notice the processor is a lot faster on this version, but the drive feels about the same.
 
res1233 said:
Or you could just check the model number via System Profiler... (Now called system information)

There are some geeks who seem to love to make things far more complicated than they are. Rarely do you ever have to open a computer to see what's in it nowadays.
Click to expand...

I think he meant do you have to open the box? And the answer is yes. I don't see how you can determine what hard drive is inside without opening the box and turning on the system.
 
Porco said:
I think if you buy a machine with one set of specs you should be able to expect it performs identically to another instance of the 'same' model, or else be forewarned of the difference so you can make an informed purchasing decision.

If Apple can't source enough of the better SSDs they should knock $50 off the worse one or something, not just charge the same and hope no-one notices.
Click to expand...

No, if you had your way, Apple would give everyone the slower drive, at identical cost.


djrobsd said:
You obviously never convert video using Handbrake or other tools. Those speeds mean real world performance increases when encoding audio, video, etc.
Click to expand...

You have obviously never opened Activity Monitor when converting video using Handbrake. Handbrake is totally and utterly CPU limited; it doesn't make one bit of difference what kind of hard drive you use.


heffer2k02 said:
The 4th, and most honest option that you left out, is that if they want to sell a million units, but can't source the components, they should make it a choice for the user at purchase time, charging more the components for which there is less supply. I'm happy to pay more to get the best, which is why I come to Apple in the first place. I think it's immoral, and goes against what Apple should stand for to make me gamble for better components. 95% of people may never know or care, but it's that 5% that do that are Apple's most loyal followers.
Click to expand...

Let me check if I have this right. For the same money, Apple will sell you either a Toshiba drive or a (supposedly) faster Samsung drive, people are complaining, and you would prefer a choice of Toshiba drive for original drive or getting the Samsung drive for more?
 
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