Apple's 2019 256GB MacBook Air Includes Slower SSD Than 2018 Model

[jinnyman]

It's still SSD. Air is already limited by CPU power that bit lower SSD read & write speed doesn't matter really.

I still don't understand Air's position. It's a cheapest new Mac Apple's offering, but you get gimped CPU with 128gig SSD in 2019. CPU itself is great but the implementation is weird resulting in gimped and overheating performance. Air could have been a great performer if Apple put the heat pipe in it. Or they could have gone a totally different route, implementing custom lower CPU multiplier and go totally fanless and save more weight from there.

I guess I have to thank Apple for not making entry Air 4gig of ram.

 

[ksec]

iMac Pro:

• 3.3GB/s write performance
• 2.8GB/s read performance

Mac Pro (not out yet)
Do you even know the source fro your "revelation"?

https://www.apple.com/mac-pro/specs/

Up to 2.6GB/s sequential read and 2.7GB/s sequential write performance.

That is maximum speed from two modules, likely slower when only one modules is used.

Interesting about the iMac Pro speed, I double check just in case, I saw the Mac Pro SSD speed and immediately assumed it was the same in iMac Pro, but I was wrong. Not sure what is the causes of these difference, will definitely need to dig deeper into it.

 

[FamVR]

As a guy who's bee writing software for 37 years, I disagree.

Netadmins crack me up.

I as OSS developer for 35 years second that. Seriously. Those kids today have no clue whatsoever what we have done in the paste, and still do, to get stuff going.

P.s. some of the source code that I wrote 35 years ago, is still used today, be it slightly modified.

 

[ksec]

Nahhhhhhhh, I'm having a very hard time believing that.

Anyways, 2018 MBA or 2019 MBA choices choices choices.

It may be hard to believe but it is true to some extend, especially newer generation ( *Cough* Web Developers *Cough* ) They allow developers to choose within budget or just provide them with MacBook Pro, since it is not their money they just pick one somewhere in between middle to max.

They do know how many core or RAM or SSD, but they don't grill down into absolute details like enthusiasts do.

 

[0134168]

The read and write speeds of SSD's are overrated. What matters a lot more in real world use is the access times.

Pretty much ANY SSD has access speeds 100 times that of a spinning hard drive, and that's where the real payoff is.

Only if you're copying super large files might you start to see the benefit of crazy fast read/write speeds. And even then, only if you're copying that super large file from and equally fast drive (otherwise the source drive will be the bottleneck).

That is it.

 

[intelligence]

The target market for the Air are ‘regular people’ who are going to do a bit of web browsing, email, productivity tasks and a little bit of photo & video editing.

They’re not going notice much difference - especially as they’ve upgraded from their slow old MacBook Air to this speedy new machine!

Those who will notice a difference - you need a MBP.

Nah, I was looking at a MacBook Air for software development work, as it is the ONLY model without the touchbar. But the subpar cooling, cpu and now storage crushed my dream of a new laptop from Apple. Will have to go for a Mac Mini.

 

[Val-kyrie]

The read and write speeds of SSD's are overrated. What matters a lot more in real world use is the access times.

Pretty much ANY SSD has access speeds 100 times that of a spinning hard drive, and that's where the real payoff is.

Only if you're copying super large files might you start to see the benefit of crazy fast read/write speeds. And even then, only if you're copying that super large file from and equally fast drive (otherwise the source drive will be the bottleneck).

That's why is drives me nuts when Apple is pushing these super fast SSD's and people that buy them are bragging about their blackmagic disk scores ... when in real world use, there's little to no benefit of a 500 GB/s SSD vs a 2000 GB/s SSD.

I've used Macs with both speeds side by side and boot times, application launch times, file copying times are all virtually indistinguishable.

So the real (rhetorical) question is why Apple doesn’t just use standard M.2 NVME SSDs which could be easily upgraded / repaired?

It certainly can’t be because of the need for a proprietary connector to ensure the highest possible real world performance in the MBA and 13” MBP; although I’m not sure about the 15” MBP.

 

[BigBoy2018]

So the real (rhetorical) question is why Apple doesn’t just use standard M.2 NVME SSDs which could be easily upgraded / repaired?

It certainly can’t be because of the need for a proprietary connector to ensure the highest possible real world performance in the MBA and 13” MBP; although I’m not sure about the 15” MBP.

Damn good question.

If I were to guess, its so they can ‘market’ it as a superior ssd and therefore charge tons extra for it.

And charging extra wont work if its user upgradable.

As you see in this thread, theres plenty of people who are under the illusion that having faster SSD read/write speeds makes an important difference.

 

[recoil80]

Even a slower SSD is way better than a Fusion drive where the SSD part is small and you can end up reading or writing to the slow HDD.
What are they waiting for? Just put SSD everywhere in Macs

 

[Aston441]

Does not matter how slow the SSD is when the CPU drops power by 50% because it is always over heating. You know why it is called the MacBook "Air", cuz you have to blow air on it while it is in use.

I always have fans blowing on my Gold Air & I have to use a fan control software to increase the internal fan; Apple has the fan trigger point too low!

I'm so glad I just picked up a maxed out MacBook before they were all gone.

I considered and rejected all other Macs because fan.

FAN FREE LIFE

 

[BigBoy2018]

I'm so glad I just picked up a maxed out MacBook before they were all gone.

I considered and rejected all other Macs because fan.

FAN FREE LIFE

It doesnt have a fan, but instead a keyboard that will fail prematurely. Oh well ...

 

[intelligence]

It doesnt have a fan, buy instead a keyboard that will fail prematurely. Oh well ...

Can't get it all my friend!

 

[BigBoy2018]

Can't get it all my friend!

With todays apple, thats the sad truth. Every time they release something there’s a ‘gotcha’

 

[k1121j]

its so they can say for the next model they made it faster when they put the faster SSD back in. Just like the phones and watches they make them thicker then turn around and boast the next model they made it thinner

 

[brenton289]

They downgraded it from faster than anyone needs, to still faster than anyone needs.

 

[waquzy]

Just like the phones and watches they make them thicker then turn around and boast the next model they made it thinner

Really? Give me an example, cos I can’t remember them ever doing it

 

[furi0usbee]

But is it thinner?

 

[Pearple]

I consider this a criminal act on the customer.

 

[kazmac]

2019 MBA: I’m feeling mighty slow....
[doublepost=1563282925][/doublepost]

Bitterness from the MR crew who can't even afford paying $1,099 for MBA.. Responding on a forum in the middle of a work day

Just asking: How about those of us who can afford it, but choose not to?

 

[ascender]

So what's the impact on real world performance?

 

[handheldgames]

While I'm a bit late to the game.

I don't disagree with you that the T2 chip - in that it prevents SSD upgrades - is one of the worst things Apple has done. I've upgraded the SSD at least once on every single Mac I've ever owned. Since the introduction of T2 chip saddled macs, I have not bought one with a T2 chip. I might have to break down one day and get one with a T2 inside, but I sure as hell won't be happy about it.

The T2 equipped 2019 mini with the T2 and a 256GB SSD gets decent speeds(see pic below). The 2019 Macbook Air's slower speeds may be from a NAND configuration that sacrifices performance for lower heat and power consumption. After all, it is the MacBook air. Once there is a teardown, the NAND's part number should clear up the mystery.

 

[zemoleman]

Let's face it even if Apple won't (until a class action lawsuit comes along): The 2019 MacBooks are DOGS, they should have skipped this iteration and waited to re-engineer the whole lineup to take the heat issues that are cropping up due to the processor and video upgrades into consideration. Two clients have returned their 2019 models due to excessive heat, and we are talking about $4000 and almost $7000 MacBook Pros. I love the Air, it is the only MacBook I have ever carried around on a consistent basis, but if it is running hot then Cupertino, we have a problem, and someone on the Mothership better start paying attention. Maybe the 2019s will have to start exploding or catching fire for someone at Apple to pay attention.

 

[BigBoy2018]

While I'm a bit late to the game.


The T2 equipped 2019 mini with the T2 and a 256GB SSD gets decent speeds(see pic below). The 2019 Macbook Air's slower speeds may be from a NAND configuration that sacrifices performance for lower heat and power consumption. After all, it is the MacBook air. Once there is a teardown, the NAND's part number should clear up the mystery.

Read my post on page one. SSD read/write speeds are overrated.

 

[alphaod]

I doubt Apple went with a slower SSD. Probably less chips and since SSDs work in parallel with several memory chips, the result is less parallel operations. I also doubt anyone could really notice in day-to-day use.

 

[StuKatz1]

Apple is a meme