Base Model MacBook Air With M2 Chip Has Slower SSD Speeds in Benchmarks

[Poindexter333]

On the SSD issue, the "most people will not notice it" people miss the point. The point is whether customers are getting what they pay for or know what they are getting.

"Most people" will think they are paying for a better and faster machine. It is a reasonable assumption. Since it's newer they'd expect everything to be the same or better.

Since it's called M2 vs M1, they'd expect the chip to be faster without having other components drag it back down.

"Most people" will not know they are not getting what they pay for. "Most people will not notice it" actually makes it worse. It makes this seem like a form of fraud.

It’s like the old saying that the coverup is usually more evil than the crime. Except here Apple must either not have thought about what they were selling or not cared that what they were selling was not providing full functionality. To try to sneak it past us, and to have tried to hide this fact would be too enraging to think about. I miss Steve more with each passing week.

 

[izzy0242mr]

This is the story of tech since it existed. Apps start to push the hardware until it crawls; new hardware comes that blazes with current Apps; then the cycle repeats over and over...

That's part of why I went with an M1 Pro machine over an M1 or M2. I feel like the extra power will last longer for the life of the machine (10 years) than will a lesser powered chip, even if that chip is beating other current competitors.

 

[BigMcGuire]

That's part of why I went with an M1 Pro machine over an M1 or M2. I feel like the extra power will last longer for the life of the machine (10 years) than will a lesser powered chip, even if that chip is beating other current competitors.

Yep, I did the same thing as you (with the M1 Max). Agreed. I've never had a machine like this before (up till now I always bought base or mid-line). Absolutely loving it. I can do anything I want (VMs, 3 browsers with tons of tabs, etc) and still only use 20% of the CPU.

 

[izzy0242mr]

Documentaries are never truthful.

Well, the truth is easy to Google. https://www.caoc.org/?pg=facts

There was a whole court trial about it with real evidence that a jury was convinced by.

McDonalds tried to defame the woman by making her look like a whiny person, but in reality she suffered severe burns because, as shown with evidence in trial, McDonald's heated its coffee so hot that any spillage would cause 3rd-degree burns in 3-7 seconds, and they knew about the risk for 10 years but didn't change anything.

 

[Apple_Robert]

Dave2D, "needs more Air" review.

His review is flawed because he was expecting the Air to perform like the MBP. Normal use doesn’t require more air. Your post is out of context from the video.

 

[Jumpthesnark]

All I know is that MR & 9 to 5 Mac, and the YT reviewers like MaxTech, are ecstatic about this because they get to act like this is the worst insult to the buying public since Crystal Pepsi. Watch for all the front page stories and mock outrage videos meant to prompt more flamewar threads, and to keep all of us coming back for the next few weeks, eating it all up with a big wooden spoon. Guaranteed clicks!

 

[ApplesAreSweet&Sour]

It’s not a matter of “nobody needs it”.

It’s a matter of Apple repeatedly using numbers like “1.4x faster than M1” across all marketing and the product website for the M2 Air.

There’s no asterisk or number leading you to a footnote where the difference in SSD speeds is explained. No mention or indication of the downgrade in any official Apple text on these M2 machines.

It’s just plain misleading.

 

[bbfc]

His review is flawed because he was expecting the Air to perform like the MBP. Normal use doesn’t require more air. Your post is out of context from the video.

His review was very much about comparing the M2 Air to the M2 MBP, where it should have been the difference between the M2 Air and the M1 Air.

 

[boak]

It’s not a matter of “nobody needs it”.

It’s a matter of Apple repeatedly using numbers like “1.4x faster than M1” across all marketing and the product website for the M2 Air.

There’s no asterisk or number leading you to a footnote where the difference in SSD speeds is explained. No mention or indication of the downgrade in any official Apple text on these M2 machines.

It’s just plain misleading.

Apple references all machines used in benchmarking.

 

[G5isAlive]

Apple defenders need to chill on this one. Most members in macrumors are real apple fans (including me), but everyone defending Apple for intentionally slowing down a device to upsell is just malpractice. Apple engineers must have tested both the setups and knew the performance difference and still sided with marketing/sales to screw the base model owners.

Always fun to see someone scold others to 'chill' while tossing around terms like 'malpractice' and continuing with so much conjecture, no real facts.

Sure Apple engineers knew the impact of one NAND versus two. Anywhere that knows how a NAND controller works knows this without testing.

But Apple's focus has always been on the overall feel of an experience, not specifications. And here, Apple provided a lower price option for those that want it . May not be the option you want, but its there for those that want it. They also offer higher price options for those that want it. Big surprise, higher price options, better performance.

No one is screwed here. Everyone got what they paid for.

Chill.

 

[ApplesAreSweet&Sour]

Apple references all machines used in benchmarking.

Show me exactly where Apple gives me any kind of text or numbers that would even as much as indicate the performance downgrade on the 256GB SSD in these M2 machines.

I need a link or a screen shot.

Apple can show M2 SoC benchmarks till the cows come home. That won’t tell a single soul about what’s going on with the 256GB SSDs.

 

[BenLeong]

In the auto industry, if the new model is ever slower than the outgoing model, it’s pretty big news, and the brand gets trashed pretty hard.

It’s no difference here.

Fair number of you who are like, “Yo just pay more for the upgrades to get the better performance,” sound delusional. OBVIOUSLY a customer can always pay more to get more—what kind of solution is that? The whole issue here is about how it’s just really disappointing for a lot of people that the new model is now confirmed to be a lot slower than the outgoing model. It’s just a bad look.

 

[M5RahuL]

Love reading the blind Apple loyalists' comments!! lol..as if Apple give's any feculence about you defending them on MR / internet 😄

 

[Quasi26]

Show me exactly where Apple gives me any kind of text or numbers that would even as much as indicate the performance downgrade on the 256GB SSD in these M2 machines.

I need a link or a screen shot.

Apple can show M2 SoC benchmarks till the cows come home. That won’t tell a single soul about what’s going on with the 256GB SSDs.

First, the speed notification is more than half way down the page and is hardly a huge selling point, second, they clearly footnote it with a link, and third the footnote lays out specifically what they are comparing with and to. It is literally right on the page.

 

[boak]

Show me exactly where Apple gives me any kind of text or numbers that would even as much as indicate the performance downgrade on the 256GB SSD in these M2 machines.

I need a link or a screen shot.

Apple can show M2 SoC benchmarks till the cows come home. That won’t tell a single soul about what’s going on with the 256GB SSDs.

Apple never claimed that 256 GB M2 MBAs have the "1.4x faster" performance you're talking about. The burden of proof is on you.

 

[ApplesAreSweet&Sour]

Always fun to see someone scold others to 'chill' while tossing around terms like 'malpractice' and continuing with so much conjecture, no real facts.

Sure Apple engineers knew the impact of one NAND versus two. Anywhere that knows how a NAND controller works knows this without testing.

But Apple's focus has always been on the overall feel of an experience, not specifications. And here, Apple provided a lower price option for those that want it . May not be the option you want, but its there for those that want it. They also offer higher price options for those that want it. Big surprise, higher price options, better performance.

No one is screwed here. Everyone got what they paid for.

Chill.

Except that the consumer isn’t presented with a warning or any kind of performance numbers when ordering a M2 machine and selecting SSD size.

You’ll blissfully order a 256GB config thinking the difference is only amount of storage and not a 50% performance cut by comparison to 512GB or more.

You get no info on this difference. Not in stores nor online.

You shouldn’t have to follow tech news to avoid getting screwed over.

 

[boak]

Love reading the blind Apple loyalists' comments!! lol..as if Apple give's 2 schitz about you defending them on MR / internet 😄

As if Apple give's (sic) 2 shcitz (sic) about you attacking them on MR / internet 😄

 

[Quasi26]

Except that the consumer isn’t presented with a warning or any kind of performance numbers when ordering a M2 machine and selecting SSD size.

You’ll blissfully order a 256GB config thinking the difference is only amount of storage and not a 50% performance cut by comparison to 512GB or more.

You get no info on this difference. Not in stores nor online.

You shouldn’t have to follow tech news to avoid getting screwed over.

This is objectively incorrect. They note it right on the order page. The 1.4x difference is comparing specific machines with 2TB drives. Its listed right on the site and its linked to directly on the speed comparison.

edit: I'll also note they barely note the speed increase. The first 4 things they show and animate are new design, screen, battery life and weight. You have to go more than halfway down the page to talk about "speed"

 

[boak]

Except that the consumer isn’t presented with a warning or any kind of performance numbers when ordering a M2 machine and selecting SSD size.

You’ll blissfully order a 256GB config thinking the difference is only amount of storage and not a 50% performance cut by comparison to 512GB or more.

You get no info on this difference. Not in stores nor online.

You shouldn’t have to follow tech news to avoid getting screwed over.

Were you screaming about this when 2TB SSDs inherently have faster read/write speeds over 512GB SSDs?

 

[boak]

Maybe it's time some of you lobby the EU to make computer manufacturers specify read/write speeds on their specifications

 

[M5RahuL]

As if Apple give's (sic) 2 shcitz (sic) about you attacking them on MR / internet 😄

That doesn't even make any sense .. but nice try ! I'm sure you can do better

 

[Woochoo]

the iPhone and iPad taught me to never buy the "base" anything from apple.

That's exactly what they want and they achieve by skimping the base models. They want to make the base line look like a bad value compared to if you spend X more (i.e the jumps from 16 to 64GB on storage and the same pattern on newer iPhones/iPads skipping an in between storage size, or this time skimping the SSD speed of the base model)

 

[BigMcGuire]

Except that the consumer isn’t presented with a warning or any kind of performance numbers when ordering a M2 machine and selecting SSD size.

You’ll blissfully order a 256GB config thinking the difference is only amount of storage and not a 50% performance cut by comparison to 512GB or more.

You get no info on this difference. Not in stores nor online.

You shouldn’t have to follow tech news to avoid getting screwed over.

My opinion is that most people buying the MBA base models won't even notice or care. So, hardly getting screwed over. There are other things this MBA has (screen, webcam improvements, form factor, etc), instead of a slower SSD - at speeds of which most of the user base using this laptop won't care or utilize anyway, that make this laptop something people buying it want.

 

[Cognizant.]

Blown way out of proportion. Vast majority of users won't notice any difference.

And this literally isn’t the point. Apple shouldn’t be selling slower components with a new release. Period.

 

[boak]

That doesn't even make any sense .. but nice try ! I'm sure you can do better

As much sense as your OP. I'm sure you can do better