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

[xObeyThePanda]

Why is there always a catch to an apple product I really want? This is a deal breaker for me.

 

[antiprotest]

Not how that works, they technically haven't done anything wrong.

Class action suits don't care about that or most would have never been started. So it's exactly how class action works. Whether they can win or not is a separate issue.

 

[satchmo]

I can see Tim Cook looking at the margins and telling his executives to find another 1% profit.

 

[boak]

so if they don't notice, it's OK?

Even if they notice, it's still OK. Apple promised you 256 GB and they delivered. No manufacturer shows the read/write speed for different storage tiers, even when larger SSDs typically have faster read/write.

 

[antiprotest]

So glad I didn’t preorder. I was waiting on this confirmation. I’ll just get the 14-inch Pro.

What do you have now?

 

[GooseInTheCaboose]

Let's be honest. People buying the base model without doing enough research to know about this issue deserve to have a worse computer than the rest of us. 😈

16/512 or bust!

Is there any confirmation of how fast the upgraded SSDs are? Is the 2TB as fast as the 14” MBP’s 2TB?

 

[boak]

Users that would notice the difference would be unlikely to buy a 256 GB MBA in the first place.

 

[Juicy Box]

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

Why not just put an M1 chip in the base model M2 MBA as well?

The vast majority of users won’t notice a difference.

 

[ILoveCalvinCool]

Still waiting for the day Apple makes 512GB/16GB standard.
256 8 has been the starting config for like a decade now.

256 8 is plenty for most people. I don't think there's a need to do away with that as a lower-cost entry point. Personally I always upgrade the RAM and SSD, but my mom doesn't need to do that. No reason to make Macs even more expensive for someone like her.

 

[nikhsub1]

So Apple are now gaslighting. Great.

 

[gaximus]

Why not just put an M1 chip in the base model M2 MBA as well?

The vast majority of users won’t notice a difference.

They do https://www.apple.com/shop/buy-mac/macbook-air/with-m1-chip

 

[Omakad]

How much is this likely to impact real-world usage for most people? (Genuinely asking here)

It will any time your new computer starts using swap for memory. Which is all the time due to M chip architecture. Which you can easily see by just opening few chrome tabs while doing something else in the background. MaxTech YT channel demonstrated this well.

 

[staypuftforums]

And this performance hit only applies to the 256 GB spec, right?

Correct. We don’t know about possible thermal throttling though. Reviews should provide that info.

 

[Shirasaki]

Ok, so base model M2 being worse than M1 counterparts. Who would’ve guessed. 🙄

Seriously, unless you heavily weight the new color, the new design and the notch, go for M1. CPU performance is not even 50% higher, and GPU performance bump is truly useless for most people. You are not going to miss out much.

 

[boak]

Why not just put an M1 chip in the base model M2 MBA as well?

The vast majority of users won’t notice a difference.

Completely different issue here. Apple indicated 256 GB storage on their website when you bought it, and they delivered on that promise. Equipping M1 when they promise that it's an M2 MBA would be wrong. Don't conflate vastly different issues here. Doesn't help with your argument at all.

 

[WiiDSmoker]

Let's be honest. People buying the base model without doing enough research to know about this issue deserve to have a worse computer than the rest of us. 😈

16/512 or bust!

Lol cause screw them poor people right? What is wrong with you

 

[paulovsouza]

I’m all for holding big companies accountable, but the MacBook Air is made for everyday consumer that watch content, browse online, and send emails. A majority of people will not notice. Also Apple should have said it had to use those SSDs because of supply constraints, not because “this magical new SSD has such great performance that it’s slower”, would have been better PR.

 

[wanha]

How much is this likely to impact real-world usage for most people? (Genuinely asking here)

None.

It is only under extremely heavy data transfer speeds this lack of a second NAND even shows up - i.e. only for professionals who are doing heavy code compiling or video conversion.

For 95%+ of users, they will never encounter this bottleneck.

 

[Andres Cantu]

They’re doubling down.

At the very least, make that difference known in your website. But they won’t, just like they didn’t advertise the one fan for the base model iMac.

 

[boak]

This is like complaining that you got a BOE display instead of LG/Samsung, or an Intel modem instead of Qualcomm's.

 

[citysnaps]

So spec a 512 GB SSD and move on. This seems more like an issue for internet forum flamebait than anything else.

Also, my dude, maybe dial back the aggression?

Spot on.

Sadly, some people count on finding something whine-worthy about Apple to start their day, resulting with a tiny blip of power that's otherwise lacking, helping them to feel better.

 

[randyhudson]

I mean it was apparent to everyone who looked at the specs. Apple cut the costs on the base memory module by putting in only a single 8gb module which throttled its read/write speed. This is compared to the previous M1 versions 2x 4gb memory modules which although their single read/write was slower than this one had 2 pathways. So the new ones are faster memory modules but its just the base 8gb has less bandwidth because of the single channel whereas the 16gb option on the M2 is faster than the 16gb on the M1 because (iirc) it's LPDDR4 v 5.

This guy has no idea.

 

[xObeyThePanda]

So glad I didn’t preorder. I was waiting on this confirmation. I’ll just get the 14-inch Pro.

Good consumer, give us more of your money. -Tim Apple

 

[wanha]

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 isn't that most users won't notice it - it's that such experience will never exist for most users, because they will never come even close to the data transfer threshold where this would have an effect.

We can argue about the principle of it, but in terms of real world effect, this will never manifest for 95%+ users using the base configuration.

 

[citysnaps]

Why is there always a catch to an apple product I really want? This is a deal breaker for me.

Time to switch to a different computer manufacturer with a better product. Happiness can be found by simply stepping up and making the change.

Will you do it?