M2 Pro and M2 Max MacBook Pros Feature Faster SSD Write Speeds, Tests Show

[MacRumors]

The new 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pros powered by the M2 Pro and M2 Max chips feature faster SSD write speeds compared to their predecessors, according to tests and reviews of the new laptops.

This week, select reviewers and media outlets had the chance to review the new MacBook Pros ahead of their availability starting Tuesday, January 24. As part of their reviews, Macworld and Tom's Guide tested the SSD read and write speeds of the M2 Pro and M2 Max chips in Apple's latest laptops.

When Macworld tested with the Blackmagic disk speed app, the 16-inch MacBook Pro with M2 Pro in a 2TB storage configuration achieved a read speed of 5,372 MB/s and a write speed of 6,491 MB/s. The previous-generation 14-inch MacBook Pro with an M1 Pro chip and 1TB of storage scored a slightly higher 5,797 MB/s read speed than the 16-inch M2 Pro; however, it scored a lower write speed of 5,321 MB/s.

Blackmagic disk speed results according to tests by Tom's Guide (read/write)​

Test results published by Tom's Guide also show that the new M2 Pro has faster write speeds than the M1 Pro, but slightly slower read speeds. Testing the 14-inch MacBook Pro with M2 Max, the laptop scored similarly to the 16-inch M2 Pro, achieving a read speed of 5,319 MB/s and a write speed of 6,402 MB/s.

Although the new MacBook Pros have slightly slower read speeds according to these tests, users are unlikely to notice a difference in everyday performance unless they work with significantly large files. Storage speed and performance is also affected by other factors, such as the storage capacity.

Last year, it emerged that Apple significantly cut SSD speeds for the M2 base model MacBook Air by including one less SSD chip in the laptop. With 256GB of storage capacity, the MacBook Air features a single 256GB NAND chip, leading to up to 50% slower read speeds and up to 30% slower write speeds compared to the previous MacBook Air with two 128GB NAND chips. Apple argued in a statement that the MacBook Air has "even faster" real-world performance.

Reviews of the latest M2 Pro and M2 Max chips in the updated 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pros praised the fast performance of the new chips, even longer battery life, and an upgraded HDMI 2.1 port. Thanks to the efficiency of the new chips, the updated 16-inch MacBook Pro features the longest battery life ever in a Mac, lasting up to 22 hours.

Article Link: M2 Pro and M2 Max MacBook Pros Feature Faster SSD Write Speeds, Tests Show

 

[Carlson-online]

You can't compare the write speed of a 1TB to a 2TB drive ( see the bottom of the article RE the 256 vs 512 differences !)

 

[Leon Ze Professional]

Relieved that Apple is not skipping on the nand chips for the SSD on the base 14 inch model of the Macbook Pro.

EDIT: Apple are skipping on the nand chips like they did on the M2 Macbook Air. I got this wrong, dang!

 

[Leon Ze Professional]

I know the new M2 Macbook Pro's have gone up in price in many parts of the world. But still it's nice to see many quality of life improvements such as:

--> Enhanced battery life
--> HDMI 2.1 port
--> Future proofing WIFI 6E
--> Fast read and write speeds for the SSD.

 

[mr_jomo]

And, it looks like - from the first few written reviews - the Mac Mini M2 Pro's SSDs match the macBook Pros in terms of speed ... *sigh of relief*

 

[dannys1]

AKA it's got PCIe 4. It would have been handy to put that in the article rather than some of the nonsense rabbiting that did make it in.

 

[femike]

You can't compare the write speed of a 1TB to a 2TB drive ( see the bottom of the article RE the 256 vs 512 differences !)

That is just a bad test. Its basic and obvious requirement and they failed it. Testing SSD performance between M1 and M2 CPU's, you must have the all other variables the same, well, as close as you possible can get them. At least have the same SSD size, and that's just the start. The people doing these 'tests' have no technical background, they are just gadget fans.

 

[Nozuka]

That is just a bad test. Its basic and obvious requirement and they failed it. Testing SSD performance between M1 and M2 CPU's, you must have the all other variables the same, well, as close as you possible can get them. At least have the same SSD size, and that's just the start. The people doing these 'tests' have no technical background, they are just gadget fans.

Probably more about "effort". They likely just use what ever model they get provided with and test the performance of it. And then they compare it to tests they did in the past.

 

[SAIRUS]

My M2 Air has 16gb memory and really flies with 256gb hard drive. It’s mostly a travel laptop and an emergency coder laptop.

Lame that Apple did that so we upgrade things but looking forward to the M3 is the 3nm rumors are true.

 

[senttoschool]

AKA it's got PCIe 4. It would have been handy to put that in the article rather than some of the nonsense rabbiting that did make it in.

This statement is wrong. Apple Silicon does not use PCIe for internal storage. In fact, Apple Silicon has a pretty weird storage system in that the SSD controller is built into the SoC. The SSD is simply "dumb" storage. In the PC world, SSDs contain the controller and the flash memory.

If the SSD is faster on M2 Pro/Max, it's because the controller on the SoC got an upgrade or the flash memory modules got an upgrade.

Also, M1 already had PCIe 4.

Source: https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/when-will-apple-silicon-support-pcie-5.2288812/

 

[ScooterComputer]

And, it looks like - from the first few written reviews - the Mac Mini M2 Pro's SSDs match the macBook Pros in terms of speed ... *sigh of relief*

I’ve been watching the review-verse waiting to get this confirmed, but so far have not. I find it interesting how many reviewers have received the highest-end model of both M2 MacBook Pro and M2 mini, neither of which are ‘typical’ units consumers will be buying. I have yet to find a single reliable review of the base M2 mini where the 256GB SSD situation is discussed. If I were to bet, right now my money is on Apple cheaping out just like the did on the M2 Air and going for a single single-channel NAND chip… which is simply unacceptable for a company of Apple’s wealth and marketing/PR narrative. We shall see!

 

[MacWiz_007]

MacBook Pros continue to be excellent machines!

 

[petej]

Writing to disk is now faster than reading from disk. Some Black Magic there.

 

[Love-hate 🍏 relationship]

What the hell is this

Comparing 1tb with 2tb ?

Just for the clicks ?

 

[Love-hate 🍏 relationship]

That is just a bad test. Its basic and obvious requirement and they failed it. Testing SSD performance between M1 and M2 CPU's, you must have the all other variables the same, well, as close as you possible can get them. At least have the same SSD size, and that's just the start. The people doing these 'tests' have no technical background, they are just gadget fans.

It’s okay if they don’t make a good test

But it’s not okay of macrumors to publish such misleading articles

 

[munpip214]

Would much rather have cheaper storage than faster at this point. Mac storage prices are getting ridiculous.

 

[McKodiak]

What should I replace my 2014 13" Macbook Pro with?

 

[Bcn]

What should I replace my 2014 13" Macbook Pro with?

I want to replace my 2014 Macbook pro 15" this year too. I am in the waiting game for an eventual Macbook air 15", because I find 13/14" a little too small. Otherwise a refurbished Macbook pro 16" m1 or m2 are my favourite. It all depends on the price/offer.
If you like smaller portable, you get most for your money with a Macbook pro 14" m1 on a great offer.

 

[McKodiak]

I want to replace my 2014 Macbook pro 15" this year too. I am in the waiting game for an eventual Macbook air 15", because I find 13/14" a little too small. Otherwise a refurbished Macbook pro 16" m1 or m2 is my favourite.

I'm going to go with a 14". I have a docking setup at home and like the smaller size for on the go. I'd like to have my MacBook last so I typically go pro with advanced specs. I'll probably go with m2 pro as opposed to the max

 

[Gusts]

I’ve been watching the review-verse waiting to get this confirmed, but so far have not. I find it interesting how many reviewers have received the highest-end model of both M2 MacBook Pro and M2 mini, neither of which are ‘typical’ units consumers will be buying. I have yet to find a single reliable review of the base M2 mini where the 256GB SSD situation is discussed. If I were to bet, right now my money is on Apple cheaping out just like the did on the M2 Air and going for a single single-channel NAND chip… which is simply unacceptable for a company of Apple’s wealth and marketing/PR narrative. We shall see!

Maybe the 256GB SSD is 3GB/sec fast! The Swiss guy in this article does not specify well but he is talking about the M2 version. Let's hope so!

Test: Apple Mac mini (2023)

Der kleinste Desktop-Mac ist geradezu billig und bringt sogar den Mac Studio in Bedrängnis.

www.computerworld.ch

 

[marty1980]

It’s strange how Apple finally catching up to standard PCIe 4 ssd speeds is such a newsworthy topic. This has been the standard across the industry for a while and this year we will see PCIe 5 SSDs capable of 10-20k MB/s read/write speeds.

To complicate things more, Apple makes it so people can’t just pop in any PCIe SSD as a replacement. You get what you get from them and that’s it.

It’s one of those baffling decisions Apple has stuck with that has created friction when choosing a Mac computer.

No - external SSDs are not the solution. There are a lot of scenarios where upgradable storage makes more sense than going to dongle hell.

 

[mr_jomo]

And, it looks like - from the first few written reviews - the Mac Mini M2 Pro's SSDs match the macBook Pros in terms of speed ... *sigh of relief*

Annndd they did after all - the 512 GB version of the Mac Mini M2 Pro is half the speed of the same SSD size 14 and 16" macBook Pros (Matt Talks Tech review) WTF Apple??? Btw. the M2 base Mac Mini is confirmed 1 NAND (Brandon Geekabit teardown).

 

[mr_jomo]

I’ve been watching the review-verse waiting to get this confirmed, but so far have not. I find it interesting how many reviewers have received the highest-end model of both M2 MacBook Pro and M2 mini, neither of which are ‘typical’ units consumers will be buying. I have yet to find a single reliable review of the base M2 mini where the 256GB SSD situation is discussed. If I were to bet, right now my money is on Apple cheaping out just like the did on the M2 Air and going for a single single-channel NAND chip… which is simply unacceptable for a company of Apple’s wealth and marketing/PR narrative. We shall see!

And ... you would have won that bet ... since that's now confirmed .... ahh Apple,
it's like your Product Management department has a (sub)goal for your decision making of "how do we F' our customers over the best?" 😱

 

[Zdigital2015]

It’s strange how Apple finally catching up to standard PCIe 4 ssd speeds is such a newsworthy topic. This has been the standard across the industry for a while and this year we will see PCIe 5 SSDs capable of 10-20k MB/s read/write speeds.

To complicate things more, Apple makes it so people can’t just pop in any PCIe SSD as a replacement. You get what you get from them and that’s it.

It’s one of those baffling decisions Apple has stuck with that has created friction when choosing a Mac computer.

No - external SSDs are not the solution. There are a lot of scenarios where upgradable storage makes more sense than going to dongle hell.

Apple builds opinionated hardware and software. You’re welcome to stay on the PC OEM side and deal with the hodge podge of hardware that makes up a Windows PC. None of this should be controversial in the least as Apple made soldered storage standard in the MBP in 2016. Apple controls every aspect of the experience, which is what a lot of consumers want or are totally fine with. If you don’t like it, there is a plethora of choices out there to choose from.

 

[compwiz1202]

Would much rather have cheaper storage than faster at this point. Mac storage prices are getting ridiculous.

Heck they need cheaper lower specs for the 16 already. BS to lock screen size behind insane specs and pricing